June brings weddings, roses, graduations, graduation parties, and starts the season of community events…. parades, walks, gatherings, farmers markets, community markets, fairs, and so much more. Every weekend has something fun going on. June is also the time that we start seeing more homes come on the market as kids get out of school, and people start thinking about moving. The summer months are often the busiest months for buying and selling a home in Clark County!
Dante said that there are 9 levels of hell, and I think 7 of them must be moving. I know people who like to move, and I think they are crazy. There is so much that goes into moving…whether it is just yourself, or the entire family…. and when I say ‘entire family’ …. let’s include your four-legged babies in that too.
One of the questions I get most when a client is thinking about selling is what to do with their pets. One of my favorite showings was at a home that had parrots. What was so funny was that, during the whole showing, the parrots kept having conversations with us ….. repeating what the sellers had said in, what should have been, private. It was hilarious!! Luckily cats, and dogs can’t tell your secrets!
How to show your home when you have pets
When you are selling your home, you will have people coming and going, and you can’t always take your pets with you… I get it. So let’s set up a plan….
When you are living in a home, last-minute showings are not often ideal, but many people are afraid to turn down showings. This is what I call, “FOMS” ….aka.. Fear Of Missing Showings.
I am here to tell you that it is OK to set up a notice time before showings…. in fact, I ENCOURAGE it! If that potential buyer is interested in your home, letting buyers (& their Realtors) know that you have a next-day showing notice is NOT going to turn them away.
Many homes have this notice. I let all my buyers know that “we need to set up an appointment time to see homes with at least 24-hour notice. If we can squeeze another home in that schedule, then we will do so, but remember that most homes need notice.”
I don’t know about you, but my mornings don’t always go to plan, and sometimes I end up rushing out of the house and it is a mess. Let’s be honest… life happens. With a next-day notice for showings, you can plan, prepare…and yell at the kids to pick up… so you can leave your home in the best condition for showing. If you know you already have a few showings the next day, it is pretty easy for us to slip another one, or two in there if someone calls for availability.
When you are buying a home, please remember that appointments are good for you and for the seller. Homes that are vacant are usually pretty easy to slide into, but homes that are currently being lived in do require notice.
Honestly, homes that are being lived in usually show better because the furniture in rooms shows the size better. It is strange, I know, but vacant rooms always look smaller than they really are.
Determining the Best Times to Show Your House
After we talk about showing notice, let’s talk about WHEN you can show the home. Maybe you work from home and have meeting times where you can’t leave.
Maybe you have puppers who you need to take out of the home for showings. Maybe you have small children with dedicated nap times. Maybe you have family gatherings already planned. Maybe you have faith-based concerns. Maybe you work a swing shift, or graveyard, and need time to sleep. I can go on, and on with examples, but it really comes down to the fact that sometimes, you can’t be available…and that is OK too.
Let’s talk about if there are any times when you want to block off the showing schedule. Maybe we only have showings during certain times of the day. Maybe we have no showings during certain times of the day, or week. This is ok. We can block off the schedule. An interested potential buyer will make an appointment during available showing times.
Helping Your Pets with Moving
I have a client who has 2 big dogs. They are the absolute sweetest things ever. He is only going to be allowing showings when he isn’t working so that he can come home and take the pups out.
It is very stressful for dogs to have strangers walking in, & around their home and he isn’t comfortable with his doggos being home during showings.
I showed a home last week where the sellers had their dogs in a kennel in the garage with a blanket over the kennels.
In the spring, winter, fall, etc… this is a pretty good idea, but it was very warm that day, and the garage was super hot. I felt so bad for the dogs in their kennels…with a blanket over the kennel… in that heat. I was hoping they had water in there with them, but probably not.
Sometimes, I have clients who have had their dogs in the backyard during showings with a note on the backdoor saying to look from the windows, but please don’t go out back. Sometimes, dogs just go in their inside kennels during showings. When this happens, I encourage a note with dogs’ names and maybe a few treats left out. I have found that if you call a dog by his/her name, it can ease their stress level!
Ideally, you can take your pups for a walk during showings, to a dog park (here’s a great collection of dog parks in Vancouver – https://www.bringfido.com/attraction/parks/city/vancouver_wa_us/), or treat them to a day at a doggy daycare (here’s another resource – https://www.bringfido.com/resource/doggie_daycare_boarding/city/vancouver_wa_us/) but sometimes…well, again…life happens.
