Home Selling Information

Almost everyone loves pets. According to Psychology Today 39% of Americans own a dog and 33% own a cat, so the chances of a potential buyer that visits your home owns a pet are pretty good. However, having a pet in your home that your are trying to sell can adversely affect how fast you are able to sell your property, as well as the price. Keep reading to find out why and what to do with your pets when trying to sell your house.

Pets And Trying To Sell Your House

We’ve covered in a previous article improving your curb appeal to help welcome, and be more inviting to potential buyers. However, if you have the outside pristine only to have them walk inside to smell a dirty litter box, you have a problem.

First, not all people are comfortable with pets. Ya, it’s hard to believe, but true. I mean what’s not to love? Most pets are very lovable and only require some food and water and are willing to give you all kinds of love in return. But some people are scared of dogs and cats, while others maybe allergic to them. The Balance has this to say about why some people don’t like pets:

Why Don’t Home Buyers Like Your Pet?

• Nervousness. Pets make some people very uncomfortable. Not everybody grew up with a family pet or enjoys outings at the zoo. Fur and four legs does not a human make.
• Fear. Real and irrational. It’s not only dogs that instill fear in people. All kinds of silly wives’ tales and superstitions involve cats.
• Inexperience. Pets are not always predictable.
• Your pets aren’t their pets. They imagine yours bite, jump, vomit, claw, spit-up hairballs or are just plain hyper and bad — which is not all like their pets. Their pets are perfect.

Read The Full Article “Selling a House with Pets at Home” Here

The last point is pretty good, your pets aren’t their pets and everyone thinks their pets are perfect, kind of like children 🙂

Pets Can Adversely Affect Your Selling Price

If a buyer walks in and notices a dog or cat, more than likely they are going to start looking for pet damage. This can really affect how much you are able to sell the house for. How Stuff Works has this to say about how pets can adversely affect your sale:

If you want to ensure you get the highest final sale price, you’ll have to properly stage your home to create the illusion you are not a pet owner — or at least eliminate any signs that your animals were destructive. How? By fixing any major damage your pets caused that will catch the eyes (and noses) of potential buyers. In some cases, a quick fix will do. But larger problems may require more significant repairs — or may need to be replaced altogether.

Even if your house is in excellent condition, and you’ve done your best to keep it clean, owning pets could take up to $30,000 off of its value if potential buyers notice odors or other pet issues [source: Tuttle].

Read The Full Article “5 Pet Problems to Fix Before You Sell Your House” Here

30k is a lot of money to lose just because a potential buyer notices a smell of pets or urine in your house! So get rid of all of those odors and pet stains before even thinking about trying to sell your house. Now on to the last thing, which can be hard to do for a lot of pet owners –

Remove Your Pets When Trying To Sell Your House

Yes, removing your pets is the best thing you can do. This way you can clean the house and not have them make a mess right behind you. There are also legal reasons why you may want to relocate your pets when selling:

When selling a home with pets, at the very least, you should remove your them from your home when you are showing the property for sale. All the cute things your dog does will not help you sell your home, and will only remind the potential buyer that the house has contained pets previously.

Ideally you should have your real estate agent showing the home, preferably while you are away. Having a pet in the house or yard can create complications for your agent while trying to show the house, and puts your pet at risk of accidentally getting out during the process. There are also liability issues to deal with as well. While your dog or cat may be ultra friendly, it is certainly possible they can have a bad day just like you and I.

When you leave your pet home during showings you are asking for trouble especially if a buyer brings a young child and they are curious. The last thing you want is Fido taking a chunk out of a buyers child’s arm. Remember we live is a lawsuit happy society! You are taking a big risk when your pet is allowed to roam freely during showings.

Read The Full Article “7 Tips to Sell a Home with Pets” Here

Your dog may have never bitten anyone before, but if you bring in a stranger your dog is probably going to be a little on edge. Add in a small child that may be a little to rough with the dog and before you know it you have a problem. Something else to mention that if you are not at home when your house is being shown and your pet is and it gets out – it can be hard for an agent to wrangle your pet, your pet may get lost or worse – injured.

Summing It Up

We all love our pets, but they can make it difficult when trying to sell your home. It is best that if it is possible for you to relocate them while the house is on the market, it will be best for your wallet as well as your pet. If you aren’t able to relocate them be sure and crate them or possibly put them in a doggy daycare on days when you are showing the property.

