TIME TO ACT RIGHT NOW

Move swiftly to settle property sales so you relax over Christmas holidays

AS WE enter the last week of October, time is well and truly running away from us, especially when it comes to property.

The typical campaign (and let’s be honest here, there isn’t much that’s “typical” about 2020), would see a property anywhere up to a few weeks on the market, a contract signed and exchanged, and then a 4-6 week settlement period. With Christmas about nine weeks away, that doesn’t leave much room for error if your goal is to be out by then.

While there’s always time pressure to be ready, it’s generally worth fighting for the time frame – buyers are rarely more motivated than at the end of the year, as they look to start the new year fresh (“new home, new me” type resolutions) and line up for new schools, new jobs and everything else that comes along.

Add to all that the attraction of putting up the Christmas tree in a new home and you’ve got the perfect ingredients to see decisions being made.

So, what should you do to get that contract signed and be ready to move?

Put simply, move quickly. There will generally be more buyers active in November than we’re likely to see in December, as everyone works to that Christmas deadline so you really want to be on-market as soon as you can to get the full value from the upcoming month ahead.

Co-ordinate any maintenance, staging and de-cluttering as early as you can, particularly to avoid missing out on contractors as they get booked out quickly by other like-minded sellers.

And, do your best to get your gardens under control as well (and given the weather, as green as you can).

With the property ready to go, this isn’t the time for a soft launch either – bring out all the bells and whistles from day one to give yourself the best chance for success.

Particularly given the results we’re seeing at the moment, with offers coming in early you’re better to have the full marketing strategy in place so you can be more confident that any offers in front of you are the best offers.

Speaking of offers, when they do come in, don’t stretch things out longer than you have to.

Talk to your agent and any other financial advisers, and keep in mind that nothing is official until an approved contract is signed.

Once that contract is signed (and contract conditions fulfilled), hopefully you can relax by the holidays.