Guest Post: House For Sale, Pets Not Included

  Posted on February 27, 2012  by Joy of Living  No comments

In this post, Melinda Bartling, realtor with Keller-Williams, gives some tips on what to do with your pets when trying to sell your home.

Pets can be a dilemma when selling your home.  Approximately 63% of the population owns a pet, but the 37% that don’t own a pet oftentimes won’t buy a house that has one.

Some reasons why a prospective buyer might prefer to look at pet free homes include:

• Allergies
• Fear of dogs
• Thinks the house will be dirty
• Fear pet stains or odors might be hidden

If your home is on the market and you have a cat, put a note on the front door above the lock that there is a cat in the house.  The note will help agents remember to close the door behind them.

If you have a dog that will be at home, it should be crated during showings. Allowing the dog to be in the laundry room with a baby gate may be a problem if a potential buyer wants to view that room.

Pets can be very territorial around strangers and may hiss, bark or bite prospective buyers or realtors showing your home. In one case, a seller’s dog was barking in the backyard, preventing people from going out there. They didn’t sell their house.

Another story involves the sellers who said the cat can go “in or out.”  The cat was lurking at the front door and ran in when the door opened. The problem..it wasn’t the seller’s cat and did some major damage to the house after being locked up all day.

Pets are members of the family, but when trying to sell your home, take care that they don’t scare away a potential buyer.

Melinda Bartling is a realtor with Keller-Williams here in the Kansas City area. To contact Melinda, go to www.melindabartling.com