If you are in the Metro Atlanta area and are trying to sell your house fast and have pets – we love animals! We would love the opportunity to make you a fair, all cash offer for your property and we don’t mind if your pets are at home when we visit. In fact, we would like to meet them! You can learn more on our site at www.MandichPropertyGroup.com

You are ready to sell your house. You possibly are ready for an upgrade or maybe have a new job in another city. Whatever the case may be, getting your house ready to sell is at the top of your list. First impressions to a potential buyer are extremely important. What’s the first thing they notice? Your yard. If the yard is trashed and hasn’t been maintained, a buyer may leave and not even want to come in. No matter how nice the inside of your house is, if you have overgrown shrubs and bald spots in the yard, buyers are going to form an opinion about your house before stepping foot inside. Don’t know how to make your yard immaculate? Then keep reading.

You Get One Chance At First Impressions When Selling Your House

Like it or not, your yard is the first thing people notice when they arrive. How does the grass look? Do you have sod with weeds in it? Are there bald spots? How about the shrubs. Are they overgrown and maybe touching the house? Surprisingly enough, Popular Mechanics has this to say about your front yard when selling:

It doesn’t matter how attractive your home is if no one can see it. Trees, branches, and shrubs can obscure your home’s features and make it seem dark and uninviting. Plus, trees that rub against your house can damage your siding, limit the amount of direct sunlight you receive, and offer a bridge to squirrels, mice, and other critters that want to get onto your roof or under your siding.

Rent or buy a chain saw to trim back tree branches, and use a hedge trimmer to tame your bushes. Cut away anything covering a window or touching your house. Well-manicured trees and shrubs complement a healthy, green lawn.

Read The Full Article “10 Ways to Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal” Here

Even if you aren’t moving, keeping shrubs, overgrown bushes and trees from touching your house is a good idea. The thing that we notice most here in Georgia by overgrown shrubs touching the house is that it is a gateway for bugs to enter your house.

Look At Your Property From A Buyer’s Point Of View

This is pretty easy to do. You can walk across the street and just look at your property and see what needs to be done or what “jumps out” at you. An important thing to do is to park where a potential buyer would and evaluate the property from there, which was pointed out in an article from The Balance:

Curb Appeal Exercise

The next time you drive up to your house, make note of the following:

1. Your first impression of the house and yard.
2. The best exterior features of the house or lot.
3. The worst exterior features of the house or lot.

Park where a potential buyer would and walk towards the house, looking around you as if it were your first visit. Is the approach clean and tidy? What could you do to make it more attractive?

Take photos of the house’s exterior. If you have a digital camera, view the color versions first, then remove the color and look at it in black and white. It’s easier to see problems when color isn’t around to affect our senses.

Make a list of the problem areas you discovered. Tackle clean up and repair chores first, then put some time into projects that make the grounds more attractive.

Read The Full Article “How to Improve Curb Appeal” Here

We like the tip of taking photos and removing the color and looking at them at black and white. That’s a great idea to gain another perspective of your property. It’s also a great idea to make a list of everything that needs to be done even before starting. The list will help you make sure you get things done as well as give you a sense of accomplishment checking things off the list.

Tackling Large Shrubs And Flowering Trees

While everyone that owns a house knows how to mow a lawn ( or at least you should 🙂 ), not everyone knows how to maintain larger shrubs and flowering trees. One flowering tree that is popular in Georgia is a Dogwood. Believe it or not, there are proper times of the year to trim up these trees without damaging them, which was covered in a recent article by Houzz:

Flowering dogwood forms flowers on older growth and should be pruned shortly after flowering has ceased.

Flowering trees. Early blooming trees, such as dogwood, should be pruned in summer, once the flowers have faded. These trees, which bloom in spring into early summer, produce their blooms on growth from the previous year. Trees that bloom in summer develop flowers on new growth that has occurred in the same year, and they can be pruned in late fall through early spring.

Read The Full Article “When Should You Prune Your Trees and Shrubs?” Here

Hopefully you have been keeping up with trimming your flowering trees. If you are selling your house and you need to trim a tree outside it’s recommended time frame, hopefully you won’t damage or injure the tree to bad. You may want to seek the advice of a professional arborist to properly guide you.

Conclusion

Like we stated above, you only get one chance to make a first impression. When selling your house that first impression is made when a buyer first arrives at your property and looks at the front yard. If you can afford it, you may want to hire a professional landscaper to help up your game. If not, you may have to spend an entire weekend or longer making your property more presentable.

If you don’t have the time or money to make your landscaping look immaculate, let us remind you that we buy houses as is. We don’t care if the yard or house itself hasn’t been kept up. We buy houses fast in any condition – you can learn more at MandichPropertyGroup.com