Don’t Let Your Pet Keep Your House from Selling

Today’s post is a Guest Post from Medina at Dog Etiquette

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Don’t Let Your Pet Keep Your House from Selling

Selling your home when you have pets comes with extra responsibilities. But being a pet owner should not affect your ability to get the maximum sale price for your home. You just have to pay special attention to presenting your home in the best light. Here’s how:

Staging Your Home

Staging is an important aspect of the selling process, and some experts say that staging your home increases the sale price by up to 20 percent. Talk to your realtor and do some research in your neighborhood during the buying/selling process to get an idea of local asking prices. For example, properties in the Scottsdale area have an average sale price of $455,000, but they can vary greatly by locale. For pet owners, it’s crucial to properly stage your home so that your pet doesn’t negatively affect the sale of your home.

Remove the Signs

It’s important to be transparent about the fact that your home is pet-friendly, but you don’t want it to be the first thing potential buyers notice. Be conscious of this even before anyone visits your home. For instance, make sure there are no pets lounging in the background of the photos you post on real-estate websites. Once it’s time to start accepting visits, ensure that your four-legged friend’s bedding, cages, and carriers are locked away or put in storage.

Get Rid of Odors

Pet odors can be a deterrent to potential buyers so be sure to deep clean. Vinegar and baking soda is one of the methods suggested by petMD, which adds that enzymatic cleaners may do the trick as well. And everyone should steam clean all of their carpets.

Repair the Damage

Scratches on the door are another obvious sign that a house has had an animal resident, and you’ll also need to take a close look at walls and furniture. How you make the repairs depends on the material and how deep the damage is. A stain-filled marker takes care of a lot of the cosmetic work, while deep gouges in wood need to be sanded down before being filled in.

Manicure the Yard

Scoop up the poop. That’s the first thing dog owners should do before a visit, but there’s no easy solution for the yellow urine stains that your pooch has left when marking its territory. Country Living provides a three-step solution that begins with raking out the affected areas, adding a layer of topsoil, then sprinkling grass seeds and waiting for them to grow.

Have a Third-Party Check

Now that you’ve removed all the signs of your pet, it’s time to do a test run. Ask your real estate agent or a friend to tour your house and yard in the same way that a buyer would, paying close attention to the details and looking out for obvious signs of a pet’s presence. If they don’t find any with their eyes or nose, then you’re good to start the visits.

Relocate Your Pets

While your house is on show, it’s best to keep your dog or cat away. You could send them to a kennel or to the house of a trusted friend or family member. Not only will this ensure that all the hard work you’ve put into preparing your house for potential buyers isn’t undone, but it will also be less stressful on your pets.

Following these tips and advice from your realtor will assure that your pets won’t hinder the sale of your home.

Article provided by Medina at DogEtiquette.info.

 

Image via Pixabay