Tips For Pet Owners Selling A Home

1. Tips For Pet Owners Selling A Home Puppies, kittens, birds, even your daughter’s pet turtle: they’ve all become part of your family. Who doesn’t love snuggling with a purring cat or scratching an eager dogs belly? Well, surprisingly, the number isn’t as high as you might expect. According to recent statistics provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association, only 36.5% of households have a pet dog and 30.4% of households currently have a cat slinking around the house. When selling your home you need to make certain that your property will appeal to pet owners as well as those not so fond of furry critters. Below is a list of tips to help you prepare your home, casting a wider net when it comes to attracting interested buyers. Relocate Temporarily With Your Pet Yes, this may sound like an extreme decision, but if you can temporarily downsize to a location in which Fido is welcome, it will make your home show much better. Perhaps you are fortunate enough to have family close by that has a home large enough to house your family and pets until your property goes under contract. If this just simply isn’t practical, maybe you can find a friend who wouldn’t mind boarding the family pet until the home is sold. Trust us, this may seem like a very drastic measure to take, but the goal is to sell your property quickly and a pet-free home has a better chance of being sold than a dwelling where even the friendliest animal currently resides. Professionally Clean Your Carpets Even the best-trained pets can have the occasional accident. You may be very diligent about cleaning all of these messes, but a faint odor can certainly linger. Additionally, your sense of smell is most likely accustomed to the scent of your dog or cat. For visitors who are entering your home for the first time, whether you are aware of it or not, they will be able to tell you’re a pet owner based simply on how your carpets smell. Move The Food Bowls So you moved your pet in with a friend and even had a professional service come in and steam clean all carpets—but you’re not done yet! Make certain your dog’s food and water bowl or cat’s litter box (especially the litter box!) is placed somewhere out of site. Hiding these items in a closet or pantry isn’t the best idea either, as potential homebuyers will likely open all doors on their tour. Keep these items either at the pet’s new location or even in the trunk of your car; anywhere that is well out of sight. Clean The Yard So far so good? It’s important to pick up any droppings throughout your yard. The last thing you could possibly want is an agent and buyer walking through your yard and stepping in your pet’s “business”. Well, it could be worse….they could unknowingly track the mess onto your newly cleaned carpets, defeating the purpose and forcing another call to the steam cleaning company. Take the extra time to perform a thorough examination of your yard. Yes, it can be a stress-inducing experience selling your home, especially if you are a pet owner. A seasoned realtor will be able to help eliminate your anxiety by providing proper advice and guidance regarding selling your home as quickly as possible. If you have any questions regarding selling your home, feel free to post them below or contact Coldwell Banker Innovations at 301.745.1500.