By Suzie Wilson of happierhome.net
While you love your pets and you cannot begin to imagine life without them, your potential home buyer may not be a pet person. Therefore, it will take some special home preparation to be able to sell your home fast and at a good market price. Here are some tips for home preparation and staging.
Thoroughly clean your home
If a potential home buyer walks into your house and the first thing they smell is pet’s poop or urine, you will most likely lose that sale. You may not mind the smell of your pet’s poop, but it is likely to put off potential buyers. Clean your home thoroughly before staging it and opening it up for viewing.
Dispose of pee mats and wash the floors. Clean your pet’s beddings. Dispose of litter and clean the litter box. Use odor-neutralizing gel to get rid of pet smells. Clean even the hard to reach parts of your house that your pets rarely get access to. It is essential in getting rid of any foul smell. Aerate your house- open windows and make sure the air conditioning is working well. Cleaning experts recommend steam cleaning your carpet to get rid of fur residues and pet smells. Hire a professional cleaning service provider to clean ducts.
Remember to clean the yard too. Clear out the poop in the yard and clean the dog kennel. Dogs and cats have a habit of digging holes in the yard and flower beds. Take time to upgrade your landscape both for the purposes of repairing any damages and improving your home’s curb appeal.
Check your home for fleas
You would like to think that your pet does not have fleas. Well, there is a high likelihood that they do not have fleas, but you want to take care of the smallest chance that they could have fleas. Have a professional pest controller inspect your home and pets for fleas and lice, and take the appropriate control measures.
Make the necessary repairs
Pets can cause damages in your home such as scratches on floors and walls, stained carpet, and a damaged fence. Look out for such damages and make the necessary repairs. If pet odor persists even after cleaning the carpet, consider replacing the old carpet with a new one. The cost of such repairs is worth paying for to be able to attract potential buyers.
Have a third party inspect your house
Once you are done cleaning and staging your home, invite a third party to inspect it. The third party may be a home inspector or a real estate agent. They will be able to point out not only pet odor but also any other problems that may be displeasing to potential buyers.
Get your pet and pet-related items out of the house
The last thing you want on the showing day is your dog barking at or jumping on potential buyers. You could move out of the house together with your pets before putting it up for sale to make staging and showing convenient.
If you will be staging the home while still living there, restrict your pet’s access to only one room to avoid having to clean all the time. Consider sending your pets to a pet center or a friend’s house. Alternatively, if your pet is well behaved, you can put her in a crate in one end of the house.
Neatly organize your pet’s toys, litter box, cages, carriers, feeding bowls and put them away in a closet or the basement. Talk to your real estate agent to notify you before bringing potential buyers for viewing.
Usually, staging a home for sale takes a lot of work. It takes more work when you are a pet owner. The effort, time and resources you spend to make your home presentable pay off by helping you sell at the best price in the shortest time possible.
Leave a Reply