When you are ready to list your home for sale, let me come over and help you with ideas on how to best stage a home. I know what buyers are looking for and I can help you make your home shine, bringing you a quicker sale.
But today, let's just talk about your pets. More and more people today have pets and buyers often want to be able to visualize a home that will be comfortable for their furry friend too. Back in the 1990's we would have folks remove anything in the house that indicated pets even lived there, (toys, bowls, etc) for showings. That's not necessary anymore.
You can take your dog toys and stage the backyard so the buyers can see the nice size of the yard and how their fur-baby will also enjoy the yard. I see a lot of folks have cute signs about their dogs or cats, which I think is great.
Realtor.com states that 80% of homebuyers today are pet owners. Three quarters of these buyers also state that they would pass on a house if it wasn't right for their pet. We'll highlight some of the features about a dog-friendly home such as:
- Sturdy "dog-proof" flooring
- Large yard
- Extra square footage
- Oversized garage
- Dog run
One last tip when staging your home with pets:
DO clean up the yard waste of your pets. Every single day and prior to every showing. You don't want potential buyers walking through the back yard and "step in it."
DON'T assume that because Fido is friendly to you, that he will be loving to strangers walking into the house. I still will recommend that you remove the pets from the house for showings. It just makes it easier and it will help protect both you and your pet.