Selling a Home with Pets

While we love our furry friends, there are certain steps that should be taken when listing a home where pets are currently living. Some people can be fearful or nervous around pets, and sometimes buyers can have negative stigmas associated with homes where pets live as well. Here are some helpful tips with  how to successfully sell your home when you have pets.

Litter Boxes – Keep these cleaned on a daily basis to eliminate any chance of a smell, and keep them out of sight if able.

Stained carpet – Do you have stained carpet from pet accidents? Get these professionally cleaned prior to listing to ensure a buyer has a positive experience when viewing your home.

Odors – Try to eliminate odors if possible through cleaning of carpets, fabrics, airing out the home, and everyday cleaners. Avoid using air fresheners if possible since this can be an overwhelming smell to buyers, especially if they have allergies.

Showing Time – During open houses and private showings, it is important to remove the pets from the home. Not everyone is comfortable around pets and not all pets are comfortable around all people. For an optimal showing experience for potential buyers, the safest bet is to have the animals removed while the home is being shown. Many home owners whose home is on the market even choose to temporarily relocate the pet to a family or friend’s home to reduce the hassle of needing to repeatedly remove the animal from the home during showings and open houses.

Damage – Has your pet chewed or ruined something like hardwood flooring, moulding, carpet, furniture, doors, walls, the yard, fences, etc? If so, getting these repaired or replaced prior to listing your home can help raise the appeal to a potential buyer.

Outdoors – Speaking of the yard, it is important to consistently pick up after your pet in the yard on a daily basis when your home is on the market. You want to showcase the yard as well as you showcase the house, and you do not want a potential buyer to accidentally step in something.

Doing all of these things will help to make your home a more inviting and appealing place for a buyers to envision living, and it ensures both the safety of your pet along with those that come into the home.