Dealing With Pets When Selling a Home

Dealing With Pets When Selling a Home

Animal lovers generally adore their household pets, whether they are dogs, cats, rats, birds, or reptiles. But animals can be a hugely negative factor when selling a home, and it’s not just because most have a distinctive smell.

If you have pets at home while your house is on the market, you need to be aware that they could be the cause of a lower selling price, or even the cause of not being able to sell your home. 

Reasons Buyers Object to Pets at Home 

Not everybody likes animals; in fact some people are scared of them, particularly dogs. And it isn’t only big dogs people are afraid of; little yappers are notorious when it comes to nipping strangers.

People who don’t like cats usually loathe them. It might be because they are allergic to cat hair, because they scratch, or because they are simply superstitious. The reason isn’t relevant. If a buyer doesn’t like cats, even though the cat doesn’t go with the house, it’s highly probable it will put that person off.

Pet odors are a major reason why buyers object to pets at home. So if you are trying to sell your home this is something you must be aware of. 

Whilst cats are generally “clean” animals, many people keep them indoors which means they use a cat tray with kitty litter. Even if you are meticulous in terms of cleaning a cat tray, it will sometimes smell – BAD!

Dogs generally have an odor, though animal lovers with pets at home rarely notice it. They seem to desensitize. And we won’t even mention how bad a rat in a cage can smell, particularly if the cage isn’t cleaned regularly. 

And even animal lovers will often object to dogs jumping up at them or cats trying to climb on their laps. So what do you do?

What to do with Pets when Selling a Home

The ideal is to move them out. If you don’t have a friend or someone in the family who is willing and able to care for your pets while you sell your home, then send them to a boarding kennel or pet hotel. At very least get them out of the house when buyers visit. 

Locking them in the garage or a part of the house or garden really isn’t good enough. Generally cats and dogs will make a noise if they are contained in a way or kept somewhere they are not used to. Barking and meouwing tends to make people feel uncomfortable, which is not how you want potential buyers to feel. 

Also get rid of all signs that you have pets living in your home. Clean your floors and carpets to get rid of stains and bad odor. There are some excellent products on the market that work well, or you might prefer to use a professional carpet cleaning company. Put food and water dishes away. Vacuum any loose dirt or animal hair.  Hide pet toys and carriers. 

Remember first impressions really do count, and if pets at home are going to put buyers off, and make it more difficult to sell your home, you don’t want to bring on the thought. 

Considering Selling Your Home? I would love to assist you!

Karen@KarenBrowder.com 

Selling Your Rental Property - Vacant or Tenant Occupied?

Should Your Sell Your Rental Property Vacant or Tenant Occupied?

This is a difficult question...

Cons of Selling with a Tenant

1. Will the tenant present the house properly
2. Are they going to be amenable to showings?
3. Will the property be well maintained?
4. Are they going to sabotage your sale?

How to Deal with Tenants When You wish to Sell

1. Talk to the Tenants and discuss the possibility of them purchasing
2. Involve them in your marketing plan
3. Rental rebate can often encourage a tenant to allow showings at reasonable times and days
4. Perhaps get a handyman in to repair items that will make a difference to buyers
5. Have a garden service company in to maintain the garden while you are selling

If the Tenants are not amenable, then perhaps its best to wait until the end of the lease and the tenant vacates the property.

When the property is vacant, you are able to

1. Repair and maintain the property
2. Upgrade if the property requires it
3. The property can be staged to sell
4. You would be loosing income, but it may be to your advantage at the end of the day
5. It would be easier to show a home that is vacant than it would be with a difficult tenant

I have many years experience as a real estate agent. I could easily be able to meet with you and your tenant to discuss the options. I would love to assist you. Please give me a call.

Planning an Emergency Kit for Your Home

Planning an emergency kit for your home

Do you have an emergency kit in your house? If you do, what’s in the kit? If not, do you have any idea what should be in your emergency kit?

