5 Tips to De-Pet Your House When You’re Selling It

When you’re selling a home in Scottsdale, your REALTOR® will talk to you about home staging – but if you’re a pet parent, you have to follow certain “best practices.” First things first: You should always take your pets with you when you leave the house for a showing. You also have to “de-pet” your space, which means making it look like a pet-free home as best you can. Here’s what you need to know.

 

As a pet parent, you probably already know that not everyone is a big animal fan – and that means leaving evidence of your pets behind when people come to see your home could put your transaction at risk. In addition to taking your pets with you when you leave the house for a showing, you have to try to minimize any evidence that shows pets live there at all. Here are five ways to do that:

 

Let’s take a closer look at each.

 

Having your floors professionally cleaned is fairly standard when you’re selling a home, but if you have a pet, it’s extra-important. You may not notice lingering pet odors or stains invisible to the naked eye, so it’s important you hire a professional to come in and clean things up. Pro Tip: Use an ultraviolet light and go through each room when it’s dark. If there’s evidence of any pet accidents on the floor, it’ll show up under the light – and you can treat that area with an enzymatic cleaner.

 

 

An air purifier can refresh your home by pulling pet dander and odors out of the air. You need one with an activated carbon filter, which can easily absorb those odors; if you choose another filter type, such as a HEPA filter, the dander will come out of the air – but the odor won’t.

 

When you leave for a showing, take your pets’ beds, toys and food dishes with you. That way, they won’t see the evidence – and they certainly won’t smell a freshly opened bag of dog food, which can drive some people away. Pro Tip: If you have a cat, take the litter box with you when you leave, too. To make it easier, keep the litter box on top of an open trash bag; when it’s time to go, simply pick up the upper rim of the bag, which will envelop the entire litterbox. Keep it upright and stash it in your car’s trunk.

 

 

Your REALTOR will talk to you about home staging and taking down personal photos while your home is on the market, and part of that includes taking down pet photos if they’re especially prevalent. There’s nothing wrong with having a few pictures of your furry family members here and there – but if you have large family portraits that include your pets (or just portraits of your pets), they should probably come down before you list your home.

 

 

If your pets have caused any damage to your home, repair it before you put your house on the market. That includes chewed or scratched molding, pulled-up carpeting or scratched hardwood floors.