The Pet Owners Guide to Selling Your Home

There are about 80 million homes in the United States with pets. That’s about 65{16e476496f5f3a73cb19f20a476d08f8bca71b0bf9338242f1d2bf6ed337f382} of homes. That’s a lot! But, while having a pet dog is pretty common, it isn’t always the best selling point for many home buyers.

For many potential home buyers, they walk into a pet-friendly home for sale and begin listing off negative comments. Over the years, we’ve heard a lot of people complain about pets and we’ve learned that these common pet-complaints aren’t something people can easily get over. They say things like, “it stinks in here”, “my allergies can’t handle this house”, “the carpet looks gross”, and “will that smell come out of the house?”. But, just because you have a pet doesn’t mean you won’t be able to sell you house.

We don’t want to freak you out completely! But, we do want you to understand that if you’re a pet owner selling your house, there are a few extra steps you should take in preparing your home for sale. We believe that if you take these steps seriously, your home won’t have any trouble selling.

The Pet Owners Guide to Selling Your Home

• Change your cat litter (don’t just scoop)
• Put away all pet toys
• Sweep and vacuum away all pet hair
• Wash all windows
• Scoop poop from yard
• Febreeze the air or carpet
• Hide dog food and water dishes
• Make sure pet food is organized
• Remove any pet stains from the carpet
• Wipe any pet drool or hair from furniture
• Hang leashes and other pet items
• Fold up dog crates and put in garage
• Find a safe space for your pets during the showing (you may want to just take them with you)

As a good rule of thumb, the fewer traces of pet ownership in your home, the better. Remember this pet-staging of your home is only temporary. Your pet isa part of the family, after all. And it’s important that you still feel at home in your house. So, take the extra steps to prepare your home for your showing and then come home and love on your pet!

If you’re putting your house on the market and have questions, please feel free to send us a message. We’ll be happy to answer questions that you might have.