3 Ways Your Dog Could Cost You when Selling Your Home
Your dog is a member of your family, and you love it dearly. You probably could not imagine life without your beloved pup. However, if you are planning to sell your home in Illinois, buyers may not be quite as enthralled by your furry friend. In fact, having a dog could reduce your home’s selling value.
CNN explains that if your home has damage from your dog, you could lose thousands of dollars in a sale. There are quite a few ways that your dog could reduce your property value. Here is a look at three of them.
Smells
Dogs have their own unique smell. After living with them for a while, you probably do not even notice it. However, other people will. If your home has a dog smell to it, that will discourage buyers. You may need to do a complete overhaul of every carpet, along with deep cleaning your furniture if it will be present when buyers are looking at your home.
Damage
If you have a dog that likes to chew or that scratches things up, then you need to watch out for damage to drywall, doors and other areas of your home. Even scratch marks on a door are bad news when you want to sell.
Other messes
If you have a pup that is not quite housebroken or who gets sick a lot, then this is another issue. You may need to completely tear up carpet to remove urine stains and other issues. Buyers do not want a carpet that is beyond cleaning.
It helps to remove your pet from your home when buyers visit. You may even want to see if you can get a friend or relative to keep it until you sell your home. This can help avoid additional issues after you fix the existing ones.