If you're planning on moving and want to sell your home, having a pet can make things more challenging, especially if you're selling to people who aren't animal people. Here are some ways to make it easier to sell your home, even if you have animals living with you.
Even in a hot market like the San Diego real estate market, selling a home with a pet can be a little harder than it seems. Even if you just assume that a person who loves cats or dogs will be the one who walks through and makes an offer, you never want to cut potential buyers out of the running, especially since a high-demand house can fetch more than asking if you have multiple offers. Better to prepare your home to appeal just as much to non-pet-owners as to those who share your love of dogs. Here’s how!
Work on Deep Cleaning As Early As Possible
When you live with pets, their smells and quirks become normal to you, but it’s wise to start seeing the home through a non-pet-owner’s eyes as early as possible. Ask a friend to walk in and note areas where there’s more or less animal smell. Start getting strategic; if you can completely clean the cat hair out of the spare bedroom and then close it off till you list the home, that saves you one step. Right before your listing, your carpeted home would benefit from a carpet shampoo, really pulling a lot of the musty odors, pet and otherwise, out of the carpet.
Find a Place for Your Pet to Stay During Showings and Open House
Even if you know your animals are very well behaved, it’s generally best that your housepets take a vacation to the doggie daycare or a friend’s home during the actual listing and showings. It’s so hard to re-clean after an animal comes back into the space, and if any of your buyers are more than a little allergic, the presence of the animal him or herself is going to be a bigger challenge than just the fact that a cat or dog lived here at one point. Some animals would be fine spending the open house in the yard, but most buyers will be distracted by the animals when they should be completely focused on the features of the home itself.
Make the Most of the Marketing Materials to Appeal to All Buyers
The place to emphasize pet-friendly features of your home is definitely in the marketing materials, like a list of specs that goes onto home sales websites or a one-page flyer you offer during showings and the open house. Mentioning a great cat door flap or a nearby dog park can only help when you’re listing amenities, whereas the actual cat or dog might be overwhelmed by the amount of strangers or just generally steal the show from the important process of evaluating the house.
Once your home is under contract and you know that there are no serious pet allergies to contend with, you can bring Spot, Fido, or Mittens back into your home while you pack up and prepare for your own next move, of course cleaning the place up as planned after all furniture is removed. That’s how to sell a home with pets to the greatest advantage!