Having to sell a house?

[aalvarez]

We have been thinking of buying a new house in the near future. Has anyone had to sell a house recently? What kinds of things did you do to prepare your house for the market, especially in regards to having a newfie living there? I know we will have to replace our scratched up hardwood floors ,possibly replace carpets, and wipe the drool off the walls/ceilings/etc

. But, mostly what did you do with your dog while showing the house? I know we would have him out of the house during open houses, but what about other times like when we are at work? I read somewhere that 80% of the time, people will lose interest in a house if there is evidence of a large, hairy animal Just want feedback on what we should keep in mind.

 

[Codes]

I read somewhere that 80% of the time, people will lose interest in a house if there is evidence of a large, hairy animal

huh....so that means only homes owned by women are sold??

 

[aalvarez]

Originally posted by Codes:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> I read somewhere that 80% of the time, people will lose interest in a house if there is evidence of a large, hairy animal

huh....so that means only homes owned by women are sold??

</font>[/QUOTE]

 

[amyk]

When I moved into my house the family that lived there before me had a dog, but it was a little dog. They just had it crated in the house when the realtor had people go through. Honestly the dog was a vicious monster and would sound like he wanted to kill anyone who went near him! Not only that, but as we walked around the house there were piles of poop in different rooms!! Which was very gross. But the house was in a good neighborhood and it was so much nicer than any other in that price range, so I didn't care. I imagine any animal lover would look past the big dog. And there are lots of animal lovers out there! Who knows if it's a big dog lover, they may hope that the newf comes as part of the deal! lol I would!

 

[aalvarez]

Originally posted by amyk:
...but as we walked around the house there were piles of poop in different rooms!! Which was very gross.

Ewwwwwwwww

Who knows if it's a big dog lover, they may hope that the newf comes as part of the deal! lol I would!

A contingency in the contract???

[ 11-14-2006, 03:08 PM: Message edited by: Yogurt ]

 

[M & M's Mom Linda]

Hi Yogurt,
PM me...I am a real estate broker and can email you info. Don't worry...lots of people sell houses with big dogs!

 

[pjcarbone]

The thing that I have learned over the years about selling a house is to get rid of clutter. Rent a storage building, & put everthing that you aren't using into it. Keep the counters clear. Make the closets look like there is lots of storage space. People will overlook dogs if the place is reasonably clean. Get rid of doggy odors too, Zero Odor works well. Good luck!

 

[Sound Bay Newfs]

I used to get my dogs out of the house during open houses and regular showings. Even then people would shy away from the house because dogs lived there.

Hopefully your realtor will be able to direct the right people to your house for a successful sale.
Too funny, Mary K!!!

[ 11-14-2006, 05:42 PM: Message edited by: NewfYork ]

 

[Erika]

tell your realtor the price goes up if they get to see a magnificent big dog...maybe a once in a life time opportunity for the future homeowner.....heeheeeeeee

 

[FuzzyDustBunnies]

I took the dogs out of the house when our was shown. I left their crates up, bought 2 big air purifiers, and made everything look as neat as I could. I know someone who took all evidence of their dog out of the house including toys, bowls, etc. when it was being shown, but I think that's kind of crazy. We have to LIVE there when the house isn't being shown.

Has a realtor been through your house yet? When ours came though our house, we told her what we wanted to do, and there were some things she told us not to bother with. She also told us "Cleanliness is next to Godliness". Thank God our house had an offer on the second showing...cause I don't know how long I could have kept the clean charade going! LOL

 

[KatieB]

We didn't really care if the people who owned our house had a dog. They had two apparently and as long as your house isn't dirty (ie urine soaked carpets, poo in the house, just serious signs of neglect I don't think you have much to worry about. Replacing carpets and hardwood may be a good idea but again may not be entirely necessary. Removing clutter and cleaning is amazing...also if you have any wildly painted rooms trying to make things more neutral so people can see themselves in the home helps. Although we are painting every room of our house so we didn't really care.

A clean house that looks well cared for and without a lot of clutter so people can see the house and not your stuff is my best advice. If it is clean and well taken care of the fact that you have dogs will not be a concern. If it is a mess and they see that you have pets then it might be more of an issue.

Good luck

 

[channelle.norton]

i'm not sure that i agree with everyone here. most people think of of hairy dogs as smelly, and droolly dogs as messy. the bigger dog, the more mess, stink, and larger pee marks. our brains our powerful and can create smells; that is what i would worry about. will the sight of a large dog, or evidence of a long haired dog create a smell?

if we all had tiny toy sized dogs, it would be looked over, but we don't. if the buyer has a large dog, they might be okay with it, but if they have a small dog, or don't like dogs... even though i have a newf and love dogs to death, i would be less interested in a house if they had newfs. (unless the house came with the newf! ) i know it doesn't make sense, but neither do people.

