You love your pet(s), your family loves yours pet(s) – but potential homeowners might not love your pets. Not only that – potential homeowners may be allergic to pets and you may lose a buyer simply because they could not enter your home.
If you want to have the best curb appeal to your house we have some tips to pet-proof your home while preparing it and showing it for a sale.
1. Remove Your Pet From Your House
If you can take your beloved pet to a friend or family home while you are selling your home – this would be ideal. Your pet will be thrown off by all the new people entering your home. Your pets will probably like the vacation more then they will enjoy a realtor and new faces always entering their territory.
2. Hide The Evidence To Sell Your Home With A Pet
Remove water bowls. Remove the big bags of pet food and most importantly, vacuum and remove all traces of hair if you can.
Pet hair can make your home look messy (even if it’s not). Be sure to thoroughly vacuum all pet hair. After each showing it would be great to re-dust and vacuum again to gather any unsettled hair.
3. Mask The Odour Or Remove Completely If You Can
It seems simple enough to tuck away and hide a kitty litter box but it’s really hard to erase the years of pee on the carpet and hardwood floors.
If you have been using bacteria pet odor remover without much luck, it may be time to hire a professional. There are times when professionals are also unable to remove pet smells. If you notice a foul odor…. your potential buyers will as well. If it is strong enough, you may want to consider removing the carpet or floor that is causing the problem.
4. Fix The Damage To Sell Your Home With A Pet
Pet’s (like children can cause a lot of damage).
Your yard may have ruts or brown spots all over from your dog going to bathroom in the backyard. Patch it if you can.
If your lovely little furry friend has destroyed your furniture, it could be beneficial to remove it from your home and rent furniture while you are staging your home. This is probably only an option if you have removed your pet from your home while you are showing it.
