Pet owners know their pets are part of the family.  We love them so much but not everyone goes gaga over our perfect and priceless pets.  If you’re selling your home, keep in mind a potential buyer walking through your home may have allergies and others may be down right afraid of animals.

It’s best to relocate your pets while your home is on the market but if your family and friends are not around to (or don’t want to) pet-sit for the duration of the selling period, you must keep up with the up-keep.  A buyer will form a negative opinion if they see stains on the carpet, claw marks on the walls and smell foul odors.  This will affect your getting top dollar for your home.  So you must religiously vacuum the hair and clean the cages, tanks and litter boxes.

Use an enzyme-based cleaner to remove animal odors and stains from the carpet and sofas and shampoo all carpets.  Be sure to wash your pet’s bedding, blankets and toys and then bathe your pet.  Clean and refill the cat’s litter with fresh litter and completely hide it during buyer visits.  If you can’t take your pets with you the day of an open house, put them in the garage, tied up with food and water and warn the realtor.

The best compliment you can get about your home is that the buyer didn’t know there were pets until they saw them in the garage.