How do you handle pets during home showings or the listing preparation process?
To most of us, our pets are our fur babies. We care about them deeply, and we want to make sure we take care of them when selling a home. After all, this can be stressful for them—they’re probably not used to seeing so many strangers walk through your home. Here are a few tips you can use to make the home selling experience comfortable for you and your pet and still sell for top dollar.
First, have a plan. If your pets are free to roam your house during the day, designate a comfortable spot for them during showings. This is especially important if you have cats who are skittish. It’s also helpful to know how your pets react to strangers so you can plan accordingly. Sometimes, my team puts signage up in our clients’ homes and notifies visiting Realtors about what kind of pets they can expect to encounter. Be hyper-vigilant that your pets won’t exit the home quickly while a showing is happening or turn on someone who’s a complete stranger.
If your pet simply doesn’t do well with strangers, it might be best to arrange a pet daycare. If you live close to where you work, it’s helpful to come get your pet during showings, but sometimes that’s just not feasible. It’s best to know which days work best for showings and where your pet can go.
Since our pets live with us, it’s also important to determine whether there are any smells that need to be mitigated before you put the home on the market. Just like we have to modify how we live to show a house, so do your pets, so box-up their toys, hide their litter boxes, etc.
Buyers are incredibly sensitive to pet odors and pet stuff littered around a house, and that kind of thing can deter some of them from buying. They might worry about the lack of maintenance or that there is a smell that can’t be readily extinguished. Some buyers might also be allergic to pets.
As always, if you have questions about this or any real estate topic or are thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help.
