Snake in the house...

Valarie: Funny, I was blogging about hedgehogs earlier tonight. I helped a friend stage a home and he had snakes-they went to stay at his MOMs while the house was on the market......Now I'm working on a home with a huge dog and we are trying to figure out a solution. The dog is very sweet but big and will scare some....

I am so terrified of snakes I almost left a home with a SNAKE SKIN in a little boys room.  I was sure to highlight the importance of putting it in a drawer when I completed the write up!

I once was shown a house by a Realtor who was friends with the seller.  The house had just listed without any clean-up, I'm thinking.  There were three dogs in the house (one had 'gone' by the glass slider), a ferret (smelly), and 6 birds who roamed freely in the family room (with all the droppings to prove it)...needless to say, that house was meant for a NICHE BUYER like ACE VENTURA. LOL

I'm not sure that anything but the TRUTH about PERCEPTIONS would work with those sellers who love their animals.

Thank you for your post!

I've showed houses with (in enclosed habitats unless noted)

• snakes
• a crocodile
• a (huge) roaming pig.  Home had a pig door
• chickens (enclosed front porch converted to house them)

I found a small snake in our basement - loose.  Yes, I did scream (it was between my feet when looked down).  We've had bats and mice.  (Problems resolved).

I had a listing with 36 cats (mostly black).  She had converted two bays of the four into a mini cat kennel.  House did not smell!

Keep in mind, I do mostly rural real estate...

 

Well since I am a city girl when it comes to real estate I would be nervous and if the cage didn't look safe, I'd get out of showing the property -- some how.

This is too funny!  About a month ago I was showing a house which was new construction and the lawn hadn't been put in yet. It had not even been graded down at that time.

We walked down the sidewalk to the front door and when I turned the corner to the front door there was a big snake laying on the doormat. I just lost it...deathly afraid of snakes!

The husband was not afraid of snakes and picked it up and moved it to a safe place....anywhere away from me was OK in my book.  Haven't run into any other unusual pets..yet!

Lise: I would like to see that video myself!

Snakes must go.  No other options. Get them gone.  Forthwith!  LOL

Lise,

A few years ago, I went on a listing appointment and as we walked through the house I couldn't help but notice a 10' corn snake, prominately displayed in the dining room. 'Snakie' that was his name, could not be moved so I drapped the terrarium with a large silk square and set up a little vingnette of serving pieces and candles on top of it. It worked. Nobody discovered Snakie and the house sold in a few days, Thank God!

While some people live snakes as pets I personally think they are smelly pets and certainly have no place in a home open for showings.  You are right some people may come unglued at the very sight on one even if is it a pet.

Personally, I like snakes, but they do smell, and many people fear them. I recommend all pets be removed when showing property. Whether liked or disliked, they distract from what buyers have come to see.

 Copper head, Plano, TX 06

Lisa hi, not trying to scare you just educate for the sake of the snake!  I like snakes myself find them fascinating and beautiful, maybe because my Chinese sign is the "Snake"?

I took this photo of a Copper Head and have handled many, non venomous snakes in my life starting as a child showing my mom "look what I found". Snakes have a bad rap for no good reason, maybe it has to do with the Bible too but they are great for the environment and keep the bad stuff away like rodents that spread disease.

My sister is terrified also like you and I understand your fear.

Now for staging...I agree with you about not having pets in the home of many kinds.  Furry animals especially with allergies and fears people have are sometimes a deal breaker.  At mimimum I'd ask to have them crated or contained in one room when showing or try to get a kind neighbor or friend of your kids to take them while selling.  A snake on the other hand, if covered won't spread dander or fur in the air causing allergies but moving it to a less obvious spot would be best.

I always suggest containing or removing of pets from the premises for showing for the safety of the pets and the people who will be entering the home. Some cultures see animals in the home as being dirty too. And if there's a snake in the house you can almost bet that looking in the freezer or fridge are a few frozen "protein pops" in the form of rats, mice or even rabbits (depending on the size of the snake - are you getting thoroughly grossed out now? but they gotta eat)

I'd keep it focused on the selling factor and what may be a deal breaker for some - fluffy, feathery,shelly or scaly, all pets should be considered for removal from prominent view or containment while selling and showing.

 

Snakes are fine, as long as they are far away from me in the "wild" or in a zoo behind protective glass! 

When we had 2 acres of waterfront land cleared to put up for sale, we found a huge nest of Copperhead snakes (complete with eggs) at the base of a tree that was taken down.  Problems was handled, and property is sold (we close next week). Could you imagine if someone was treking across the land, enjoying the view, then looked down to find a Copperhead!?!?  Would have been a deal killer!!!

To Susan:  Could have been a people killer.  Copperheads are one of the most venomous of the North American snakes, and they seem to be everywhere.  However, they are also not aggressive, and will turn and run unless given no other option.  We had a stream behind our home in Virginia and I used to see them all the time.  Not in the house though.

We have these tiny rattlers in St. Augustine.  Like big rattlesnakes only about 1 foot long.  They coil and shake their tiny rattlers, that you can clearly hear (sound like a buzzing) and I almost stepped on one in a driveway while showing new construction.  I can't remember if they are poisonous.  I think they are.

My "what does the graphic say?" word is GROSELLA!  That's apropos for this post.

Oh, I'm so freaked out!  If someone is bitten by a snake while viewing a lot, is the homeowner liable?  I'm so glad I never personally saw the nest...the land is in NC and I live in CT.  Thx for the warning about the baby rattlers in St. Augustine...we stay at a beach house down there periodically. 

Patsy, have you been to the spanish restaurant there called Columbia (or something like that?).

Yikes! I would have ran the other direction and never returned!

After my hubby, my cousin and my dog were all nailed by rattlesnakes I have absolutely nothing good to say about snakes! Dog had a huge goiter-type thing on his neck which took months to go away, cousin has a large hole in his calf which is permanent and hubby almost died. I hate snakes! Fear? No, just unadulterated hate!

I know, I know they keep the rats at bay. So let them do it further away from my house. When I saw the road runner beating the day lights out of one of our snakes by banging its head against a rock I cheered the lovely bird on.

Anyone who owns a snake has to know that the general population is not thrilled with them. Get them out of the house or suffer the consequences. I suppose there could be a niche for real estate representatives who only sell houses which are occupied by the creepy things to people who also want to own the nasty creatures. I'm one home stager who will leave those houses for others to prepare for sale. Pets? You have got to be kidding. 

Sorry about the rant.  

Yikes, is the right answer, I agree , I think I would have ran too. You just never know.

Snakes are scary but so is a litter box.

I have a few houses listed in which the owners have a litter box in one of the rooms. I've tried to tell them how that could create an unpleasant experience for the buyer but the owners don't seem too concerned. Either they don't care or they just move the litter box to another room. I can't force them to take it outside during showings. I don't want to be 'catty' but I know how this can affect a buyer's opinion and I would hope the sellers would understand why it's not a great feature.

After seeing the home the buyer may not recall there was a litter box but they may remember having an unpleasant experience while they were there. A bad smell really can cause someone to think the house stinks. We must appeal to all of the buyers'senses when showing a home. They say you only have one chance to make a first impression and you don't want someone to remember your house as being 'kind of crappy'.