Austin Texas Open Houses - Dog Day Afternoon In Great Hills

Austin Texas Open Houses - Dog Day Afternoon In Great Hills

I recently took my clients to see some homes in the Austin Great Hills area. We viewed about five different homes in the neighborhood, but my clients were not too impressed with any of them. As we were driving around the neighborhood we saw an open house, so we stopped to take a look. My clients were impressed - they really liked the front of the home with its custom landscaping and fresh paint. We entered the home and my clients became even more impressed. The home had been staged and they thought the layout of the interior was perfect. They were also admiring the large kitchen and the spacious bedrooms. And don't forget the huge three car garage! We talked for a few minutes about the home and it seemed that this home was the one they were looking for! With all the open houses I've attended, you never know what to expect. But, it looked like we found the perfect home.

Now it was time to check out the backyard. We approached the back door and we were all ready to see the perfect backyard. STOP!

A very large and intimidating dog was standing on the other side of the backdoor. It was a Great Dane and he was waiting to greet us. This dog certainly looked friendly and he was ready to play, but my clients had other ideas. Suddenly, my clients' opinions about the home changed. They briefly looked through the window at the backyard and said, "Let's look at some other homes."

It was an unusual situation, because the hosting agent never said anything about a dog being in the backyard. A bit of a warning would have been appropriate, but perhaps she thought we weren't going to look at the backyard.

It's too bad the sellers didn't know that pets and open houses don't mix. This is the same concept as removing personal items from a home when staging. Always remember to remove the pets when showing a home, too.

So, was the big dog the deciding factor about my clients' decision concerning the home? I guess we'll never know, but it would probably be a good idea to take the dog for a long walk during an open house. And watch out for those big dogs if you ever attend any open houses in Austin Texas !!!

Steve Zarry, Realtor(R)

512-945-3494

http://www.realestateaustinhomes.com/