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The day I first saw the home I eventually decided to buy in Tucson, the owners were both at work and my Realtor took me in using their lock box. They had a Pomeranian in the master bathroom; the bathroom door was open and there was a gate across the door to keep the dog in. There was info about this situation on a sheet my Realtor had, introducing the dog by name, saying the dog would bark with excitement when visitors arrived but was friendly and shouldn't be feared, but please keep the dog in the bathroom.
I'm not a pet owner, but this didn't bother me. I was able to see inside the room through the open door and I figured the plumbing, etc., could be checked out by my inspector if I decided to buy. The home was clean and I didn't see any negative evidence of the dog anywhere in the house. Yes, I did look, but I have a pretty good sense of smell and I think I could tell if a pet lived in a home even if it wasn't there at the time. As a buyer, I thought the situation was well-handled. There were no surprises going in and the dog in the bathroom didn't have a negative influence on my opinion of the house. I much prefer their handling of the situation to locking an animal in the garage and then not letting me see the garage.
We always found a place for the dogs to stay while we listed. Our cats would just hide under a bed if someone came in, so I made sure litter was nice and clean and left the house.
Depends upon how many showings we have. We may drop him off at the Doggy Day Spa or take him somewhere. I don't recommend leaving him or her there, running loose or even in a crate. It is a turn off for a lot of people (who may be allergic, for example).
We always found a place for the dogs to stay while we listed. Our cats would just hide under a bed if someone came in, so I made sure litter was nice and clean and left the house.
If our both our cats would hide under the bed I would do that too. Unfortunately, one cat is very social, and would follow anyone around, looking for attention. Not a good sales strategy.
I looked at houses with cats wandering, or mostly hiding, and it didn't bother me a bit. Dogs crated in the garage also didn't bother me.
The house I bought had 2 pugs in a covered crate in the 3rd bedroom. Also had a faulty CO alarm that went off while we were there and drove the dogs bat ### crazy. Had to call agent who sent owner over to disconnect it. Poor dogs would have been in a bad way had it continued to sound for hours.
I have a non social cat that is not fond of strangers. If she heard somebody come in she didn't know, she'd duck under the bed, where she is most of the time anyway. If she was outside, she would not come to the door and scratch if she saw a strange car in the driveway. She doesn't use a litter box and does her business outside, so it would be hard to tell a cat lives there.
Well, except for the hole she scratched in the old chair in the bedroom.
We've always tried to not let buyers even know there are pets in the house. So, we've utilized doggie day care, stashed pets at the neighbors for the day when we were at work (and paid them for this), and (after I was retired), taken them for long drives in the a/c car.
We picked up the toys, litter boxes, hid the food and water dishes, etc. before we left the house. No trace of the animal occupants anywhere.
Realtors were required to give us at least one hour notice before arrival - most called the day before.
All I KNOW is this: When we are buying a house and I see that there is a pet in residence, my sense of smell immediately goes up ten notches. My eyes are more directed to carpet stains and scratches on doors. I've had friends with allergies tell me they walk right out the door before looking at the whole house. I figure - why even let them know about the pets? It's just one more thing that MAY turn off a potential buyer.
Exactly. I sold a condo a few years ago. Always took the dog out when there was a showing. At closing, the new buyers asked if I had a dog. They had looked in the lazy susan cabinet and seen the dog dish, which I thought was well-hidden. If I sell the house I'm in now, it will take some preparation to remove the scratch marks from the TWO little ones I have now, but I intend to take them out and hide all evidence of them. I do not want potential buyers to start sniffing and sneezing.
Also, be sure to ask your next-door neighbors to take inside their dogs that constantly bark in adjacent yard(s). Non-stop barking will drive away buyers (and the price of your home).
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