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Home Seller Tips: Market Your Home As Pet-Friendly
August 8, 2022

Educate yourself about the current pet-friendly market and where your home would fit in.

The real estate industry is an ever-changing one, and it doesn't stop for anyone. The market today is more competitive than ever, and you need to market your home in a way that will get it noticed and sell quickly. How do you do that?

Pet-friendly Home Amenities that Buyers Want

Eighty-one percent of Americans claim that their next living situation largely depends on whether the home is pet-friendly or not. For this reason, you must market your home as a pet-friendly living space. Some of the pet-friendly amenities you should make sure are available include:

1. Indoor Playground
People love to play with their dogs and will enjoy having an area in their home to do just that. You can create this by adding in some exercise equipment, a pool, or other fun things for the pet to enjoy. It's also great to add an indoor version of a dog run where they can race around and socialize safely, especially during winter when it's too cold or wet outside.

2. Pet-Door
Did you know that 91% of pet owners consider a pet door the most important factor in their home? Dogs and cats need room to go outside and explore, so you must build a pet door to allow them to do so.

3. Pet-Walk
If you are looking for a safer alternative to installing a pet door, you may want to consider adding in a pet walk instead. It can get installed in the same way as an umbrella on a patio door. It allows the pet to walk out of the house instead of climbing up and down, lessening the risk of injury or a veterinary visit.

4. Pet-Garden
To incorporate the pet's instinct to hunt and roam, add a small fenced garden outside where they can roam freely. This garden is a great option if the home buyer's pets do not do very well with a doggy door but are otherwise friendly and like spending time outside.

5. Pet Feeding Space
To ensure the house is pet-friendly, consider adding a feeding space. It includes adding in a place to feed the pet as well as a place to remove the waste. It can get done by installing a countertop or low table and adding a food bowl and water dish.

6. Pet Bed
A pet bed is another excellent feature to add when making a home renovation to make the place more pet-friendly. It gives the pet another area to relax in and makes the space feel more like their own.

What to Avoid When Having Pets at Home

There are a few things that you should avoid when trying to make your home pet-friendly for your buyers:

1. Indoor Plants
Some indoor plants are poisonous to pets, which can be a major potential problem if it is a part of the home. A few examples of such plants include:
-Spider plant
-Philodendron
-Shrubs
-Pencil plant
-Ivy

2. Indoor Mold
Molds contain chemicals that can be harmful to animals, and this can lead to several health problems, including death. To avoid this, clean the home's carpet regularly to lower the potential for mold growth.

3. Sharp Objects
You must cover sharp surfaces with plastic to protect the pet from injury. You can also completely remove these surfaces when making home updates to avoid any accidents.

4. Uncovered Vents
As a home seller, you should ensure a covering protects all the vents so the pet can't get in or knock themselves over and get injured.

5. Unsafe Electrical Outlets
Another thing to cover is the electrical outlets. Little paws can knock these over easily, causing a fire hazard. You should also ensure guardrails on the outlets to prevent accidental contact.

Staging Tips that Appeal to Home Buyers Who are Pet Owners

You don't have to have a pet-friendly home to appeal to your home buyers. You just need a little bit of knowledge on how you can use these ideas to make your home sell faster. The first thing you need to do is capitalize on the popularity of the pets. You can do this by making the house feel more "dog-friendly" than you would by adding doggy toys, dog runs, and outdoor areas for playing with the pet. It would also help if you tried to use the home design to your advantage. For instance, you could say that the living room is large enough for a dog bed.

Since millennials are more likely to have a pet than any other generation, you should consider making the home more modern. Part of making a home appeal to millennials is to have open spaces.

Features of Pet-Friendly Homes to Include in your Listings

When making a listing of your home, use some of these features to make it a more pet-friendly space:

1. Enclosed Porch
A home buyer with a pet will want an enclosed porch where the pet can relax without necessarily getting themselves dirty.

2. Pet Steps
A pet owner will want to ensure that the steps are large enough for the pet to walk up and down.

3. Fenced Backyard
A fenced backyard is a popular way to ensure that the pets are safe. It will also allow the pet to roam freely outside without being on a leash.

4. Low Beams
Low beams are important for larger pets. Catteries are common in homes with larger animals; a low beam can help facilitate this without the animal bumping into it or knocking it over.

It does not matter how outdated your house previously was if you hire an expert in real estate to assist you in updating the appearance and features of your property.

Rose Group, with Keller Williams Realty, is comprised of licensed REALTORS® and a dynamic support staff. We’ve focused on providing trusted, expert representation to real estate buyers and sellers in Silicon Valley since 2004—and now we’re in San Diego!
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