How to Sell Your Condo if You Have a Dog

Nowadays, many condo associations are more lenient when it comes to unit owners and their pets. Although this is a victory to the owner, when it comes to offering his condo for sale, having his pet and all things related to it strewn all over the unit will make things difficult.

This may be hard to believe, but there are people who are not too fond of dogs. Although seeing the occasional claw mark or chew toy may not faze a pet lover, other people may not let it slide that easily. If you are trying to sell your condo where you and your dog have lived in for a while, here are some staging tips that you can apply.

1.       Get cleaning!

If your condo was built with wall-to-wall carpeting and you have been neglecting your duty of regularly vacuuming it, this sale should motivate you to get going. Take your vacuum and use it to clean up dog food crumbs and dog hair that have been hiding in corners or camouflaging in the carpet. Stop assuming that the stain on the carpet is spilled orange juice, especially since you have a dog; clean it with a scrub brush and soapy water. One of the things that will turn a buyer off, even with a spotless condo, is pet odor. The cleaning doesn’t end with what you can see; remember that you also need to make your condo smell as good as it looks. Open your door and the windows to let the air flow and take the smell out. Wash all of the rugs and take the curtains down to bring to the cleaners.

2.       Store everything dog-related.

As you’re going around purging your condo of clutter, don’t forget to put away your dog’s toys to further lessen the things that can distract the buyer. When buyers come for a showing, be sure that you’ve also put away your dog’s water bowl and his bed. Remember to also seek out and hide all the things that your dog has been sharpening his teeth with, like your shoes, old magazines and the couch’s throw pillows. These things can look bad to the most discerning buyer, so it would be better to keep them out of sight or toss them out.

3.       Get a good friend to dog-sit during your condo’s showing.

It doesn’t matter if your dog is über-friendly to strangers; when buyers come over to see your condominium, it’s better to get your dog out of the unit and leave him with a great friend or neighbor. Other than the fact that it will keep people who are scared of dogs from leaving, doing this will ensure that your condo stays nice and clean as you are showing it off.

Just so you understand, these tips are not for making potential buyers believe that you don’t own any pets; anyway, there’s often no fooling people who can sense the presence of a dog a mile away. What you are trying to do is prepare your condo in a way that will attract all sorts of buyers, as well as great offers.