Selling Your Home With A Pandemic Pet

     

    What Were You Thinking?

Us humans are often short sighted and make big decisions without thinking things out. We use the soft and cuddly emotions and little logic. We sometimes do it with relationships. We do it with food. We do it with our spending. And recently, 23 million Americans did it by getting a Pandemic Pet.

I am not saying everyone who brought a pet into their home between March 2020 and May 2021 did it without thinking it though. But there are very few emotion-based decisions we make in our worlds than to bring home a fur baby. Never mind that you thought it was a better choice than having to talking to your spouse 24 hours a day during lockdown. There are long-lasting affects to bringing a pet into your home.

Going back to the office is a big problem now. Fido and Tabby think your world revolves around them and your everlasting one-handed massages. When you do finally return to work outside the home, your fuzzy friends are going to experience the biggest What the Hell times of their short life. Let the barking and meows commence. Your neighbors will LOVE you. 

Another way your pets will change your life and not in a good way is when the day comes to sell your home.

Selling your home is usually about making your home desirable to others. And honestly, that is hard when your pets are sabotaging your efforts. They bring out their soggy toys from their secret locations. They chew on things you would rather they did not. They bark at anyone new in the home and what potential buyer doesn’t love being barked at? And get ready for it. I guess you need to hear this. They change the smell of your home. Sorry but someone had to tell you. And one of the worst things about this fact is that YOU do not smell it. But you can bet your sweet little puppy dog on the fact that potential buyers do.

It’s a little too late to ditch Rin Tin Tin and perhaps a little cold-hearted so you need to minimize their damage. Before your home is shown, do you best to remove any and all signs of having a pet. Hide the food and the dish. Pick up the toys. Mop the floors/clean the carpets. Add air freshening efforts to replace the smell of the animals. And if possible, have someone take Scruffy for a walk or car ride while others are there.

We know you love your new pet but the facts are, others may not. That doesn’t make them bad people. It makes them people. Everyone likes something different. I have even heard there are people out there that don’t like Brussel Sprouts. Weird, huh?

The truth is my wife and I own a dog and a cat ourselves. They bring us joy and they also terrorize our peace. But now that your pet is in your life, do all you can so that your pet doesn’t play a part in you not getting the most money when the time comes to sell your home. 

Scott C. Dickinson lives with his wife in beautiful Vancouver, WA but helps others with their real estate needs across the US. You can reach him by phone at 360-518-7197. Check him out online at ScottYourBroker@gmail.