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The Best Ways to Sell Your House When You Have Pets

Many buyers and sellers of homes are pet owners. However, marketing your home as one that is full of pets does not appeal to all buyers. A buyer will want to picture themselves living in your home, and if there are clear signs of a pet previously living there such as pet fur or pet smells, it may cause them to stray away from purchasing your home. During your open house, your home should appear as if a pet had never lived there at all. Use these tips to help hide your pets’ evidence as you put it on the market!

Depersonalize your home

Throughout the process of cleaning your home, you are going to remove a lot of personal items that sit in plain sight. This also applies to any of your pet’s items. This includes water and food bowls, beds, toys, and anything else that belongs to your pet. Put all of these belongings into a bin and store them for the duration of your open house.

Remove all signs of a pet

Although you may think your pet has not done anything to change your home, to fresh eyes, it can be more noticeable what the differences are. Get rid of that pet smell you have grown so used to by cleaning your entire home with these tips!

Find a pet sitter

Even if you have the most well-behaved pet in the world, a buyer will not want to interact with it while they are looking for a new home to buy. Before having an open house, make sure that you have somewhere to keep your pet for a few hours. Ask a neighbor or family member if they could take your pet in during this time. Avoid leaving your pet in your backyard for this duration of time, as the heat may be dangerous if it is outside for too long. If you can’t find a pet sitter, do not attempt to hide your pet. Simply leave your pet in a secure room in a kennel.

Use Zippy Shell

After you have used these tips to help sell your home, contact Zippy Shell to help you with your move! We can service moves of many sizes, and even offer storage options if you need it. Check out Zippy Shell’s storage options to store some of your belongings to make your home more spacious while you are hosting an open house. Contact us today for a free quote and see how we can make moving and storage simple for you! 

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The Best Tips for Hosting an Open House During the Illinois Winter!

As we head into the heart of winter in Illinois, it’s hard to imagine wanting to do anything but cuddle up under a blanket and wait for spring. But for many homeowners, they are spending the winter trying to sell their home.

Winter can be a hard time of year to sell your home, but it’s absolutely not impossible. One of the key ways to get buyer interest in your home is by hosting a great open house! Winter poses a few special challenges for a successful open house, but follow along with these 5 tips and you’ll be just fine!

Manage Snow Removal
Winter often comes with snow and ice which can make the outside of your home look like a mess. Your snow removal and ice management need to be near perfection. Especially if you are hosting an open house. Make sure guests have a clear walkway and that any ice patches have been properly salted. Nothing leaves a worse first impression than slipping on their way up to your home.

Warm and Inviting
Even if you normally like to keep your thermostat on the lower side during winter, during an open house you should turn it up to a more comfortable level. You don’t want to give buyers the impression that your home is cold and drafty- because it might cause them to not want your home. If you have a fireplace in your home, Winter is the perfect time to show it off. Walking into a warm home with a fire lit in the fire place is a great first impression for a home buyer.

Cold Weather Snacks
Instead of just offering the normal array of snacks and coffee at your open house, why not throw in a few Winter classics? Adding in hot chocolate, apple cider, and other delicious seasonal items will be a welcome treat!

Make your Guests Comfortable
Don’t make home buyers walk around in snowy and heavy outerwear during their whole visit. Make a designated spot for them to leave their jackets and boots.

Brighten Your Home
It gets dark early during the winter, so make sure your home has enough light to look bright and cheery. A dark home will not show as well as well lit one.

Store Your Stuff with Zippy Shell
Clutter makes your home look smaller and can distract buyers from actually seeing the selling points of your home. Zippy Shell of Northern Illinois will safely store your items while you sell your home and then move them to your new home! You can learn more about our storage and moving services by visiting www.zippyshell.com.

Do you have any other ideas to help host the perfect winter open house? Let us know in the comments!

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How to Eliminate Pet Odor When Selling your Home

You don’t want your house to smell of your pets while trying to sell your home. Use these tips to remove all unwanted pet odors from your house!

Clean off all your home’s floors

Your entire house is most likely covered in debris from your pet. Sweep and mop all your home’s hardwood floors to scoop up all the fallen pet hair and dander. Do this gently to prevent debris from getting swept up into the air. Vacuum every inch of carpet in your home, including small rugs.

Clean off furniture

If you allow your pet to go up on any of your furniture you will want to clean this off. Make a homemade mixture of equal parts water and vinegar and gently rub your leather couches with this on a cloth. For cotton couches, use a small vacuum and/or a vacuum hose to get the hard to reach spaces.

Steam clean

You’ll want to use a steam cleaner on any of your carpets to remove odors that have become trapped in the carpet’s fibers. Make sure the carpets are dry before allowing anyone or your pet back on them.

Wash all your linens

Put all your mattresses, pillowcases, sheets, couch cushions, etc. that could have picked up any pet odors through the washing machine. Air dry these to avoid damaging them in the dryer.

Air out

Change your home’s air filters to allow clean air to flow in and out. Open some of your windows to let the old air flow out and new, fresh air flow in.

Add a new fresh scent

Light some candles or install some air fresheners in each room to create a refreshing smell in your rooms.