Can having a dog or cat (or any other pet) reduce the resale value of your home?  Well, first of all, let’s look at how many Americans actually own pets.  The American Pets Products Manufacterer’s Association says that 43 million households have dogs while almost 38 million households have cats.  That said, it’s very likely that the people who will be looking to buy your  house will be pet owners themselves as will other properties for sale at the same time as your home is for sale.  So, if you decide to get a pet, you won’t be alone!

That’s not to say you shouldn’t take certain precautions, though.  If you have a pet in your home, there are things you’ll want to do before putting your house on the market and before each showing of your home:

-Make sure you keep the house clean of pet hair.  Have the carpets and furniture professionally cleaned before putting your house on the market and dust and vacuum frequently.

-Repair any pet-related damage such as chewed on cabinets or stained carpet.

-Keep the animal out of the house during showings.  Whether you take the pet with your or put the pet in a kennel, you don’t want potential homebuyers being surprised by seeing an animal in your house.

As long as your house is in good condition and clean, the presence of a pet shouldn’t affect the value of your home.

When you’re buying a home, you should never skip the home inspection.  It will tell you if there are any concerns in terms of safety, maintenance or code that you’ll want to be aware of before you move in and a good home inspection will also let you know if there is anything that needs to be fixed by the seller before completing the deal.  

The question is, however, who all should be there?  Of course, you’ll want to be there because the home inspector will likely give you very useful information during the process.  Your real estate agent will also want to be there because he or she has experience in these things and will know which things you can let go and which things you’ll want to take to the seller to get fixed before closing.

Sometimes the seller likes to be at the home inspection as well.  There are pros and cons to this.  Often times, an inspector likes to have the home seller there during the inspection for many reasons:

-The inspector can ask the seller about certain things (such as water stains) to find out if it’s a constant problem or the results of a one time incident.

-The seller can tell you where to find things, especially in older homes, such as the outdoor spicket turn-off, addtional breakers, etc. 

-Sometimes there are things the inspector would like to check out but can’t because it’s covered, locked or otherwise inaccessible.  Having the seller there is useful because they can move the stuff, unlock the doors or just generally give consent to get into these hard to reach areas. 

-Finally, the seller’s presence can be beneficial to the home buyers because the seller can give them hints on how to “run” certain things in the home during the walk-through — especially if the house has special features such as an intercom or surround sound system.

There are cons to having the seller present as well.  Having your home inspected can be difficult when the inpsector is telling you everything that is wrong with your home and the sellers can get defensive about what the inspector is saying.  The seller can also try to “blow off” certain things that might end up to be a big deal in the near future such as a leaky pipe or some shingles lifting off of the roof.  Finally, the buyers may feel like they cannot be candid when discussing the home’s “issues” when the seller is standing right there.