Author: Ryan DeRoode

Our beloved pets truly make our houses feel more like homes. After a long day and we can’t wait to open the door to those deep purrs and ankle rubs, those wagging tails and puppy eyes. Our pets are our personal welcome parties. And our homes are as much theirs as ours in many ways. And while we love our pets, there are some things I suggest pet parents keep in mind when selling their homes.

My Top Tips for Selling Your House as a Pet Parent

When listing your home, you always want potential buyers to see it at it’s best. Buyers want to imagine themselves settling into your home and neighborhood, as well as enjoying your yard. How can you keep buyers interested in your spectacular space, rather than a few rope toys or the litter box?

1. Before You List Your Home, Enter Your Home with New Eyes and a New Nose

We sometimes become blind to the small accessories our pets require. We also overlook some of the less-than-attractive side effects that can crop up from our pets. Ask a friend or relative if they’ll give you an honest assessment of what they notice about your home’s appearance and smell.

Before any buyers walk through your doors, take a moment and do the same, now with a new perspective. Make a list of your more unsightly pet-related possessions and any minor marks or damage from your pets.

Touch up paint,  slip cover any clawed or chewed furniture, and create a showing plan for your pet bowls, litter box, and toys.

2. Consider Hiring A Carpet Cleaner

If you have carpet, you may want to call up a carpet cleaner to freshen up your floor. This can help your home smell fresher, while eliminating any stains or spots that may distract a buyer and detract from what your home has to offer.

3. Thoroughly Clean Your Home from Top to Bottom

You know that age-old trick with baking cookies? That’s because the sense of smell has one of the strongest emotional impacts on buyers. And while the smell of warm, ooey-gooey cookies can create positive feelings for a buyer, the smells of litter or dogs can have the opposite effect.

Clean any fabrics in your home. Wash your pet’s bed, and clean the litter box before any buyers walk through those doors.

4. Clean up the Yard

Yards help sell houses. Make sure your yard shines by cleaning it up of any old toys or dog waste. Make sure to fill any holes, and put grass seed in any bald or bare patches in the lawn.

5. Change Your Air Filter

Replacing an old air filter before buyers begin viewing your home will freshen and pull pet dander from the air. This can help buyers with allergies, while keeping your home feeling and smelling clean.

It’s also a great idea to open windows to air out your place a few hours before potential buyers arrive, weather permitting of course.

6. Prepare to Bring Your Pet to the Park or Elsewhere While Showing Your Home

While your pet may be the best part of your home in your mind, many buyers can be distracted by pets. Pets tend to add one more stressor to a situation where a person is deciding whether or not they’ll be living in your home.

During an open house or showing, you can always day board your pet, or let a friend watch them for a bit. If a showing is on the weekend, and you have the ability, it’s a great opportunity to take your dog to the park.

7. Remember the Don’ts of Showing a Home with a Pet

– Don’t leave your dog home, if potential buyers will be stopping in. This isn’t just dangerous, since buyers are strangers, but this can really stress out your pet.

– Don’t leave out pet supplies. Create a list, then clean up and hide away as much of your pet accessories as possible.

– Don’t leave your dog in the backyard, as most buyers will want to walk the yard.

– Don’t drench your home in air freshener right before a showing. This can cause buyers’ allergies to flare up, and create an off-putting or masking suspicion in the buyer’s mind.

Pet Parents, Let’s Sell Your House and Find Fido or Fluffy a New Home!

Pets are awesome! And while I may have a soft spot for your best friend, I can also guide you through the selling process in a way that will work best to sell your home, all while keeping your pet’s best interest in mind.

Give me a call. Let’s list your house and find a new home where you, your family, and your pets can make memories for years to come.

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Every year the same question arises: “Should I list my home in winter?” And the resounding answer is “Yes!”  While many people believe that spring is the best selling season, this is simply untrue. The market does change and conform to the seasons, and these changes often benefit sellers, especially when it comes to listing your home before spring arrives. The number of transactions are definitely higher in the Spring, but you’d be surprised at the number of homes that sell in the heart of Winter.

The truth is there are buyers looking for homes every month of the year.

Why Should You List Your Home This Winter?

1. Simple Supply and Demand: You Have Less Competition

The most appealing draw for many sellers to list in the wintertime is that there aren’t as many properties for buyers to cruise through. This means you may be more likely to achieve that asking price or even have multiple offers with a reasonable amount of time.

Come spring, there are a ton of options for buyers to choose from, many of which have just completed renovations and upgrades. So, listing in winter can give you an edge.

2. Winter Buyers Tend to Be More Serious

Many people have built-in time off around the holidays, so they schedule their house hunting during these times. This means they’re ready to shop and ready to buy.

Many winter buyers have set time frames that revolve around the new year, and relocating for work. This makes them very serious about finding a place. Why? Because they have a deadline.

And you probably know what deadlines mean: quick closing dates.

