Selling a Home with Pets: Essential Tips for a Smooth Sale

Remove All Signs of Pets

If you do your staging right, a potential buyer who tours your home shouldn’t even be able to tell a pet lives there. And remember, buyers will look everywhere, so just tucking your pet’s belongings in a closet won’t cut it. Pack up and remove everything pet-related. (1)  Put away the litter boxes. 

Remove half-chewed dog toys. Place crates, scratching posts, dog beds, and cages out of sight. Place water and food bowls behind the sink or in the back of your cabinet. Make sure your photographer also moves or hides pet accessories.

Buyers scanning through an internet listing will notice if there is a cat condominium or a hamster wheel in the images.

Deep Clean 

Whether or not you have pets, deep cleaning is crucial when selling your home to any buyers including cash home buyers in Scranton. Over time, homeowners often ignore their floors, baseboards, walls, and upholstery. Hire a housecleaning service to deep clean every part of your home, or do it yourself and follow the Humane Society’s suggestions for removing pet stains and odors throughout the house. Your deep cleaning process should include washing furniture slipcovers, blankets, comforters, curtains, toss pillows, and anything else that may be hiding pet hair and odors.

If you have carpets, schedule a professional steam cleaning before showings begin to remove any stains, hair, or odors. Do you have a fish tank or hamster cage that you can’t move or hide? Make sure it’s also spotlessly clean.

Deodorize

We become acclimated to the odors in our homes, so we may not notice a pet stench the same way a buyer might when stepping in the door for the first time. Avoid only covering scents with perfumed goods or scented candles. Some people find strong scents irritating, and they do not remove the underlying odor. Instead, use pet-specific deodorizers or enzyme cleansers to eliminate odors on fabrics, rugs, and furniture.

Even better, go the extra mile and get your fabrics professionally cleaned. Replace furnace air filters and anything else that may be emitting pet odors in your home. If you’re not sure if odors are still present, have a friend come over and take an honest whiff.

Repair Any Pet-Related Damage

Scratched door frames, ripped drapes or furniture legs, and damaged floors can all act as a red flag to potential buyers, who may wonder what damage pets caused that they don’t see – and will have to pay for. Examine your entire home for any damage caused by your pets and either repair or relocate it out of sight. Scratches on wooden door frames can be repaired with food filler or putty and a little paint. Rubbing with walnut or coconut oil helps remove claw marks and scratches from wood floors or furniture legs. 

Before presenting your home to potential buyers, cover or replace any fabrics or furniture that pets have damaged. Severely damaged hardwood floors may need sanding and refinishing, which can enhance the overall value of your home. If your budget doesn’t allow for floor refinishing, discuss with your realtor the possibility of offering a flooring credit to potential buyers.

However, if you plan to sell your home to a "we buy houses Wilkes-Barre" firm, you can sell the home as-is without making these improvements.

Move or Handle Pets During Showings 

Buyers will struggle to focus on the beautiful features of your property if a puppy is barking in a kennel or a cat scratching at the basement door. The sight and sounds of dogs are distracting at best and can worry buyers—and the animals, too. Board your dogs while you’re showing your house, especially on weekends and during open houses. Perhaps ask a friend or neighbor if your pets can accompany them momentarily during showings or take them for a lengthy walk.

If your pets must remain at home, request that your realtor give you adequate warning before any showings. Leave a letter for potential buyers and their representatives with advice or reassurances (“friendly dog in the backyard” as opposed to “please don’t let the cat outside”).

Spruce Up the Yard

Your home’s exterior creates a first impression. If buyers are dissatisfied with what they see on the outside, they may not look inside. Whether it’s holes where you buried a bone, a garden nibbled by cats or bunnies, or waste landmines in the grass, give your outdoor environment some care and clean up any mistakes. This improves your curb appeal. 

If you have an outside dog run or other fenced-in pet space that cannot be disguised, highlight it to potential buyers who enjoy pets. Simply clean it up and make sure it appears safe and inviting. There is also some controversy over the benefit of backyard chicken coops.

While you will have fresh eggs right outside your back door, critics argue that backyard chickens are noisy and unclean. 

If you have a coop, clean it and keep the chickens inside before showings. You may put some fresh eggs on your kitchen counter to illustrate the benefits. Let potential purchasers know you’re willing to remove it if they’re not interested in urban farming.

Furthermore, if you’re selling your home due to a job relocation or financial difficulties and you don’t have time to complete all the highlighted tasks, consider a quick cash home sale with a cash home buyer in Wilkes-Barre. Cash buyers usually offer a sell my house fast Wilkes-Barre service which you  don’t necessarily have to do all those tasks. Through a cash house purchase, you only need to inform the buyers that you have had pets in your home for years. These buyers buy homes to renovate and rent them out or sell them for a profit, meaning they will clean, repair damage and upgrade your home once they buy it. 

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