Selling your home when you have pets shouldn’t be any more inconvenient than a regular home sale just as long as you follow these six tips.
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1. Check with your homeowners insurance and make sure you’re covered. In the unlikely event that your pet gets spooked and bites a visitor, you need to make sure that that kind of situation is covered with your insurance company.
2. Take a walk around the yard and clean up thoroughly. You don’t want any potential buyers to go home with something on the bottom of their shoes that wasn’t there when they stepped out of the car. That’s going to leave a bad impression.
3. Get rid of any pet odors. If you live there, you’re probably used to the way it smells. That’s why we always recommend that sellers in this situation have a neighbor or friend walk in their house and test if there’s an overwhelming pet odor. If that’s the case, you can add some air fresheners and have your carpets professionally cleaned.
4. Clean up all stray hairs. Any dog or cat hair that might be clinging to your couches, floors, hardwood, or tile needs to be vacuumed and swept. Roller lint brushes are a great tool to get this job done.
5. Hide the evidence that your pet was even there. If you’ve got a kitty litter box, slide it under the bed. If you have bags of pet food sitting around, store them in the garage so they’re out of sight.
6. Say goodbye to your pet for the duration of the home sale. This might be hard, but it’s probably better for your pet not to experience so many strangers walking through your house. Also, not having a pet around can put a buyer’s mind at ease and allow them to focus on your home.
You want people focused on your home, not your pet.
If there is a topic you’d like me to cover in a future email, feel free to give me a call, shoot me a text, or send me an email. I’d be glad to help!
