Sellers: Marketing Your Home as Pet-Friendly

Image by Ángel Garcia from Pixabay

Many homebuyers are putting their pets first while looking for a place to live. They want a space that will work well for everyone in their household, all their pets included. If you have a truly pet-friendly property, then you can capture the attention of those individuals by marketing it as such. With that move, you’ll get your home into the hands of someone who will appreciate all it offers them and their pets. Here’s how to make that happen.

Think About Key Pet Upgrades

If you’ve upgraded your home with features that make life as a pet owner much easier, be sure to highlight them.

Fellow pet lovers will enjoy seeing upgrades like:

• Pet grooming stations
• Pull-out food bins
• Hideaway litter boxes
• Catio with catwalks
• Backyard dog mansions
• Etc.

Even simple upgrades, like heated floors made with pet-friendly materials, can go a long way in drawing in pet owners as your buyers of choice. As they envision themselves in that space, they can easily see how those elements will benefit them.

Talk Up the Pet-Friendly Features

Many pet-friendly features can speak for themselves, but it’s still a good idea to talk them up as much as possible. You can ask your prospective buyers if they have pets as you chat, and then point out the features that might sweeten the deal the most.

Then, once you’ve covered the benefits of each feature, be sure to step back and let them explore the place at their leisure. Before you know it, they’ll be coming back around to learn even more. Throughout your conversations, try to keep the focus on the buyers’ pets, not your own. Although it’ll be clear that pets lived in the space, you want to highlight how the space will work for the new owners rather than how it was used.

Let Buyers Bring Their Pets to Take a Look

With your pets out of the house, you can let homebuyers bring their own pets to the showing. Your real estate agent can put the info on the flyers, online postings and other ads to draw in the crowds quick.

To make all the visiting pets feel comfortable on the tour, have your agent put out a water bowl while setting up the refreshments table. Put well-labeled pet treats out on the table, so the owners can decide if they want to give one to their pet. Many pets have sensitive stomachs that do not respond well to different food brands and varieties, so put the package nearby as well.

As the pet owners look around the place, they can see how much their pets like the different features. Encourage them to see if their pet fits in the grooming tub or can figure out the hidden toy bin. As they try out each item and reflect on how it will make their lives easier, they’ll likely feel much more inspired to buy your home before someone else grabs it up.

Not many people are marketing their homes as pet-friendly, so by taking this approach, your home is likely to stand out from the crowd. You can then enjoy meeting with many pet owners interested in getting the perfect place for their pets — and receive a ton of offers on your home.