Perhaps one of the most important concepts that Silicon Valley home buyers need to appreciate is that someday, they’re going to be Silicon Valley home sellers.

It is true that there’s no such thing as a “perfect house” anywhere in Silicon Valley. No matter what your budget, there is always a change you might want in any home. (Often buyers want about 20% more than their budget allows, in my experience. This is equally true of first time homebuyers as it is for move up or even luxury home buyers.)

So it comes down to which compromises you’re willing to make. There will always be compromises – but which ones are acceptable, and which ones aren’t?

It is extremely helpful if you can prioritize, in order, what you must have or strongly prefer to have, in your next home. Sometimes couples have some, but not all, of the same preferences, wants and needs. Where they get into trouble in homebuying is when they have different priorities. In fact, that can make it almost impossible to buy a home and have everyone happy at the end.

I would like to suggest that one of your top priorities ought to be “resale value” and “resale ability”. Some may object, “I am never going to sell this home!” but in truth, we don’t know the future. If you buy a home with a problem that makes it hard to sell generally, and you get stuck having to sell it in a bad market, it will be brutal and possibly even risky if you later are selling due to any financial hardship.
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Natural Hazard Reports are included in the disclosures when homes are bought and sold here in Silicon Valley. Those reports will indicate whether or not the property is located in areas with known natural hazards, including

• Flood Plains
• Liquifaction Zones
• Earthquake Fault Zones
• Unstable Soils Areas

But wouldnt you like to know where those places are before ever writing an offer?

Many Silicon Valley Realtors utilize a tool that combines this natural hazard information with other boundaries that may be of interest to you, such as zip code lines, town boundaries, school district boundaries, district names within San Jose (like Berryessa, Cambrian Park, Evergreen, etc.) and so on. This is the Barclays Locaide and you can buy it online or in Realtor stores in the San Jose area. They arent cheap at just under $60, but they are extremely helpful and worthwhile for having a sense of where the issue areas are in Santa Clara County.

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