How to Sell Your Home When Living with Pets

To my surprise, not everyone loves dogs and cats, and over the years of selling houses in the Northeast Ohio area, I’ve learned that our beloved pets can be a complete turn off to people looking to buy a house. So, when our pet lovin’ clients are ready to sell their house, we have them take some extra steps to make sure the house is appealing to a home buyer.

• Scoop the poop from the yard.

• Clean out the litter box. 

• When possible, take the animals with you during showing times. 

• And, take their dishes too (sometimes just the site of animal items will invoke ‘the house smells of ‘ and send a buyer running) 

• Have the house professionally cleaned and deodorized (we once had to have our client repaint their family room because their dog would lay and rub against the walls and leave an oily film on the wall causing a dog odor). 

• Have a friend who would tell you the truth and that has a great nose, come over for a sniff test. 

• Vacuum daily to pick up the pet hair. 

• Have the carpets cleaned 

• Whatever you do, Don’t use one of those plugins, or the like to try to cover up pet smells, it really turns a buyer off. We’ve had some buyers refuse to look around a house because the smell is sickening. 

• For stubborn pet odors, we have purchased an ionizer for our clients to use. 

• Don’t leave your pets in a specific room where people can’t get in to see it. More times than I can count, homeowners have left their pets in the laundry room, garage, bedroom, basement, with a note stating not to open the door, which means a Mayfield Heights OH home buyer cannot see in the room, leaving the room to their imagination (and that is just not good, turns out, most buyers will think the worst and turn away from the house). 

• If you cannot take your pets with you during showing times, crate your pets so your potential home buyer can see in every room.

• Odors of any kind have a negative impact on people, and pet odors are at the top of the list of why a home buyer won’t buy a Mayfield Heights house.
  Getting your house sold often involves eliminating the roadblocks that will keep a person from buying. Keep in mind your house has only one time to be a new listing, and one chance of making a great 1st impression, so take your time in getting the house ready for sale. Doing so will pay off for you in the long run, both monetarily and in the time it takes to sell the house.
  With me as your Mayfield Heights OH real estate agent, you can have expert guidance you can count on. Find out how I can help you, call me, Christine Pappas, at 216-956-7635 today!
• 
  
• In case you can not view this video here, please click the link below to view How to Sell Your Home When Living with Pets on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/_lYAGtZn3EA

What Are the Closing Costs of Buying a 🏡Home in Mayfield Heights?

Buying a home is a life accomplishment that is nearly on everyone’s bucket list.

Whether you prefer a modern home with large windows and daring roof lines or a suburban home with a white picket fence, most of us hope to find a home that will keep us and our loved ones happy for the long term.

However, buying a house is never easy. There are a lot of things that you have to prepare for. The process can be quite confusing, especially for first-time buyers who have never done it before.

One area that is often misunderstood is closing costs. Many buyers don’t know what to expect or how much they will have to pay. You need to understand what closing costs are when buying a home in Mayfield Heights.

What are closing costs?

Closing costs are miscellaneous expenses that are paid at the closing of a real estate transaction. Closing costs are given when the title of the property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. It can be incurred by either the seller or the buyer.

The total amount of closing costs depends on the location and the value of the property being transferred. The average closing costs percentage is usually about 2-5% of the purchase price.

Closing costs can vary from lender to lender and from market to market. However, the following closing costs are fairly typical for most home sales in Mayfield Heights, Ohio:

Loan origination or lender fees

The loan origination fee is simply a cost meant to pay for the research your lender has done on you as a borrower. It covers the lender’s cost of processing the loan, including origination, underwriting, document preparation, processing, funding, and administration. It is usually about 1 percent of the total home loan, but it is one of the few that can be negotiated.

Appraisal fee

This is the payment for the appraiser who assesses the value of the property you are looking to buy. Every lender requires a property appraisal report to determine how large of a mortgage to grant you.

Settlement/ Closing Fee

Legal representation at the time of closing is not required in the state of Ohio. The title company handles all the legal aspects of the settlement.

Title Insurance

Title insurance is an insurance policy that protects the lender against any problems found in the public records or the possibility of title fraud. The buyer is required to pay for the cost of title insurance on the lender in the amount of the loan.

Survey

A survey must be conducted to find out important details about a house and the land it sits on. Property surveys are done to avoid any property line issues that might arise. The cost of a survey depends on a series of factors such as property size, terrain, and location.

Home Inspection

You should have the home checked out by a professional home inspector to avoid a costly mistake of purchasing a property in need of major repairs. Typically, the buyer pays for the home inspection as part of the total closing costs.

Are you in the market for a home for sale in Mayfield Heights? Let me assist you!

I am Christine Pappas, your REALTOR® from Ohio. You can count on me to make your home buying experience easier! Call me at 216-956-7635 now!



In case you can not view this video here, please click the link below to view What Are the Closing Costs of Buying a 🏡Home in Mayfield Heights? on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/_WEMppCzeag