Costly Mistakes Sellers Make - #6

I am an animal lover, but not everyone is, and this is a good point to keep in mind when you have your house on the market.

Karen - I had to laugh at this one.  I have a listing with three cats that try to escape at every showing.  I have to tell the buyer agents to stomp their feet, jingle their keys, and shout as they enter the home.   I'm just dreading the day that an agent does this wrong and I have to scout the city searching for the runaway cat!

Karen- what a great series.  And I so agree with you about the pets.  Most of us love them but not when you're showing your house. And, it's not fair to your pets who might even be frightened by strangers in the house.  Years ago when our house was on the market, I'd lift my 45 pound blind dog into our Expedition and drive around until the showing was over.  Broke my back but a lot better than have both her and the buyers frightened. 

Good information for sellers to know, thanks for sharing with us.

I always have lot of concerns about pets - and I do understand that at times sellers may not be able to move them out. I am afraid of the instructions like 'don't let the cat out!' - and it happened once where I had to call a listing agent to stop by and catch the feline.

Not a big animal lover here but I do respect the sellers who have them.

Karen, not everybody appreciates pets and the worst are the sellers that believe that their dogs would never hurt anyone, but they get very protective when strangers enter the house and the sellers are visible

Those are all big mistakes and I often go back to that saying you only have one chance at a first impression.  I will look for your follow up post.

This is great advice, Karen, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your series. I like pets myself, but not when I'm showing houses.

I think you are on your way to a great series!  You have made some great points.

Great advice, I have a cat and I know that some buyers will not even walk in to the house with the cat because of allergies. If I will ever be selling my cant will not like my decision, because he hates pet care places.

Great series and some really wonderful advice. Thanks for sharing and look forward to the next one.

Karen, dogs are a big concern because they can get violent.  But an equal concern is cats, especially if they manage to get out of the house.  Now you are stuck trying to find them and getting them back in, that is a big pain in the donkey.

All great reminders for sellers.... esp. the pets. I still do massage therapy, here at my home. I have 2 older dogs, but one of them still likes to bark when the door bell rings. I always have my dogs  "contained" in a back bedroom so my clients don't have to encounter them. And, I always ask if they are allergic before booking an appointment.  Not everyone is an "animal lover", and you have to respect that too!

I love pets, but they only hinder the sale of a home, Karen, great advice.