Selling A Home When You Have Pets  

            You love your pets.  Not everyone loves pets. Some people have allergies to animals, while others may be frightened of pets. They may not be comfortable with a dog’s playful jumping nor like the idea of a cat wrapping her body around their feet. They may get upset upon seeing a cat box in the kitchen or playroom or a half-full dog bowl in the corner of the room.  They may not be familiar with all the scents and shedding from pets.  They may not enjoy the little chew toys on the rug that you bought your pet for a birthday.    

            Now that you are getting ready to show your home, what do you do about staging your home when it is occupied by your pets; their scents, their shedding, and their items?

            For an open house, you might ask your friends and relatives to watch your pets or you may wish to board them at a kennel while you have scheduled open house showings.  

            Here are some tips to help you to prepare for an open house or a showing when your pet will be in the home: 

• Put up a small note at the front door stating in which room the pet resides. 
• Put your pets in an inside safety gated area or outside, if weather permits. 
• Give your home a thorough cleaning. 
• Put the cat or dog bowls where they will be readily available to your pet, but not easily found by the prospective buyers. 
• If your livingroom or family room houses a dog bed or pad, but your pet does not often use it, temporarily remove it; if it is well-used, put it in a place where only your pet will find it.
• If you think your pet could do without chew toys, the clawing trees, etc. for the times when your home will be shown, put those away, otherwise, put them in a place where your pet could find them, but the prospective buyers won’t bump into them or see them cluttering up a room. 
• If you have cages or carriers exposed, keep those well-hidden. 
• Clean the cat box and the cat or dog’s food bowls. Be sure to throw away any food crumbs.  If water bowls have bits of food in them, clean those bowls as well.
• Vacuum all areas where there are traces of fur, including drapes, couch pillows, carpets, area rugs.   
• Empty all garbage baskets and spray inside with deodorizer. Spray the rooms and perhaps put out small dishes of potpourri or vanilla-scented candles.
• Scrub the fish tanks and have them look bright and clean.  Remove the little container of fish food sitting by the tank. 
• Open all the windows to let in a nice clean outdoor scent.  Perhaps you might want to use a stick-on deodorizer or a plug-in one. 
• Remove all the photographs of you with your pets or with just your pets alone, including the ones from the front of your refrigerator.

            Now that you have removed all traces of your beloved pets’ loose fur and pet related items, check the outdoors surrounding your home. If the lawn is sprinkled with dog droppings, it is imperative to pick them up and dispose of them.  There is nothing worse than a prospective buyer coming up the front walk and stepping in…well, you get the picture!