3. You Can Create a Different Kind of Curb Appeal

So what if you don’t have a green thumb? It doesn’t matter in winter! In fact, winter offers a unique form of curb appeal. You can show buyers how homey, warm, and inviting your place can be during the holidays.

So, let the kids build snowmen, hang the lights, and wrap the garland around your mailbox, buyers will surely fall for a home they see as cozy, cheerful, and charming all year long!

Don’t forget to carry your decorating through the inside of your home this time of year. We have some tips for you, here!

4. You Can Show Off How Well Your Home Handles Our Winters

Do you know what people love in Minnesota winters? Garages and well-insulated homes. If you can offer these features, they make your home very appealing in the wintertime. Fireplaces have a huge draw come winter as well. And nothing feels better than walking into a cozy home, after facing freezing temps and bitter wind.

5. First Time Parents Often Look During Winter

This is one of those patterns that reappears year after year: new parents want to upgrade in winter. The majority of children are born towards the end of summer and into fall. And within a couple of months, their parents realize they’ll need a bit more space. So, they begin house hunting. And new parents often want to make the process run as smoothly as possible, which means easy closing.

Deck Your Halls and Prepare to List Your Home

While winter is cold, it doesn’t mean the market is too. If you’ve considered listing your home in the near future, it’s time to take the next step.

If you have questions about the current market or how to prepare your house to hit the market, please give me a call. I’ll brave the snow and ice to help you sell your home this winter!

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Do you find yourself looking at houses online, wondering if it’s time to sell your current home? Do you notice yard signs as your neighbors sell their homes? Or maybe you keep updating your organization system, just to find there’s not enough room for all of your possessions and hobbies. Then the memories you’ve created, and all the love and work you’ve put into it creep into your mind, and your sentimental side takes over. It’s normal to feel hesitant and fret, over when it’s the right time to sell.

You may also have questions about the market, and how to know when it’s the right time to call a realtor.

Well, I’m here to help! I understand that selling your house and looking for a new one can be a hard decision. It can also be a stressful process, especially if you’re having hesitations.

So, what are some signs you’re ready for a new home?

How to Tell It’s Time to Sell Your Home

1. Your Family Is Growing

If your current home is a few bedrooms short, your space will continue to feel too tight as your family grows. And why not expand your family into a new space you can grow into?

Maybe your kids are ready for a bigger backyard or a neighborhood with a few more amenities. Make that dream come true with a new home.

Your house isn’t going to magically get bigger and neither is your yard. But there’s likely a budding family that would love the space your current home offers.

2. Your Home Doesn’t Fit Your Current Needs

Maybe it’s time to downsize, or you want room for a workshop or crafting. If you keep thinking of the what-ifs, and find your home falls short time and time again, you may have the validation you need that it’s okay to move on.

It may be time to explore houses on the market, and see if there are homes that better suit your needs.

3. Your Neighborhood Is No Longer Perfect for You

Neighborhoods change, and so do homeowners. If your neighborhood lacks what you want out of where you call “home,” then let’s look at different neighborhoods that may better meet your needs. Originally, the longer commute to work may have been worth the home of your dreams, but you’re finding you miss having more time and freedom.
Maybe your school zone has changed, or you just want your children to be zoned for a different school, it may be time to look into other options.

4. You’ve Wondered How You Can Use Your Equity to Your Advantage

The market has been doing well lately. You’ve likely accrued equity that can benefit you in hunting for a home better suited to your needs. I can answer questions you may have about your home’s current value, so you know what equity you can use moving forward.

5. You Have Imagined the Selling Process

One thing I hear time and time again is that a seller contemplated selling for months, even years before deciding to call. Fear of the process sometimes keeps them from making the leap. If you bought your home years, or even decades, ago, the process has changed and become easier for sellers. You don’t have to worry about pressure to sell, or waiting by the phone for calls about showings. Apps and easy communication make the process simpler than it’s ever been.

From Selling to Sold: Is It the Right Time?

If you are on the fence, or you simply have questions about the selling process, feel free to call, text or email me. Your home is more than just another house on the market, you want to choose a realtor that understands your needs. I can address your concerns and talk you through what the process is like, and even send you a few homes that meet your needs.

There’s no need to hesitate or question if it’s time to sell. Let’s go over your options, and make the best decision based on your situation.

Image credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus / Vasyl Dolmatov

Because we all have assorted house wants and needs, at different phases in our lives, there is no standard time as to when you should list your home for sale. However, if selling your home is a good financial decision, then you might want to contemplate a move. Read our five economic-based motives for selling your home. If it makes money sense to sell your home, now might just be the right time for you to relocate.

1) You don’t want the financial responsibility of owning a home. 

2) Your large home is costing you unnecessary expenses. 

3) You want to take advantage of low interest rates.

4) Your home’s equity has grown. 

5) You’ll soon be living off your retirement income. 

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