Can Owning a Pet Reduce the Value of your Home?
Even a small animal like a ferret can do damage, or leaking fish tank can create a stain and odor that is difficult to remove. Fortunately, there are things you can do to address these pet problems. If you’re working with a real estate agent to sell your home, he or she will likely coach you on how to properly stage your home and eliminate any signs of your pet. The same agent noted that even the smallest sign of owning a pet can deter a buyer from considering your home. To make things worse, that damage is rarely covered by homeowner’s insurance. And the fewer interested buyers you have, the lower your final sale price will be.
However, when they decide it’s time to sell, it’s important to address the pet problems once and for all. Digging holes, tearing up grass, and eating plants can leave a once-impeccable landscape looking sad and messy. Not only will pets cause problems to the exterior of your home — chewing on the front stairs, scratching the walls of your porch, or leaving their mark on the corner of your home and your deck — they can ruin your landscaping as well. Since the exterior of the home is the first place a home buyer will see, let’s start there.
To counteract this, make sure your pets get proper exercise each day and have plenty of toys to keep them occupied. Simply covering these up just won’t cut it because smart buyers will see through your efforts to hide the damage. They leave stains and odors that are difficult to remove. Of course, some issues simply can’t be prevented, like those left behind from puppy and cat accidents. But when it comes time to sell their homes, they might reconsider. We’ll discuss how next. But if you do it right, you should have nothing to fear. Most homeowners would much rather deal with the pet damage than part ways with their furry friends.
Scratches, chewing damage, stains and odors are all dead giveaways that you’re a pet owner. Odors are the biggest issue: As smokers will attest, persistent smells can require significant cleanings to remove them for good. And before you stage your home for potential buyers, any damage must be addressed if you hope to have any chance of selling your home for its pre-pet value. And if they do, it will probably include the cost for repairs and clean-up they’ll have to incur to make the house livable — and breathable — again. So if buyers are greeted by the overwhelming smell of animals, they may think twice about putting in an offer.
Odors in carpets are especially difficult because spot cleaning doesn’t penetrate to the carpet pad or subfloor, and urine often can. So if you don’t want to spend the money to replace a piece of furniture or rug, make sure you remove them during the staging process. So, you may need to replace the stained carpet and pad, as well as possibly repair or seal the subfloor. Scratches and chewing damage are much easier problems to fix, but that doesn’t mean they should be overlooked. Set-in stains on your walls, trim and furniture can cause pet odors as well.
Max, Sarah. “Help! My house isn’t selling.” CNN/Money. McIver, Brian. “Report reveals pets cost owners £3.3bn in home repairs every year.” Daily Record. McNett, Theresa. “Get Rid of that Dog Smell in Your House.” Houston Association of Realtors. Tuttle, Brad. “What Do Pets Do to the Resale Value of Your Home?” Time. Raynor, James. “Selling Your Own Home? Pet Issues.” Real Estate Magazine. Weston, Liz Pulliam. “10 ways to sell your home faster.” MSN. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
