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| Kate, Will, George and Lupo |
I have to start this series with a disclaimer. I constantly contradict myself. Every house is different, every seller unique, and the target buyer varies. I stage in specifics and speak in generalities--if that makes sense?
What about pets when I'm selling my house?
My staging accreditation class taught that animals and selling a house is not a good mix. I used to tell clients to board their pets or see if a friend or family member could adopt their animal--at least the first few weeks the house is on the market.
I have backed off on asking sellers to remove their pets.
Over 60% of Americans have pets. Americans are animal-lovers. The majority of the houses I consult on are family houses. Families typically have pets. In my experience, seller's adore their pets and will bend over backwards to assure that their pets do not impede the sale of their house. They scoop, spray, brush, and scrub. They hide dishes, toys, meds and beds.
Perhaps it is my clientele, but the pets I see are taken care about as well as Prince Georgy.
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Exception:
I had a client that rescued dogs. These sellers rescued Newfoundlands! (18 rescues the day I visited.) Newfoundlands are big, big dogs with big, big fur and big, big poop. These sellers knew that they had a lot of work to do to prep the house and yard. They moved the dogs to other property they owned--so it all worked out and the house sold.
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Seller's prefer this:
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| Can't remember this fellows name |
Over this:
Great first question!! One that would be right at the top of most people's list!
ReplyDeleteI think you answered it perfectly. There are more pets living in SunCity Peachtree than residents!!! It seems everyone LOVES pets and most have them!
Too funny about the Newfoundlanders - they are huge! Good thing they had another house.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post Linda and so well said! I see it in clients homes where the people are more unkempt than the pets. I have a question: how about art tastes influencing a sale? I know it should be tasteful, but what does that mean to you?
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
xoNancy
I rarely see what you would consider 'art' in most homes. I think people are afraid of art and don't know what to get or how to display it. The scale of their pictures is usually small and displayed too high. I bring a lot of art when I stage. I haven't run into something offensive. If the seller has something I thinks if awful I tell them, "while it is an interesting piece, I don't think it will appeal to the broadest range of potential buyers. Let's go ahead and pack it and take it to your next house." Great question, Nancy. I'll have to do a post with pictures of what I run into!
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