If you’re an animal lover, you understand how important pets can be when making major decisions. When buying a home, one of the biggest considerations for pet owners is how pet-friendly the property and surrounding area is.
Highlighting your home’s pet-friendly qualities is a great way to demonstrate its value and expand your pool of potential buyers. Even if you don’t personally have pets, your house might have some features that are important to animal lovers. Here are seven features that appeal to pet parents and add value to your home:
1. Fencing
A fenced-in yard is one of the best features you can offer to pet owners. Homeowners can let their pets roam around the lawn without the fear of them running loose. Fences offer a number of other benefits for homeowners, too, including privacy and noise control.
Fencing is expensive and tedious to install, so many pet owners would prefer to buy a house that already has a fence. If you have a fenced-in yard, consider investing in repairs or repainting it to make it as appealing as possible.
2. Pet-Friendly Landscaping
In addition to a fence, other landscaping features can either attract or deter pet lovers. For instance, a garden full of toxic plants will probably turn pet owners away. However, there are a wide variety of ways that you can update your landscaping to be more pet-friendly.
Here are some of the best landscaping features for pets:
Shade on lawn, patio, and walkways
Heat-resistant surfaces like pea gravel or decomposed granite
Dog-friendly grass like Bermuda or zoysia
Non-toxic plants
Outdoor water fountain with constant circulation
3. Mudroom
A mudroom is an especially valuable feature for dog owners because it creates a barrier between the outdoors and your home’s interior. You don’t want your dog coming inside from a rainy walk and getting muddy paw prints all over your carpet. A pet-friendly mudroom could have mats for your dog to clean their paws, shelves or cubbies for pet supplies, and even a washing station with running water.
4. Durable Floors
Pet owners are highly concerned about flooring because pets can easily do a lot of damage to floors. Carpet can get soiled or stained, and hardwood floors can get scratched up.
Luxury vinyl plank, or LVP, is generally considered the most pet-friendly type of flooring. It tends to be highly durable, and many options are waterproof and scratch-proof. Laminate flooring is also very durable and scratch-resistant, but most laminate isn’t waterproof.
5. Feeding and Watering Station
A built-in food and water station for pets is an easy upgrade that will help your home appeal to animal lovers. This can be as simple as installing a low shelf in the kitchen to hold food and water bowls or converting a bottom drawer to a feeding station. If you want to get more elaborate, you could build a pet station with a dedicated water tap so that the animals always have a supply of fresh water.
6. Pet Doors
Installing dog or cat doors is one of the simplest but most effective upgrades to make your house more pet-friendly. Animal lovers will notice pet doors right away, so this can be a great way to make a good first impression.
Building a pet door is a fairly easy DIY project if you have access to the right tools and equipment. You can also hire out the task for a reasonable cost. If you want to pursue a more elaborate project, you could even build a smart pet door that locks and unlocks on a schedule or can be controlled remotely.
7. Location
Location is a major factor in how pet-friendly a home is. Dog owners may be drawn to neighborhoods with sidewalks and lights that make it safe and easy to take their furry friends on walks. Proximity to dog-friendly parks is a huge bonus, too. Owners of indoor-outdoor cats may prefer quiet neighborhoods with minimal vehicle traffic so that their pets can safely roam.
Consider the culture of the neighborhood, too. If a lot of community members also have pets, prospective buyers will feel more comfortable. On the other hand, the presence of an HOA with pet restrictions could turn animal lovers away.
How to Market Your Listing to Pet Lovers
If your home boasts a lot of pet-friendly features, you should try to appeal to pet owners in your listing. Here are some strategies to keep in mind as you prepare your home for the market:
Take Photos
Photos are probably the most important element of your real estate listing. Potential buyers make immediate judgments based on the first pictures they see, so your listing photos have the power to draw people in or turn them away.
Make sure the pet-friendly features of your home are featured in your listing. This could include a fenced-in yard, pet-friendly mudroom, or watering or washing station. However, most real estate experts advise against including pictures of your pets themselves. While pet photos can be endearing to some pet lovers, they can be off-putting to other buyers.
Write a Careful Description
Your listing description is another great place to highlight your home’s pet-friendly features. Certain phrases will stand out to animal lovers. For example, dog owners will be happy to see “fenced-in yard” or “nearby dog park.” Sprinkle these phrases into your listing to catch the eye of pet owners.
Clean Thoroughly
Although pet owners will be thrilled to see that your home is animal-friendly, they probably don’t want to see too many signs of your pets themselves. Animal stains, smells, or clutter can create concerns about the home’s overall condition and cleanliness.
Deep cleaning is an essential step in preparing your home for the market. If you have carpet, consider cleaning it with a pet-friendly solution or hiring a professional carpet cleaner. Make sure all pet hair is vacuumed up from rugs and couches, and put away pet bowls and toys. Running an air purifier to remove pet smells can be helpful, too.
Remove Your Pets During Showings
Some animal lovers would be excited to meet your beloved pets during a showing or open house, but most prospective buyers don’t want to encounter pets.
When staging, you should remove the personal touches in your home so that it becomes a blank slate that buyers can project their own visions onto. The presence of your pets will remind buyers that someone else lives in the home, which can subconsciously block them from creating a personal connection with the property. Plan to take your pets with you when you leave for showings.
Pet-Friendliness: An Often Overlooked Element of Real Estate
Whether or not you have pets yourself, consider pet-friendliness when preparing your home for the real estate market. Pet-friendly features can help your home appeal to a wide range of buyers and can even boost the property’s value. If your house is designed for pets, use this to your advantage in your marketing strategy. This can help you attract more buyers, which will lead to better offers.
