Selling your house really IS a hairy big deal!

Have you ever been in a house with animals? Some owners do a GREAT job at keeping their homes immaculate and I have to say that I'm not only proud of their cleanliness, but also their ability to keep pet hair and odors out of their homes. Others aren't so great - it's not fun to look at a home and walk away full of hair just from a walk thru.

In the past I have always put my foot down 'hard' against having indoor pets for this very reason. I already fight with looming cobwebs, daddy long legs in the corners and dust bunnies the size of playground balls so thinking about adding dog hair or hairballs from cats to my messes just doesn't thrill me.

Unfortunately, we picked up a stray kitty about four weeks ago and though he was meant to be a barn cat (yes, we have ample room on our farmlet to have a barn cat) but the kiddos talked us into letting him into the house.

Let me tell you why this wasn't a good idea....

It set a precedence. Now every day we have this tug-of-war that the kids win over letting Kitty in for 'just a little while, Mom!" He's grown to twice his age and the argument (though I love Kitty) that I'm fighting is that he really needs to be the barn kitty he was intended to be.

Within a week's time I have had to wash the two blankets that he's adopted as his 'sleeping' blankets because they strongly smell of our dear kitty that has never had an accident in our house... that is until this week. Hubby caught Kitty using his business papers in his office as a litter box and that sent Kitty back outside for awhile. The point is - if I can already smell evidence of a clean kitty in such a short time what would happen with a larger animal? Or more than one animal? Over multiple years and on all the furniture?

The other issue that really bugs me is that Kitty has this need to scratch everything. My pants legs, the couches, the table cloths, the seats on our chairs. It's destructive. We've talked about de-clawing poor Kitty, but I'm not sure that is the wise decision. And, until it's time to take him in for that procedure having him around could get costly. If we allowed this to continue I'd have wood trim to replace and who knows what else.

So, as mean as it is for Kitty to be in our warm barn and out with our other animals.. I think that it's for the best. We are good to our pets and Kitty has blankets out in his bed in the barn.

Mostly I think of the future affects having Kitty in the house will have on the resale of our home. We plan on living here for years to come, but already (in four short weeks) I can see that having Kitty in our home would affect a future sale.

If you are thinking of selling your home it's probably a good idea to take inventory of your animals and the affect they have had on the condition.

* Is it worth keeping them in your home while you are trying to sell or would it be advantageous to send them away for awhile?

* Make a list of what needs to be cleaned, replaced, fixed, and de-animalized before showings start. Then start working on it.

* Realize that disclosing animals up front is important. Some buyers are allergic to animals no matter how clean you've kept your home during the years that you have had pets.

* Know that having the animals home during showings may distract buyers from seeing the true beauty of the home. At a minimum it might be a great idea to take them out. This is especially improtant with animals that are loud and/or large that may scare folks away before getting to the door!

This is just a few thoughts that might get you moving in the right direction before putting your home on the market. Give me a call today if you have questions or if you'd like further guidance on the affect that an animal can have on a home.

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In the meantime... if you are looking to move into the area... I'll wait for you to call!

Selling Real Estate in Minnesota!

Going to JAIL for "good" on October 28th!!!!
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If you are looking for professional real estate services I am only a ring away! I am looking forward to working with you. And, please feel free to share my name with anyone that you know who needs assistance buying or selling a home ~ I love referrals!

Lindsey Hasford, REALTOR
Coldwell Banker Vision
231 Main Street - Elk River - MN 55330
763-241-5488 (office) 763-218-1347 (cell)
lindseyhasford@coldwellbankervision.com
http://www.hasfordhomes.com

Twitter: elkriverhomes Facebook: Lindsey Veek Hasford