We love our pets but the buyer may not and you never know how your pet will react to the presence of strangers when you are not around. So give yourself the best showing of your home by following these tips.
Temporarily relocate your pet:
- Take your pet to a friend’s or to a kennel. While it is hard to do this it will help in the long run for cleaning prior to a showing.
Take your pets with you during a showing
- Take your pet to work, to a pet sitter or to a friend’s when there is a showing. Many potential buyers are scared of pets and pets can be protective of their space. Mitigate the possibility of a conflict by taking your pet out of the equation.
Repair any damages your pet may have caused to your home prior to putting it on the market.
Remove signs of pet inhabitants
- Remove food and water dishes
- Put all toys away
- Remove all cages and carriers
- Put pet photos away
Make sure your home is fresh and clean with no pet smells or odors
- Vacuum as much as you can
- Use a sticky roller on visible fur
- Nobody likes the smell of a cat litter box or a doggie pee pad. Make sure these are either removed or immaculately clean prior to a showing.
- To make your cleaning prior to a showing keep your pet restricted to one area of the house.
Clean your backyard
- There is nothing worse than a potential buyer seeing a lovely backyard green space that is full of doggie doo-doo. You have just burst their bubble about running barefoot through the grass of their own home or their vision of beautiful backyard gathering with friends.
If you absolutely cannot find another place for your pet during a showing, put your pet in a kennel or temporary carrier with a note not to touch or disturb the pet.
Random statistic: According to the 2011 Census there were 2872 cats and dogs in Canmore (2017 census did not provide this information).