Animals & Showings...They Don't EVER Mix...

Animals & Showings...They Don't EVER Mix...

....well, unless you're that buyer who wanted the house AND the dog that was in the house for sale. The agents involved in this story actually successfully negotiated the sale of the home AND THE FAMILY DOG. Yes, it's a true story. But that's beside the point...

Here's the point of the story...

The main goal of the home showing is to showcase THE HOME. The floorplan. The amenities. The location.

NOT...the furniture, the decorations and certainly not the ANIMALS! Unless you're like the 0.00001% of animals that actually get negotiated into the sale of the home, most people don't want to be bothered by a yipping dog crated in the other room, the two Great Danes intimidatingly staring at you from the back porch, the four cats moving in and out of your legs as you trip up the stairs or the inevitable smells that come from said animals.

I don't care if you ARE a dog person, a cat person, an iguana person or anyone in between. It WILL distract you from what you're actually there to do...to look at the home and see how it fits or doesn't fit your needs.

Here's why it's a bad idea to have your animals in the home during showings:

-Some buyers are ALLERGIC to animals. If they see a dog or cat, they immediately feel that the home is contaminated...the air ducts, the floors, etc. They begin to add up the things they'll have to change about that home simply because animals have lived there. This goes for immaculate homes and the homes with numerous visible pet stains and all homes in between.

-Some buyers are SCARED of animals. True story...I went to show a home and no where in the showings instructions I received did I hear anything about there being dogs in the home. I go to open the front door - to welcome the buyers into what could be their new home - and what do we find inside? A giant laborador. It was friendly. It made no advances towards us. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was old and on it's last leg, because it made no attempt to come near us. It just lifted it's head to acknowledge us, and went back to his nap. My buyer didn't want to go another step inside. She was terrified of dogs and wanted to leave IMMEDIATELY. Did she want to reschedule and come back another time? Nope. That seller missed out...because of the DOG.

-Sometimes animals ESCAPE! Another true story...During a showing - again one in which I was NOT TOLD there were cats indoors - I opened the door and OUT GOES A CAT!! It ran past me and the buyers and into some nearby bushes. I panicked! I calmly told the buyers to go ahead and look around indoors while I prayed that I could find the cat. I did NOT want to be the one to call and say, "Hi - yeah - I showed your home today and lost your client's cat". Luckily I didn't have to do that. I found the cat. Whew! Bullet dodged!

I suppose the moral of the story could very well be that if you are going to have animals in your home during showings to just TELL THE SHOWING SERVICE, YOUR AGENT, OR WHOEVER is responsible for coordinating the showing that there are animals present! But inevitably, people will forget, accidents will happen and when it does you may or may not experience the consequences like I mentioned above.

The advice I give my sellers is to WHEN AT ALL POSSIBLE take their animals with them. Or board them. Bring them to a friend's house. WHATEVER YOU NEED TO DO! It's just one more way to clear as many hurdles from the potential buyer's mind and to imagine themselves in your home.