Selling a Home – Things to Consider if You Own a Pet

As a pet owner, I am fully aware of the delight that animals can bring to the family home. But, no matter how treasured a dog or cat may be, when a pet owner is attempting to market a house, the animal’s presence can produce unanticipated problems.

When buyers and their agents want to visit a house, the presence of a pet may introduce problems that make it seem less appealing than similar competing properties. Here are some examples of typical things that can arise when animals are involved.

1. If sellers need to be notified prior to a showing so that they may make alternative arrangements for their animals, potential buyers could lower the home’s priority on their list of homes to visit. It’s basically more convenient to view a home when there are no scheduling issues.

2. Similarly, if sellers have special directions for dealing with pets, such as “put the dog in the backyard” or “don’t let the cat escape”, buyers might decide that it’s more convenient to view different properties first. In today’s very competitive market, anything that complicates a showing is a negative factor.

3. A loud dog will, of course, be a potential detriment. Irrespective of how friendly the dog actually may be, buyers who are not at ease with dogs may have concerns about their personal safety. Even quiet dogs who are overly friendly can be stressful to potential buyers and may reduce the amount of time they spend in the home. The more time that a buyer stays in a home, the more likely they are to be considering making an offer.

4. The presence of an animal on the property may negatively have an effect on a showing. I once had a showing of a house where the sellers left the house but didn’t take their dog with them. Instead, the dog was left in the fenced-in backyard. The home was perfect for my buyer as his hobby was woodworking and the house included a separate woodshop building. Unfortunately, since his wife was afraid of dogs – and the shop was located in the backyard – they never even took a look at it.

5. Pets might introduce odor problems irrespective of how sanitary the house may be. Pet owners get accustomed to the odors and may not even notice them. However, buyers who are unaccustomed to living with pets can be turned off for concern that they could never completely eliminate the unpleasant odor. Ask your friends or your agent to give you an honest assessment of any smells that they notice upon entering your home – then take steps to eliminate them.

Naturally, not all pets are a possible obstacle to the sale of a property. An aquarium or caged birds can improve the decor and ambiance and could even be considered to be exotic. And, of course, if you’re selling a farm or horse property, having horses would undoubtedly be a plus.

While pet lovers may not find the presence of pets to be a drawback, it’s prudent to do everything possible to make sure that buyers who are not “animal people” aren’t inadvertently excluded from the pool of potential buyers.

Jim Navary has been a freelance writer and researcher for more than thirty years covering a wide range of subjects. He is also a licensed real estate salesperson in the Commonwealth of Virginia specializing in Petersburg VA real estate and Petersburg VA homes for sale.