Preparing Your Home and Pets

Here are some helpful tips for Listing and Showing your home with pets! 

Give Your Home A Deep Clean

One of the top ways to scare off a potential buyer is with foul odors.  The reality is that pets can create some less than desirable odors and smells.  If you have pets, before you list your home for sale, it’s critical that you give your home a deep cleaning.

A deep cleaning is not as simple as vacuuming the floors and cleaning the counter tops.  When selling a home with pets, a deep cleaning must cover many of those tough to access areas.  This includes behind all furniture, underneath all throw rugs, and inside each closet.  Pet hair and dust do a great job at finding their way into those hard to access areas.  Even consider having your duct work in your home cleaned out as pet hair and dust can make it’s way into the ducts of your home fairly easily.  By making sure these “hard to reach” areas are cleaned, it can make a huge difference in removing any foul odors from your pets.   Whether cleaning is something you like to do or not, it’s not a bad idea to hire a professional cleaning service.

Clean Up Your Pets Belongings

Whether you are selling a home with pets or not, one of the most inexpensive ways to prepare your home for sale is by decluttering.  When you have pets and you’re preparing your home for sale, it’s important to clean up after your pets belongings.

A pets belongings can include their toys, beds, blankets, or even their litter pans.  The last thing you want potential buyers having to do is avoiding your pets pile of toys in your living room.  Obviously it’s difficult to remove all of your pets belongings, however, making sure their belongings are in an organized pile in a tucked away area, such as a closet or a basement, can make a big difference

Clean Up The Exterior

Whether you have pets or not, making sure that the exterior of your home is prepared for the sale is important.  If you have pets it should be something you take extra special care of.

There are a couple specific things that you should make sure are completed before selling your home.  First and foremost, make sure you pick up after your pet if they use your backyard as their bathroom.  The last thing you want is for a potential buyer to step in an area where you have forgotten to pick up after your pet.

Other considerations to make when selling your home with pets is the condition of your lawn and landscaping.  Many pets, such as a dog, make it a habit to dig holes in the yard or landscaping.  Make sure that you have filled any holes that your pet has made in the past.  These things may seem like small tasks but they can make a huge impact on a potential buyers outlook of your home.

Repair Any Interior Damage Your Pets Have Caused

While this may not apply to every pet owner, some pets make it a habit to destroy our homes.  Before you list your home for sale, if your furry friend has damaged your home, make sure you correct it.

A homes flooring is one of the most frequently damaged areas of a home.  If your pet has damaged your carpeting or floors, make sure you have this addressed before potential buyers begin walking through your home.

Other possible pet damaged areas in a home may include:

• Scratched hardwood floors
• Trim work around doors
• Ripped screens
• Kitchen cabinet doors
• Lower trim work
• Furniture

Remove Your Pets During Showings

If you are unwilling to relocate your pets while selling your home, the next best solution is to make sure you remove your pets during showings.  Just because you love your dog, Fido, doesn’t mean that every potential buyer who walks through your home is going to love your dog.

Whether it means you take your animal for a walk or pack them and their belongings up in your car for a long car ride, at the very least, make sure you remove your pets during showings.

Another way to remove your pets during showings that is becoming more popular is hiring a walking service.  If you happen to have a dog, you can hire a company or person that will come to your home and take your dog for a walk for a period of time.

Secure Pets In Pet Crates

 If you are unable or unwilling to relocate your pets and you cannot remove your pets during showings, securing your pets in crates during showings should be the last resort.  It’s not a smart decision to allow your pets to wander free during home showings as it can make some potential buyers very uncomfortable.

In addition to making some buyers uncomfortable, by not placing your pets in crates you run the risk of your pet escaping or even worse, injuring a potential buyer or Realtor who is walking through your home.  When you’re selling your home with pets, the last thing you want to have to worry about is your pet escaping or injuring someone who is walking through your home.