MsElui

put me out of my misery lol.

We are supposed to be relocating within the US and listed our house Thursday. We got three showings booked Friday (2 of which cancelled anyway) another Saturday and 2 more Sunday. (so 4 in total) 2 have given feedback - (one didnt like the pet smells and the other moaned about some old water marks in the basement).

So now we are running around trying to freshen up the carpets etc from the dogs and trying to work out what to do about the damp marks.

Plus Trying to keep the house tidy when you have 3 crazy young kids and 2 mental dogs is like poking yourself in the eye with a sharp stick over and over lol.

Its only been on the market 4 days and i'm hating it so the prospect of weeks of this is too much to bear lol. I don't even want to move in the first place.

Pulaski

People can be very picky about pet odours, so get the carpets steam cleaned (I have found "Steamway" franchises to do a better job than the better known "Stanley Steamer" franchises), and banish the dogs to the garage 24/7 until the house is sold. It might be tougher on you than on them, but it'll be much easier to find a buyer.

Good luck!

Mummy in the foothills

Fingers crossed it goes in a few days. That seems to be the new norm round here.
I boxed up most of Dd's stuff, packed lots of things away and made our house look more like a display with fluffy white towels (bought a big bottle of clorox to go with them), it was sold to the second viewer in 24 hours so theres always hope. More buyers than sellers at the moment.
I've been told it's best to hide all evidence of pets, put the beds into the garage when people come and hide dishes in a cupboard and take them out for a walk. Luckily our cat stayed outside a lot and hid from strangers.

MsElui

we actually have moved the caged to the garage- and all the bowls etc were away. i will certainly be looking at getting the carpets cleaned again too. 80% of the kids toys are in the basement now and ive spent the last 2 months waiting for the paperwork decluttering everything. I think the water marks are the bigger issue.

Lbjen

It's easier if you just get a storage unit and pack as many of the toys and other kid stuff away as you can get away with, and if its possible at all, have the dogs live elsewhere until you move. You are going to be packing anyway so why not get a head start and get your house sold quicker too?

joto

We got our carpets cleaned and put the dog crates and bowls in the garage, and tidied up generally. We had a lot of viewers scheduled one day, so took the dogs out for a drive for 5 hours, because that's how the scheduling worked out. It was worth it as we got 4 offers from that day.

Nutmegger

I had five dogs the last time we listed a house, so we couldn't use a lockbox and had to make appointments for showings. Someone told me to simmer cinnamon sticks and cloves on the stove top for a while to make the place smell nice. So I would do that for 15 mins or so and then shove the pan in the oven when I left, as every time there was a showing I would have to load the dogs up and go for a drive. Thank goodness it sold in two days! Hope it goes fast, good luck.

Speedwell

Every time I move out of a carpeted flat, I sprinkle ordinary salt mixed with lavender essential oil over the carpet, let it sit for an hour or two, then vacuum up. I learned the trick from a friend who (surprise) sells essential oils, but I have figured out that the salt and lavender actually do kill odor-causing microorganisms. If you have a carpet cleaner of the wet-vacuum type, the best solution to use is Nature's Miracle. Another friend who used to do make-readies for apartment complexes said she used to use household ammonia, well brushed in, to fix pet accident spots. This is no good for your carpets on a long term basis but does work in the short term.

Ruth16

I wouldn't worry too much about it being a mess, people can see through most of that, but water marks in the basement , I'd turn right around and leave...

Bluegrass Lass

I'll be the one to say it: I disagree. Pets are members of my family, and I'm not rehoming them for days/weeks/months while my house is on the market. Not to mention, trying to find someone willing to take them on for an unknown period of time - I'm certainly not going to subject them to a small kennel for an unknown period of time either (at my cost). Cleaning up the evidence of stains and putting bowls/beds/litter boxes out sight should be all I need to do before a viewing.

Lbjen

Obviously it's only something you'd do if there was a way for it to be done within your comfort zone - some people may have relatives they are happy to have watch their pets for a few weeks etc. I'm not saying send them to the kennel for 6 months!

Bluegrass Lass

You didn't need to, but I'm glad you said that! I couldn't imagine sending them to a kennel long term and don't see how some people could do that!

Good luck MsElui! I remember the difficulty trying to sell our house years ago, and it about did my head in and we didn't have kids!

Pulaski

Maybe it was the smell of dogs that wasn't noticeable to you but may have been very obvious to potential buyers?

Bluegrass Lass

We didn't have dogs though..

And my comments to potential buyers would have been: don't like the smell, then you can clean or replace the carpets.

SultanOfSwing

There's a guaranteed way to make them go and look at another house ...

That being said - if you have cats, there shouldn't be much of a smell anyway - just the never ending supply of freshly shed hair to hoover up. Well, mine also scratches away at the carpet, the little shit. She should be a bit more grateful that I remember to feed her and show the gratitude by not potentially costing me a few grand down the line.

The same goes for the children and their bloody inability to keep food and drink on their plates, in their cups or in their mouths. Arseholes