Nov 9, 2017 / Selling
5 Tips on Selling Your Home With Pets
What about our pets? This is a question that is often asked in real estate sales.
If you have a dog or cat, chances are you love your pet. But, while pets are great for your emotional health, they don’t help you sell your home. When you decide to put the house on the market you will need to do some serious housecleaning and repair work before you can command top-dollar for your home.
So how do you go about selling your property with pets?
1 | TEMPORARILY RELOCATE YOUR PETS
Plain and simple, it’s easier to show-and-sell a home (and keep it clean), if pets are not present.
This is the time to consider boarding your pet, or leaving them with family or a friend that is willing to help out. This gives you the chance to eliminate or reduce the signs of having a pet in the house – which can reduce a home’s value.
In an ideal world, your home should be pet-free not just during showings but the entire time your home is up for sale.
2 | REMOVE PET ODOURS AND STAINS
Our sense of smell has a powerful effect on our emotions, our memory and on our perception of things. Humans have something called ‘sensory adaption’ meaning constant bad smells like pet odour or smoke become normalized and aren’t recognized by our noses anymore.
An initial urine odor on entering a house, can leave a buyer with a bad impression, and may stick with them during the entire showing and afterwards.
So don’t trust your own nose. Before listing your house for sale: have your carpets, upholstery and flooring professionally cleaned, with a focus on removing pet odors. If the staining or odors are extensive, consider replacing carpet in problem areas. If your pet has a history of accidents on a particular area rug, get rid of it.
3 | DE-PERSONALIZE, EVEN YOUR PETS
The first task of home sellers is to create an environment where buyers can picture themselves. This means giving them the space to envision living there, space that is free from too many of your personal things – including pets and all they bring with them.
So when removing all the family photos throw in the photos of your pet as well. Beyond that, hide their beds, toys and equipment.
4 | CLEAN THE YARD
One of the best tips, when selling a home with pets, is to make sure you don’t neglect the yard as this is just important to some buyers as the inside of the home. Not only pick-up any messes in the backyard, but have any sod replaced and other damage repaired as necessary.
5 | IF THEY HAVE TO STAY
And if you do decide to keep your pet at home during the sale, you’ve got to keep a lid on the fur. Unless you have a hairless cat or a non-shedding dog, there’s going to be some fur in the house. which may involve cleaning multiple times a day. Another option is to limit your pet’s access to just certain parts of the house.
Get a litter box with a cover and place it in an non-obvious spot. Try to avoid air fresheners. That suggests you are hiding something. Instead work towards keeping things odour-free with enzyme cleaners.
And during showings, take the family for a walk and that means the pets too!
Selling a home with pets takes work, but it’s worth it in the long run! We’re happy to help!
__________________________
Our team of real estate sales professionals would be thrilled to work with you. Call us today!
Karen Paul & Associates | Real Estate
Ontario Is Our Game ~ Come Play With Us
905-333-6234 | karenpaul.com | info@karenpaul.com
Burlington • Oakville • Hamilton • Milton • Niagara
Buyer’s Corner | Free Home Evaluations | See Our Listings | Subscribe To Our Newsletter
