Selling your home? Have a pet? Be careful! | Business

Owning a pet can be a wonderful thing. A wagging tail greeting you at the door, a purring puffball sitting on your lap, a lizard on your shoulder, pets can be comforting on so many levels. However, if you are selling your home and own a pet, you may want to take a few extra steps to ensure that your home is presented in the best possible light.

Don’t get me wrong, we love animals and have three cats. Both Susan and I have always grown up with dogs and cats in our lives. At one point we even had dwarf pygmy goats, but that was short lived after they ate through my third barbecue cover. Those covers were not good!

Even though we keep a pretty clean house and have a service come every two weeks, we are always careful to make sure there is nothing missing. Pet owners generally get used to the look and smell of their home, and it doesn’t take long for someone not to notice something that can be offensive to others. I remember a friend of mine when I was in high school who had a very large and very old German Shepherd. He was the sweetest dog, but he smelled terrible all the time. His house, his car, was everywhere and they didn’t notice. Unfortunately, this is more common than people realize.

The smell of pets can be as bad, if not worse than smoke for many people. Non-pet owners can be very sensitive to things that we may not even know exist in our home. When we have friends over, I always wonder if they smell like cat and happily, no one ever says they do. And, if someone says that they feel something, be appreciated and do not take offense that they are honest.

For cat owners, make sure litter boxes are cleaned daily or even more frequently if needed. During the show and open houses, put the litter boxes away if possible, as it may only be for a few hours. Dust bunnies multiply quickly and can easily become a daily chore. If your cat is older or prone to marking in the house, do your best to clean up any accidents immediately and make sure the cleaners don’t make the smell worse.

Dog owners can easily have the same challenges with dust bunnies, so be diligent. Every day of the yard soil mining should also be done to ensure that the yards are without threat. Blankets and bed should be washed constantly, if possible, and so they stay fresh and vacuum often!

Of course, these rules do not only apply to dog and cat owners. Terrariums can smell so bad and so fast, bunny hutches and chinchilla cages need to change their bedding often, and fish tanks should look clear and clean all the time.

As I said before, people buy with their senses. It’s not just about how you look, but how you smell. You can’t smell a house from the pictures on Zillow, but you can certainly turn someone off when you walk in, so be aware that others may notice things you don’t.

Ken Schrier is a licensed Realtor and owner of RE/MAX Marketplace located in downtown Cotati and serving all of Sonoma County. He can be reached directly by cell at 707-529-4819, by email at KennethSchrier@gmail.comor from their website at www.TheSchrierTeam.com.