reminds me of a time when we had an indoor cat, no claws.   Our house was on the market and we just figured that she would stay out of the way.  Turns out that she stood on the stairs and hissed and growled - people were afraid to go upstairs.

Our Realtor had to call us and ask us to lock her up.  She was known as the attack cat for the rest of her life.  Too funny.  Oddly, those are the people who bought the house.  We figured she made it memorable!

Randy,

This was a Dog-Gone good post!  This could become a pet project. I cat tell you how much I enjoyed  reading it..

Seller must understand that everyone may not feel the way they do about their pets and they are trying to sell their home, right?

I totally agree with your post - however there are a few excpetions...  I had a client (Yes this is really true) that actually wanted the dog included in the contract?????   When people want an all inclusive deal sometimes they go a little to far!

And some people are afraid of dogs. Great advice and reminder!

Couln't agree more.  I love pets.  Have 2 doggies of my own.  One a beagle who barks her Damn head off at everyone, and a Rottweiler who never barks but everyone is afraid of.  They live in my house, I don't think they stink...AND I AM NOT SELLING MY HOUSE. 

If you have pets and you want to sell, THEY GOTTA GO!

My gosh! Love that picture of the Jack Russell! What a classic!

My biggest issue is with the smell.  Dogs smell, whether people want to admit it or not. Someone who does not have inside pets will almost always pick up on the odor.

Primarily a dog-friendly buyers agent, I am happy to see dogs and cats during a showing appointment.  Why?  For the same reason that I love to see clutter and obnoxious decorating quirks.  It lowers the attractiveness of the home to most buyers and allows my clients to make a lower offer, an offer that has a much better chance at being accepted.

It is so true. I was showing a property yesterday. As the sellers left (with their dog). we entered the property and 25 seconds later, my client stormed out and vomited!!!! The odor was really intense and the worst part was that there was a scented candle burning and that mixture was a killer!!!!

The sad part is that the house was really nice, nicely decorated and clean!!!!! ...but the smell....

Now, I can understand that some people are not that sensitive, but unfortunately my client had really unpleasant experience.

I guess I will add little bags to my purse - next to my desinfecting wipes,  for the future use.

We need sellers with pets to start reading this true stories!!!!

Randy - I'm a pet lover; but agree with you 100% about marketing property while they are present.  I've had some comical experiences showing property where animals are concerned, and I've had some NOT so comical experiences.

I will never forget one memorable home viewing.  There was a note on the dining room table to leave the dog in a particular bedroom.  Unfortunately, we opened that bedroom door BEFORE reading the note.  The dog, a smallish shorthaired terrier mix of some sort, with a mouth full of teeth, got out.  I thought fine, I'll just return it to the room when we are finished viewing, even though it is nipping at our heals and barking non-stop.

When I reached down and picked up the dog, it got really nervous, and instantly turned my clothing VERY smelly brown.

Oh yes, imagine trying to put clients back into your car, when you are smelling like that.  We cancelled the remaining showings until another day.

Would you believe that my buyers actually ended up buying that house.  The sellers were so apologetic, I'm sure it was worth about $2,500 off the selling price:-)

There's nothing more inviting than to open the door to that spring fresh smell of urine in a totally closed up, 75+ degree house.   Great posting Randy!

@Barbara . . . (giggle) I had a listing once, the ONLY exception to this rule ever - perfectly kept and decorated, scratchproof hardwood flooring and the most exquisite miniature collie, "Annie" - will never forget - on 2 writes, the prospect wanted her included! Seriously. She did not convey but the house did sell for FP in a 'buyer's market' but only because the house was PERFECT in every way . . . that again is the rare and unusual exception.

Randy - great post. We stagers also recommend that people remove all traces of pets for showings. I've seen pet food in bowls on the table and cat boxes in the kitchen, etc., etc.

I was recently in a home where the poor agent was trying to sell the house with a gigantic bird and cage in the living room, cats everywhere and a locked room for the other pets. The owner loves pets and could care less if people are bothered by them. They are her family and she would not remove them for showings. Obviously that property is waiting for the "one right buyer" to come along.

I would add one other thing about pets. Pictures of the property posted online and in MLS probably shouldn't have photos with the family pets showing in them. People with pet allergies and other "pet issues" won't even bother going to view the home.

Randy,

Agree with you about removing pets.   I went on a listing appointment with another realtor and he was pecked by a Rooster.    But then again, a squirrel just about landed on this same realtor while looking at a different property.

Randy, As much as I love my weiner dog, I agree with you about removing the animals.  It's bad enough having to put up with the dog or cat (or even Birds, I think they are near the top of this list) How about the seller that says," I put the dog (Pit bull) in the upstairs bedroom, so don't show that room even though he wouldn't hurt a flea. Have you ever heard the sound of a Pit bull trying to chew his way through the wall to get on what's on the other side? Oh yeah, that's me and my buyer.  I rest my case.  My buyer was eager to leave the property.

I recently went to a broker open where the dogs were put i the garage, but no one was told.  One of the Realtors innocently opened the door to the garage and in ran 4 big dogs and one little one, leaping on us and racing around the house all excited.  The little one was piddling all over the place in her excitement. 

It was really hard to round them all up and get them back in the garage, and the listing agent mopped up all the puddles, but we all felt like we needed a bath ofter being jumped on and licked and surrounded by pee. Folks, if you are going to lock the critters in the the garage during showings, please put a note on the door to warn us!

At an open house, freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies have a finer aroma than kitty litter.

Both cats and dogs can frighten people. I have had both situations where a potential buyer was terrifed of a cat . . . he seemed harmless to me. And this past weekend, a four pound dog was growling and that was enough for us to walk out the door!

Randy,

thanks for the post! You stirred up the pot, and it's great :)

I have a cat now, had a dog as a child, was doing pet sitting as teenager, I'm not afraid of dogs, but will I enter a house with a loose dog, barking at us from the window? I don't think so. 

I like what Virginia said :

"Should pets in the home be on the Seller's Disclosure of defects in the home?  Maybe we should have just one more disclosure - pet disclosure? "

Of course! Some people have severe allergies. And its' even worse if you are constantly exposed to something, that was in contact with pets, even if the pet is no longer there. If you buy a T-shirt off ebay, sellers have to disclose whether there are pets in their house or not, even if these pets are not allowed in the ebay merchandize storage. Buyers can complain and even return stuff if they found 1 pet hair on something they bought. It's a t-shirt for x sake. Here people are buying a HOUSE!

There should be instructions. Maybe buyers would want to see a home where pets lived, but would need preventative measures, ie taking medication beforehand. Maybe they will refuse to visit a house where a pet lived, that will save everybody's time. And buyers agents will appreciate special instructions. Heck, agents have allergies too, don't they need a hint to take their claritin in advance?