Let’s talk about the options and together we can make a plan. We want to make their lives easier, and your life easier as well.
Showing Your Home When You Have Cats
Cats are a bit easier as most kitties will hide during showings. Many people have inside/outside kitties, and yes, many of us kitty aficionados have inside-only kitties.
If your kitties are inside only, we will put signs up on all the doors to not let them out. If your kitty is inside/outside, then we will put a notice in the listing that s/he is ok in, or out.
I have a rule, if the kitty is inside when I get to a showing, then it will be inside when I leave, and if the kitty is outside when I get there, then it is outside when I leave.
Frankly, that one is always hard for me. I want to love on ALL the kitties. I have 5 cats, and mine are inside only because I live on a few acres and there are bigger predators out there. Most people have no idea that I have that many kitties because 2 of them will hide in my closet if they hear strange voices. One will come out to greet everyone, and two will only poke their heads out to see what is going on before they report back to the two that are hiding. Even if you think that your kitties will not come out… let’s still put a notice out. My oldest daughter has three cats and they are all inside/outside, but only two go outside as her oldest kitty prefers not to.
Tips for Buying a Home with Pets in Mind
With my buyer clients, one of the things we are always looking at is where the kitty litter pan goes. Is there a good area for the doggos to play, and run?
One of my clients recently purchased a hutch on Facebook Marketplace. She repurposed the bottom half for the kitty pan, and then bolted the top half to the wall for the cat food, toys, medicines, etc. It looks absolutely fantastic, and she did very minimal stuff to make it work.
As a buyer, if you have animal allergies or concerns, let’s talk about them upfront so that we can address your options.
When showing homes, it is not appropriate to bring your pet with you inside someone else’s home. Not everyone has pets after all, and maybe the seller has pet allergies. Of course, there are cases where we need to talk about this as certain assistance is needed.
Moving Safely with Your Pets
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I can not tell you how many times I have had a distraught call from a client whose pet came up missing during a move. Pets are creatures of habit, and when you are moving…all of your lives are upended for a while.
When I last moved with my cats, the thought of this kept me up at night, and then I remembered what one of my clients ( a fellow crazy cat lady) did, and it was brilliant! At our old home, our bathroom and closet were separate, but at our new home, our closet is attached to our primary bathroom. I packed up my closet and my primary bathroom first and moved that all over to the new home.
Then I went back to my old home, grabbed my kitties and brought them over to our new home. Because I had already moved all our clothes into our new closet, it smelled like us. I was then able to shut the bathroom door with a note that read, “Do NOT open this door for ANY reason. There are two other toilets, and I will hunt you down!” … or something similar to that anyhow.
The point is that I moved my kitties over to our new home first and in an area that I could block off that already had some of our things and scents in them. This eased my mind as people were coming and going from the old house to the new house and doors were being left open everywhere. I have also had clients who have kenneled their kitties during a move for their safety. This is also something that many of my clients do with their pups. When we last moved, we kenneled our dogs with a local company for a few days so that we didn’t have them running underfoot, or being stressed with all the comings and goings.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think that kids and pets have a lot in common. Whether you are buying, or selling…or both… showings and moving are so stressful for them, so I am always trying to come up with ways to make it easier for them, and you.
For many of my client’s children, especially the older ones, keeping their rooms clean is tough. Having people walking around their area is tough. Heck…let’s be honest… it is tough on a lot of us. I always try to make sure they get a gift card, or something after it is all done to thank them for helping out their parents…and to be able to buy something special for their new rooms. Bed, Bath, and Beyond was my favorite gift card for this, but now that they went out of business… well, Target is good in a pinch!
Moving sucks…even when you are excited to do so. Moving with kids and pets adds another additional level of stress. Let’s alleviate as much of that as possible with a plan. I am very much a Type A person… so I like to have a plan, a backup plan, and of course… a ‘just in case’ plan. I mean… how many letters are in the alphabet? Whether you are buying, selling, or both… Let’s sit down, and talk about your next home adventure!
As always…. I am always open to your questions!!! If you, or anyone you know is thinking about buying or selling a home… My phone is on, and I will always return your call. 360- 903-3504
Thank you!
Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,
Tracie DeMars, Real Estate broker
email: traciedemars@aol.com
PS. If you are interested in taking a free class for Buying or Selling Real Estate, please check out the May Classed times:
Upcoming Home Buyer Classes: https://learningtobuyahome.com/home-buyer-classes/
