This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Suburban Boston Lifestyles in Westwood: How Pets Affect Home Sales

A look at the best ways to manage pets and home sales.

While they have stolen your heart, these adorable creatures often stall a sale - pets! We love them, they are part of our family – however, they may be a problem when it comes to selling a property!

What not to do:

Please don’t try to convince people coming to see your property that your very large dog is very friendly, or that your cat will hide during a showing.

Find out what's happening in Westwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Pets – and their bowls, litter boxes, and smells – can do more to derail an interested buyer than anything else they may see in a house.

A buyer will make a decision on a property during the first 15 seconds they walk in the house. There are lots of ideas to enhance a home sale by staging, price, terms – one of the least expensive things to do is to make your home sparkle and to remove anything that might cause a buyer reject the house.

Find out what's happening in Westwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Please do:

Remove the pets and their personal items from the house – during the open house and during a showing.

At the very least, they are distracting, at its worst, the buyers or their children worry about being bitten (likely or not), stains in the carpet and allergic reactions. They will discount the house because they decide all the carpeting must be replaced and more.

Find a place (friend or neighbor) where your pets can be safe and happy.

A home that is priced right and prepared well won’t be on the market very long – once yours is sold, you and your pets can settle into your new home!

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?