 

[Sailorgirl]

I KNOW the amount of damage our dogs have inflicted on our home ... the lawn is shot, the woodwork is shot, the floors are shot, the walls by their dishes have permafood. If I were selling my house I would do everything possible to try to convince people that dogs did not live at my house. And if I were buying a house I would look extra hard at any place that obviously had a dog living at it. It's not that I don't like dogs ... it's that I know the wear and tear they put on a house.

 

[nikkimd7]

Intersting post especially, with us trying to get our home into some kind of order to possibly place on the Market early spring.
We had a realtor come through the home just the other night. She was wonderful, as I for warned her, it was a "mad" house.lol Her advice to us, was OUTSIDE first, the house MUST have curb appeal, people tend to drive by a home first, before ever deciding if they will go inside. Our home is really quite small for the amount of people and dog's in it!! We have a 1,500 sq ft home

(which is another deciding factor as to why we want to sell) The saving grace in our home is that it is open plan, the kitchen, living room and dinning room are all one, with a catherdral ceiling so it gives the place a very open, larger feeling. Even though my kitchen is a warm green colour, and I have an accent wall a deep dark red, the realtor said we wouldn't have to repaint that, we would just need to touch up the rest -all the white!! She recommended, we rent a storage unit, and take out EVERYTHING that is cluttering, she said you want the home as open and spacey as you can possible get it, so all our books CD;s musical instruments etc, should be boxed up and put in storage. I know I have to replace the carpets in the kids rooms, as they dont have any!!!lol and mine? well lets just say, if you connect the dots, I am sure there is some magnificent picture waiting to be discovered, so we will replace that too!!!lol I hope this helps you, and my realtor told me to not worry too much about the dogs, obviously, when the house is been shown, i will take them with me out of the house, I will move the crates into the garage, and make sure there are no Newfy tumbleweeds, rolling around!! My advice, is imagine how you would want to see the house, what would make you fall in love with the house you are going to see, remember back when you first saw your home, and try and re-create that as best as you can. Leave burning candles with great homely scents, and maybe soft music playing.Also, turn all your lights on, the brighter the better. Good luck to you and keep us posted.

 

[Michelle]

We just moved 2 months ago. We had 15 open houses and 35 private showings. Every time we had a showing or open house we'd load up 2 huge dogs, 2 kids and a cat into our mini van. We stuck the dog dishes under the sink and got rid of all evidence that a dog lived there. Yeah it was a pain, but we REALLY wanted to sell.

 

[missmadel]

Just went through this myself. I watched "Sell This House" on A&E and some other shows on TLC to learn how to stage the house. Use those plug in oils for a nice smell. Boil some cinnamon and apples prior to people showing up for a nice smell. Basically remove anything personal from the house as much as possible to help people picture themselves there. Open spaces, try to make rooms look larger by removing clutter and spacing the furniture appropriately. Clear all of the counter tops. Fix up any room that could be a bedroom so it looks clean and inviting like a hotel room, nice linens,etc. Open all of the windows and turn on the lights. As for the dogs, just make sure everything is clean and do your best. We had a gated side yard which came in very useful. I would freeze containers of peanut butter and juggs of beef broth to give them as a "pacifier" while people were looking. There will be buyers out there who have dogs themselves and will not be offended by yours. It just takes time and patience to find the right buyer. Also, keep a close eye on the market in your area via realtor.com and keep your price right to attract lookers. I did that and ended up with a nice little bidding war in the end that worked out very well for me. Good Luck!!

 

[Sherrie]

i suggest prozac. We had our place on the market for 2 years before it sold. Drool, hair, dog toys, were so much fun to hide.
We took the dogs with us or left them in a small enclosed porch if we couldn't. Most people were very interested in them and wanted us to let them out to be petted. Then the drool and they left. We didn't want to sell to THOSE types anyhow.
Sherrie

 

[aona]

It's pretty simple. We have sold two houses in the last year (the next home will be a nursing home...lol) and you just have pick up all the dog toys, break out the dyson and spray with febreeze an hour before the people get there. Both homes sold within one week of being listed in what is suppose to be a slow market!

 

[puppylove1]

Plant a statue of St. Joseph in your back yard facing the house! Besides that clean clean clean and when you think it looks like new, clean again!

Good luck

 

[NinaA]

My son just put his house on the market yesterday. He keeps his three dogs (labs and a mutt) in a room built onto the back of the house. It's a very large room and they have tiled the floor, painted it barn red and the trim is white. The agent came in and said they didn't have to do anything to the whole house, just get rid of the dogs. They are never up in the main part of the house. There is no evidence of a dog anywhere in the house proper. I told him the agent was nuts. Just keep the dog room clean and crate the dogs when the house is being shown. If there's an open house, bring them all out here. He wants to bring them here to stay until they sell and move. That could be a very long time. Yikes. . .Give me the prozac.

Nina
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