7 Easy Tricks to Handle Your Pet When Your House is for Sale

Everyone who has ever tried putting their house on sale knows that it can be a stressful endeavor. You’ll have to do a lot of repairs, organizing items, and general cleaning up. It can bring stress and anxiety to homeowners and can leave them exhausted. Not even pets are immune to the difficulties of all that activity at home. In most cases, it can even be more stressful for them. For pets, it means strangers going in and out of a place they consider safe and comfortable. It can leave them feeling vulnerable and scared and might lead to tantrums or worse running away. This is a delicate moment in their lives that should be handled carefully but there are steps you can do to help your fur babies feel at ease and adjusted to this change.

1. Plan Ahead

Putting your house up for sale entails preparation not just for your home but for your pets as well. Pets are attuned to their human’s emotions so getting stressed out during this time will only add to their feelings of anxiety. Being organized helps you to stay on top of things and will provide a great example to your pets to stay calm and relaxed during the process. It also helps to pace the repairs and cleaning over a few days. This will signal to your pets that an inevitable change is about to happen and will give them time to adjust.

2. Seek Vet Advice

Vets are your pets‘ second parent. They care for them as much as you do so they only have their best interest at heart. They could also be a good source of information about managing pets during the sale. They can offer prescription medications to help calm pets down and certain techniques to help them adjust to the inevitable move. It helps to talk to vets about your plan and anticipate the problems you might encounter. Special attention should be given to adult pets that generally have a harder time adjusting to changes in their environment.

3. Consider using a Pet Sitter

House showings and repairs are usually the most stressful part of selling a house. This means a lot of foot traffic going in and out of the house and most of these people are strangers to your pets. This could trigger from them a need to defend their territory and cause them to lash out or attack. It helps to consider giving them a break from all these and letting them stay at a pet sitter’s home or letting them stay at a friend or family’s house. This will also put them out of harm’s way as people move about the house while repair work is being done.

4. Get Them Used to a Crate

Some pets are used to being in a crate and actually feel comfortable staying in one. For pets not trained to stay in crates, it is best to start getting them comfortable and familiar staying in one. This could be an alternative to relocating them while the process of selling the house is ongoing. You can put the crate in an empty room away from the usual foot traffic, somewhere quiet so they don’t feel agitated with all the activities. Normally, crate training starts when pets are still small. Start by introducing them to the crate without forcing them inside. Let them explore it on their own. It helps to put some treats or place some of their favorite toys inside.

5. Repair Damages

As pet owners, it is normal to have a few furniture damages or scratched up doors and walls. These are the downside of having pets. But if you plan to sell your house, needed repairs must be undertaken to increase its appeal. Hardwood floors, carpets, furniture, and doors need to be mended. The animal smell also lingers inside the home of pet owners and this must be removed together with stains on furniture.

6. Don’t Advertise

As much as you love showing off your pets, this could be a bad idea when you are showing your house to potential buyers. Not everyone loves pets and advertising the house as being shared by animals could affect its appeal. Many realtors suggest removing photos of pets from the house as well as dog beds, litter box, and toys.

7. Clean up the Yard

Since the yard is where most pets, especially dogs, go out and play, this is where signs of pets are most evident. Pet toys are usually found scattered about the place or bald patches of grass where dogs have been digging. Getting it fixed up and looking new will not only increase the property’s appeal but will also hide the fact that you have a pet sharing the house. Fences should be mended from scratches and flower beds repaired to remove any signs that it’s been tampered by dogs.

Author Bio: Kerry Brooks is a passionate blogger who loves to write about home designs, home
renovation ideas and home improvement. She is currently working for 123Closedhouse, which
offers easy solution for distressed property owners who are facing personal or financial
hardship, to sell their home fast.

Sprucing Up Your Outdoor Space as Preparation to Sell

Enjoying time in the backyard is one of the greatest joys of owning a home. That’s why so many homeowners looking to sell take on landscaping and backyard design projects before putting their home on the market in order to increase value.

While some are content to simply trim the grass with an electric lawn mower, add a few plants, and carefully place a couple of lawn chairs, you might be the type of person with more ambitious plans for your outdoor spaces.

The following tips offer some ideas to consider when designing your lawn for selling your home. Keep them in mind to truly create the backyard of buyers’ dreams.

Add an Outdoor Kitchen

An outdoor kitchen can help a home achieve 100-200% ROI when you sell. However, this doesn’t just mean installing a new grill and calling it a day. While a quality grill is certainly an essential component of any outdoor kitchen, it’s only one part of the equation.

Be conscious of the fact that many people who take on this project decide to install appliances like the grill into a bench structure that mimics the workstation found in the typical indoor kitchen. That’s why it’s very important to invest in durable appliances. If they break down, it could be difficult to find a new one that fits the space perfectly.

Along with a grill, you should consider adding a refrigerator, storage cabinets, and ample countertop space for meal preparation. The appliances you install will need to be connected to the house via electrical wires and gas lines.

Odds are good that you’ll want these to be as concealed as possible. That’s why it’s a smart idea to work with a contractor on this project. Once you draw up your initial design, find a contractor in your area who has installed outdoor kitchens before. Working with a professionals makes it easier to get the job done properly from the start.

That’s why you can also consider including the real estate agent you plan on listing with in the design plans. They’ll have expert insight into what outdoor appliance features make a home even more valuable, and what’s trending in the neighborhood.

Here’s another tip. To ensure your outdoor kitchen design is safe and feasible, refer to the design guidelines established by the National Kitchen & Bath Association.

Construct a Patio

If your home already boasts a patio or deck, then you’re in luck. Just doing repairs or renovations on an existing patio can cost $1,300, but add over $6,500 to the listing price when selling.  

When curating your patio space, consider adding light and outdoor furniture for more comfort and ambience. That being said, avoid taking up too much space with your deck, so as to leave plenty of room for the benefits of an open yard. Buyers generally prefer a large yard to a large deck, so keep this in mind as you either begin deck construction or take on renovating an existing one.

Build a Fire Pit

Constructing a fire pit is one of the easiest ways to add value to your home without adding significantly to your costs. Upwards of 78% of the costs of building a fire pit are recouped when a home is sold. ROI can even reach in excess of 80% when you implement time- and cost-saving features in the creation process.

Make sure that as you build a fire pit, you create an actual structure for it. Just digging into the ground and calling that a fire pit is neither safe nor adequate. Build a stable structure away from other fixtures and in an open space.

Consider these points as you plan your next backyard project in advance of selling your home. Both an outdoor kitchen and a garden that’s easy to maintain and edit add a degree of beauty and comfort to your backyard that will make the space more desirable for potential buyers. Best of all, tackling these projects can be a genuinely enjoyable experience.