Tip Jar: How to Avoid a Crappy Situation When Selling Your Home

We primp them. We pamper them. We dress them in costumes. We name them cute names like Zippy, Cinnamon, and Thurston Howell the Third. We walk them in all sorts of weather. We train them to do clever tricks. We get dates because of them and we will break up relationships over them. They are our dogs and we love them. But in Real Estate, man’s best friend can become Realtor’s worst enemy.

Here are a few examples of "Crappy" situations and ways to avoid them when trying to sell your home:

This photo is of a yard filled with “land mines” strategically placed by you know who, Fido!

Tip: Clean up the doggie remnants in the yard or hire someone to to do it for you. No one wants to play dodge the doodie during their showing of your beautiful home.

Last week I showed a beautiful Fishtown home but the topic of conversation was not about what price the buyer should offer, it was about who could identify the smell? Was it a cat, a dog, a ferret...? I said Sasquatch. It really stunk!

Tip: Animals smell. No offense folks, but they drool, they have accidents, even their food leaves behind a noxious odor. Somehow it is undetectable to the pet owner but believe me, the rest of us smell it! Ozium, Lysol, or any organic deodorizer works wonders when used consistently where your precious has made a mess. Smells can and will kill a deal from being made on your home.

Philadelphia, especially Northern Liberties, is a dog-loving neighborhood. There may be 50/50 split of people to pets! But with ratios like that, the old saying rings true, dogs are better to be seen than heard.  Last week after playing what’s that smell (see #2 above) we toured a lovely home. We all peered out of the kitchen window to observe the garden that looked like it was a picture cut from Better Homes & Gardens...until we stepped outside to be met by CUJO. Holy crap...we ran for the front door never to return again!

Tip: There are actually sound ordinances, as well as a bunch of rules that pets and their owners must follow. Nuisances such as noise and droppings are topics of big discussion in Philadelphia and there are rules and fines for pets that behave badly. A tall fence makes good neighbors and in this case a discussion with the neighbor might go a long way in keeping CUJO from scaring off potential buyers.