Trying to sell your home these days is an art. It includes marketing and staging. There’s one thing you need to keep in mind, though: Prospective home buyers are not interested in how much your pets mean to you and neither would they like to see or smell evidence of them.
People are often quite sensitive regarding pets and sometimes the primary reason they decide whether or not to buy a house is their odor. If you want to remove all traces of your pets before you sell your home, here are some expert tips.
Keep your pets away
If possible, keep pets outside the house whenever you have someone coming in to see your home. A homebuyer is sure to be put off if he’s greeted by a hyperactive or aggressive dog. If your pet must stay in the house, keep it out of sight. Ensure that the estate agent knows where it is so he can keep away from that area. Remember that few buyers are likely to think your pet is as charming as it appears to you.
Remove hair
One of the first things you need to do is remove all evidence of hair. A vacuum cleaner may not be enough; there are special machines that can help you with this. Alternatively, you could use large, adhesive sheets, similar to lint rollers, which will pick up everything from chairs and couches. Remember to clean your drapes because they abound with hair and smells when there are pets around.
Clean carpets
Wall-to-wall carpeting traps a lot of hair and odor. Padding below the carpet often retains odor and stains. Urine can seep into wooden flooring and carpet tack strips as well. Professional carpet cleaning may not work for serious pet stains and it’s advisable to use special cleaning products that are bacteria and enzyme digesters. These enter into the problem areas and break down the smells and stains. Some products need to be left to dry for a couple of days before results are seen.
Revamp the walls
When you’ve been in your house with your pets for a while, you need to look carefully at your walls. It’s common for animals to spray the walls or rub against them. Because of the oil in their coats, walls can get discolored over time and odors might be retained. When the problem is subtle, wiping walls clean might help, else it’s better to wash and repaint them.
Clear up the air
You can improve the ambience of your rooms by cleaning up your home’s air-conditioning filters or furnace. Before replacing the filters, dab some drops of essential oils like lavender or patchouli on them. This is a wonderful way of pumping scent around and is not as obvious as lighting candles, which shows you’re probably hiding something.
Getting your air ducts cleaned before a showing is also a good idea because they are known to collect things like hair, skin cells, dust and mold which might agitate sensitive buyers. If you’ve been using clay kitty litter for your cats, it’s imperative to clean ducts since micro-dust from clay litter spreads everywhere. If you’re still using the house, try switching to non-clay litter.
By following these tips, you can be sure of home buying offers pouring in. Keep in mind that you can get a free home valuation report from Neighborhood IQ is exceptionally valuable. It’s free, and you will be able to find out the true value of your property so that you can price it accordingly—and price it to sell.
Also keep in mind that Home Loan Advisor can analyze your property, current market conditions, local market comps, and other variables in our proprietary algorithm as well as match you with potential lenders who have products that may help you and provide you with a sense of stability.
