6 Essential Tips for Selling a Home With Pets

Seattle's I Got Smart Real Estate Podcast with Josh Pemberton

If you own a pet or two, there are a few things you need to do to sell your home. Today, I’ll go over six essential tips for selling a home with pets.

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Renee and I have been pet lovers for a long time. We’ve had many dogs, cats, and birds over the years; Renee even breeds Andalusian horses! We are keenly aware of how tricky it can be to sell your home and keep your pets happy. Today, I thought I’d go over six essential tips for home sellers with pets.

1. Check your home insurance. Although you know that your pets would never hurt anyone, they may scratch or bite potential buyers whom they mistake for intruders in their home. Make sure that your homeowners insurance covers you, just in case this happens. However, some insurers don’t cover anyone who owns what they consider a vicious breed, such as a pit bull. If they do provide coverage, it could be more expensive for certain breeds. Ultimately, it’s best to keep dogs out of the house during showings, but if you can’t, make sure you’re covered.

2. Prepare your yard. Buyers will walk around your yard and their stroll could be ruined if they see or step in dog poop. Make sure to clean up before each showing, and double-bag that waste so that buyers don’t encounter any unpleasant smells. If your dog is a digger, make sure to fill up any holes in the yard. Replace ugly patches with new sod or grass seed and walk your dogs around the block to keep your yard in pristine condition.

3. Remove odors. This is one of the biggest challenges that pet owners face. It can be difficult to erase years of piddle from rugs or hardwood floors. Consider hiring a professional cleaning service to take care of your carpets, rugs, and flooring. Since you live there, you might not think your home smells, but ask someone you trust to tell you the truth.

A professional cleaning service can remove pet odors from your home.

4. Clean up the hair. Pet hair looks messy and can trigger allergies, sending potential buyers sneezing and wheezing out the door. Vacuum and dust your home before showings. Consider investing in a Roomba. We have one scheduled to go out and pick up all the hair a couple of times a day, and it works pretty well.

5. Hide the evidence. Pets tend to come with a lot of stuff. Put away leashes, water bowls, sweaters, toys, and chew bones. Stow everything in a cupboard or closet. Move the dry food container to the laundry room or mudroom, and put pet beds away.

6. Take your pets with you or crate train them. If you leave dogs and cats at home during showings, you need to either crate them or confine them to a special area of the house. Give them an interactive or long-lasting chew toy to pass the time. Let the listing agent know so they can make a note in the MLS alerting buyers' agents that pets will be in the home during showings. If you can, though, set a playdate for your pets and get them out of the house during showings. Check out the dog park or visit a friend’s house.

Now, pets can get anxious and confused when their daily routines are changed. Talk to your vet so they can help you ease that transition for the pets. Not only can they help your pets while you sell your home, they can also prepare your pets for moving to a new home.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!