Staging and Selling Homes With Pets

Staging and selling your home takes a little more thought when you have pets in the house. One thing you have to consider is what to do with your pets when buyers come for a showing. You love your pets dearly, they’re a part of your family, but that doesn’t mean the buyers coming for a visit will have the same feelings.

There are many people that adore all types of creatures, there are also people that like some but not others and sadly there are some people who don’t like pets at all or who may have allergies to pet dander. Being sensitive to these different groups of people is tough. Having pets in your home during visits may distract the buyers from actually focusing on the house because of there love or fear of your pets being there.

Taking them with you when you leave the home for the showing is a great idea if you can do it. If you have small pets that can be crated and not cause a distraction, leaving them in the home may be enough. If your pets are larger or a nuisance (we know yours probably aren’t), you may want to find temporary housing for them during the selling process. Some options for temporary housing could be with family, friends or having them boarded.

Another thing you need to consider when staging your home for showing is possible pet smells that you may be used to, but others might find a turn off. Have your carpets professionally cleaned, making sure to tell the cleaners that you have pets and to remove any stains and odors that may be present.

You’ll also want to go through your rooms and check for pet hair that might have accumulated on the sides of your furniture and drapes and vacuum it off.

If your pets are staying in the home during the selling process, make sure that pet food is not left in places buyers may look, such as cabinets and pantries. Store them in the garage while the home is being shown.

Making sure your home is staged to appeal to many people is a hard task; hopefully these tips will make your home stand out to those who love pets and those who don’t. Some of these things may seem hard at first, but the faster your home sells, the sooner Fido will have a new backyard to play in!

What is PMI?

PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. It is something required by your mortgage company if your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price. It’s purpose is to cover the balance of the 20% if you stopped making payments and went into foreclosure. It’s not going to pay off or mortgage if anything happens to you, it only protects the bank’s investment.

There are ways to avoid paying for PMI, such as if you are a veteran, VA loans do not require mortgage insurance. Other ways include going with a high interest rate, getting a combination loan, and there are also some banks that offer special loans to teachers and doctors that don’t require PMI.

One thing to know about PMI is that you don’t have to pay it for the entire life of the loan. It is only needed to cover the amount a 20% down payment. When your equity has reached that 20% you can contact your mortgage company and ask about ending your PMI. The 20% equity is based on your payments so far and the appraised value of your home, so they will usually want a professional appraisal done, which can run anywhere from $300-$500.

Get the most out of selling your home: Reasons listing with an agent is more relaxing than selling yourself.

You may be considering trying to sell your home on your own, perhaps with a sign in the yard and an online ad, but going at it alone may not be the simplest route. There are a few things to consider when deciding to sell on your own.

The first thing to understand is what role a listing agent actually plays in the process and what they bring to the table. Agents have a real time understanding of the housing market and have a better idea of what your home should be listed for.

When you sell your home on your own, you loose many avenues of marketing their home, such as only licensed real estate professionals have access to the MLS (multiple listing service), which adds your home listing to most real estate searches online, as well as putting it in front of real estate agents that may have a buyer your home is perfect for. Many agencies feature listed homes on the home page of their website giving additional exposure to home buyers.

Many home buyers feel intimidated when looking at a home shown by the owner and they may not even look at your home. Knowing that they will be negotiating with the owner themselves, without an agent as an emotional buffer, often holds them back from making an offer.

Agents also have the advantage of knowing real estate laws in their state and know all the steps to completing a transaction. This keeps you from making mistakes and slowing the process or loosing the sale all together.

Hopefully these reasons will make you aware of the why listing with an agent relieves stress of selling your home. Agents do this everyday and are well versed in the process and problems that may arise. Yes, they are motivated by commissions, but this motivation is to your advantage, providing you with the services and skills needed to sell your home in a timely manner and not have to worry about the sale of your home. You may be considering trying to sell your home on your own, perhaps with a sign in the yard and an online ad, but going at it alone may not be the simplest route. There are a few things to consider when deciding to sell on your own.

The first thing to understand is what role a listing agent actually plays in the process and what they bring to the table. Agents have a real time understanding of the housing market and have a better idea of what your home should be listed for.

When you sell your home on your own, you loose many avenues of marketing their home, such as only licensed real estate professionals have access to the MLS (multiple listing service), which adds your home listing to most real estate searches online, as well as putting it in front of real estate agents that may have a buyer your home is perfect for. Many agencies feature listed homes on the home page of their website giving additional exposure to home buyers.

Many home buyers feel intimidated when looking at a home shown by the owner and they may not even look at your home. Knowing that they will be negotiating with the owner themselves, without an agent as an emotional buffer, often holds them back from making an offer.

Agents also have the advantage of knowing real estate laws in their state and know all the steps to completing a transaction. This keeps you from making mistakes and slowing the process or loosing the sale all together.

Hopefully these reasons will make you aware of the why listing with an agent relieves stress of selling your home. Agents do this everyday and are well versed in the process and problems that may arise. Yes, they are motivated by commissions, but this motivation is to your advantage, providing you with the services and skills needed to sell your home in a timely manner and not have to worry about the sale of your home.