Having asked these leading questions, there are many reasons why people should have an emergency kit in their houses. This includes not only the need to be able to deal with possible disasters like flooding or tornadoes, but also the ability to be able to deal with day-to-day home emergency situations. These could be as simple as an emergency kit you can use to deal with cuts and bruises, to an emergency kit you would need to be able to cope with heart attack or possible drowning. 

But if there is an emergency that involves the need to be able to survive on your own after a disaster, you’re going to need an emergency plan, and a kit to go with it (including emergency food and water) that will enable you to survive without basic services like electricity, gas, water, landline telephones and so on. Keep a list of important numbers up on the fridge or notice board so that you have numbers on hand to deal with that emergency! 

But let’s see what you should have on hand to deal with the average home emergency.

Plan for an emergency kit for first aid

Life happens. We all know this, but what we don’t always appreciate is that it often happens on our own front doorstep – or in our homes. 

Most first aid kits are intended for minor injuries that you can treat yourself; but you should also be equipped to deal with more serious injuries that will stabilize sick or injured people until professional medical help is available. 

The very least that an emergency kit for your home should contain will be:

• Antiseptic to clean wounds
• Cotton wool and antiseptic wipes, also to clean wounds
• Dressings including plasters, tape and bandages
• Sharp scissors and tweezers
• Safety pins
• Sterile dressings including eye dressings and dressings for burns
• Pain killers including aspirin and/or paracetamol 
• Antihistamine cream for bits and stings

In addition, it’s a good idea to have a fire extinguisher, just in case!

Thinking of Selling Your Home? I'd love to hear from you!

How to De-Clutter Your Home

Is it Time to De-clutter Your Home?

Its so very difficult when you are working and you have a household to run and one day you wake up thinking ..."Where did this clutter come from?"

The "lazy clutter" needs organizing and the "In case clutter" needs to be dealt with.

Well here are a few "what to do" tips to make your life easier  and your home more organized!

Firstly plan a family day to get the house organized. If everyone has a few days notice they get used to the idea and they plan it into their schedule. No Excuses and be firm!

• The Rule of Thumb is: - If in doubt - throw out and
•  if you haven't worn, used it or read it in the last 18 months you don't need it and you need to get rid of it!
• Handle each item only once
• Put three bags in each room - Donate, Recycle, Discard and have spare bags beside each so you don't have to go and find more and get distracted.

Buy:

• A few good stackable cardboard boxes that are easy to lift and not too big to carry
• Trash bags
• Ziploc bags
• A good marking Pen
• A few shelves for the garage or man cave for storage boxes
• A notebook with a calendar for addresses, telephone numbers and important dates like birthdays, anniversaries etc

Take a look at each room:

Donate:

• Books
• Toys
• Magazines
• Old Clothing
• Small appliances that you don't want anymore or that have never been used
• Unused exercise Equipment

It will make great space to pack away the things you really do want to keep and that you have recently used.

Recycle:

• Magazines
• Catalogues
• Unfiled and old mail and envelopes
• Coupon books | slips | brochures that are outdated
• Paper brochures and travel brochures

Discard:

• Anything in your cupboard and freezer that is past its sell by date
• Outdated medicines - they can be toxic and harmful if you use them after their sell by date!
• Old batteries, flammable items, swollen cans and sprays.

Cancel:

• Magazine subscriptions that you don't have time to read
• Catalogues - because nobody ever really looks at them more than once or twice

Sentimental and Cherished items -  remember you want to clear clutter, so you may have to be harsh with yourself. If you really cannot part with it and you are not likely to look at it in the next 18 months, put it in a box and label it with the date of storing, so that its easy to see if you are just hoarding!

Write all the addresses, birthday and events into your book and throw out the reminder papers.

Use the ziploc bags to put your yarn, makeup, anything you need that can be keep tidy in a see through bag.

Call your  local Salvation Army or Goodwill Store and get them to come and collect the items you can donate. The sooner its out your way the better!

Once you have de-cluttered your home you will have such a freeing feeling. Remember to avoid shop sales, yard sales and other venues that can cause you to gather stuff again!

Happy De-Cluttering!