House not selling? How big is your dog?
There’s a house in my city – I live just outside Chicago – that’s been on the market for nearly six months now. It sits on an extra-wide lot, is beautifully maintained and is priced fairly.
But every time I so much as step on the frontwalk outside this home, I hear the panicked barking of what sounds like a very irritated, very large dog. That’s shortly followed by the sound of something very thick and meaty slamming against the, thankfully, locked front door.
Now, I’ve not seen the dog. For all I know, it’s a Chihuahua. But it sure sounds bigger than that.
For all you home sellers out there, angry, barking dogs are a major turnoff. Hopefully, the sellers of this house move the dog during scheduled showings. But I have toured houses where the owners kept their dogs in the basement, a handwritten note alerting real estate agents to the monster down below. Even put a hand on that basement doorknob, and Fido starts roaring.
This is a great way to turn away potential buyers.
I don’t have anything against dogs. I own one myself. (Though I’d be willing to part with it for the right price! (Just kidding.)) But when my wife and I sold our house, we made sure every trace of Benji was hidden, including, of course, Benji himself.
There’s a good story here at the Web home of Quicken Loans that gives tips for pet owners who are selling their homes. We’ve all read these kind of tips before, so I won’t repeat them. I have just one piece of advice: If your Spot or Fido or Rufus has a bark that’d put a mountain lion to shame, take him to the park during showings.
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POSTED IN: Buying a Property, Real Estate Tools, Real Life Stories, Road to Profits, Selling a Property
2 opinions for House not selling? How big is your dog?
Kelly
Oct 11, 2007 at 8:24 am
This is great advice, but it’s really hard. We recently put our house up for sale and had a 2 hour window for showings. I have 3 kids and a dog. Getting them all out of the house at practically a moment’s notice was really difficult. And sometimes, if the weather was particularly bad, we had to put him in a room that was “off limits” - I know, not desirable, but there are few options. Anyone who has a dog knows that it’s not the same as a gerbil - you can’t just ask someone to keep him for 3 months while your house is listed. We took him for walks, went on vacation and took him with us, left him at a neighbors’ house, took him to the office - anything to get the dog out when we could. But it was impossible to get him out of the house at each showing (we sometimes had three per day). Any suggestions if the dog absolutely must stay?
And IMO, big dogs like labs are muuuuch more desirable than yippy Chihuahuas. ;)
Dan
Oct 11, 2007 at 9:27 am
Hi, Kelly:
Thanks for your message. I know how difficult it can be to get the dog out of the house, especially for last-minute showings or on days when there are lots of showings. And I know most people are not going to be comfortable sending their pet to live at a kennel or relative’s house for months on end.
When we sold our house, we were pretty lucky: It didn’t take too many showings. We never had to leave the dog. If we had to leave him, I’m not sure, to be honest, what we’d do. He’s kind of a nut when new people come to the house, and he’s certainly not used to be hidden away in the basement. I think your “room off limits” idea is really the best way to handle what’s really a no-win situation. Of course, if the people looking at the house are pet owners themselves, they probably won’t mind the dog situation at all.
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