Your pet is adorable, funny, furry and just the best. Everyone loves him or her, until you go to sell your home. Then you’ll (inadvertently) some buyers who aren’t so in love with your precious fur baby. Through your Realtor you’ll hear about agents who brought buyers into your home and yes, they adored it.
They loved the are, the curb appeal, they loved the layout, and everything else until the realized you had a pet. Then they scoffed. They huffed and the puffed and they blew out through the door. Well maybe they wheezed out the door because they where allergic but you get the picture.
Animals can and have broken real estate sales before they’ve even had a chance to happen. There are people who believe that they will never be able to remodel away whatever you little darling is shedding.
Now we know better, especially fastidious pet owners who take care of our animals and their homes. They’re our family and family deserves the best. There are some ways to curtail the allergic buyer reaction and get your home on the road to offer.
The following seven hacks offer some solutions to keep you sane during your home sale.
7 Pet Hacks for Home Sales
- Talk to your veterinarian before you put your home on the market.
Your pet is about to go through a stressful time. Unfamiliar smells, noises and people are going to run havoc on their nervous system. This is true especially if the pets are older where stress can be especially damaging. You vet may be able to offer some help in the way of scents or other stress-relieving advice.
2. We LOVE you – believe when we tell you your carpet stinks!
Okay, it’s a smiggen of tough love but it needs to be said. There are too many agents that dance around this issue. Any cat owners who have ever had a cat that has done his or her business on the carpet has a smell in their home. Unless you have replaced that carpet, or have had it professionally cleaned someone who does not have animals will smell the residual odor. Replace the carpet or have it professionally treated.
3. A Deep Cleaning is in Order
Speaking of smells, when you have pets they leave their odor around the house. This isn’t necessarily a bathroom smell it’s just ‘their’ smell. Animal loves come over and don’t care, some would prefer to visit the pet over you. There are buyers with allergies or sensitivities that will care, and deeply, about the effervescence d’fido wafting through your home. When putting your home on the market with pets get it professionally cleaned before you put it on the market. The best time to do this might be when you get the carpets cleaned.
4. Add a little scent to your paint
A step beyond cleaning your walls is painting your walls. Maybe you’re doing this to tone down colors to make your pallet more neutral for buyers. This is a great opportunity to tone down the pet smell as well. Add some vanilla to the paint before it goes on the wall. A couple teaspoons per gallon mixed in will do and it won’t alter the color of the paint! There are also scented paints out there. Technology, who knew!?
5. Think about having giving them a vacation
This one isn’t for everyone but if you have a relative or friend that they can spend some time with now is a good time to send them. This minimizes the stress on them and you and allows the smells in your home to decrease rapidly. You may not be able to do this through the whole process but at try to do it least through the showings. It may mean a quicker sale for you and a lot less hassle.
6. Check that homeowner’s policy before you list
Okay, so Fido is so well behaved, non allergenic and stink-free that you’re betting the bank your home will sell right away, no problem. These hacks aren’t for every homeowner with pets, but, every homeowner with pets needs to check their insurance before listing. What is your liability if someone gets bit by your dog or otherwise injured by your pet? Do you know? Make sure you look it over and get your agent to decode the insurance jargon so you know exactly where you stand.
7. Don’t beat em – join em!
According to NAR, over 61% of homes have pets and 91% of those at least think of their pet when purchasing a home. 31% are heavily influenced looking for additions such as dog/cat doors or dog wash stations in the home. The most popular feature for pet owners? The clear winner is a fenced yard. You could work with your Realtor to showcase your pet features and market to pet owners. Advertise such amenities as a nearby park or walking trail.
These hacks should put your home out there as a show-runner for the pet-owner listings. Having a game plan that includes you pets when you list your home for sale is your best strategy as a home owner. Your Realtor, future buyer and your pets will thank you for the extra effort you put in to taking everyone into consideration.