Houses with pets

[Dalooah]

I recently read a thread where a lot of people mentioned they wouldn't consider buying a house that had pets.

I just wondered why?

We're looking at a house where the owners have a few cats but I'm not sure what I should look out for with regards to the pets as I'm not a pet person!

@CaptainThe95thRifles

I'm more concerned about scuzzy humans than scuzzy pets

I was about to say something along the same lines but your description is way better

And as a pp said, if you rule out houses with pets, then you really are cutting short your market. I'd be looking to replace carpets in any house regardless of pets or no pets!

We have 2 dogs. Our house is immaculate. The dogs don't do any damage to the house.

No smell either as we keep ontop of cleaning etc

We've moved a lot and seen some stinking houses where the owners had dogs. One made us gag as we walked in. We had been keen to see this property so had a quick look round, but the stink was overwhelming, in every room. The couple had two big dogs. We could smell it all the way home, on our clothes and hair. We can usually see past crappy decor, clutter, minor things that need sorting, but this made such a negative impression it still comes to mind when I pass that house now.

@newmumwithquestions

Hmm so our kitten did wee on the carpet, we’ve tried cleaning but you can still tell so we’re replacing it with wood flooring. But they don’t scratch walls etc - that’s dogs. Cats scratch the cat scratcher or furniture if you’re unlucky so I don’t see how it would affect a future buyer.

Cats DO scratch walls, and doors in my experience, also carpets in doorways - depends on the cat of course

As long as the house didn’t smell, pets wouldn’t put me off. I’d replace carpets anyway and always redecorate when I move in, a bit of claw damage to woodwork is easily sanded out - it’s no different to scuffs and dings caused by everyday wear and tear.

I've never thought about it before but have bought properties from both pet free and pet owners. If people were so irresponsible as to not flea treat their pets, their general hygiene standards would be likely be poor and the house would be dirty and smelly with or without them. I'm not a cat owner but they are generally odour free in my experience. Dogs can be a bit smelly at times but most owners I know keep on top of this by bathing and grooming them. I've been in houses that smell of residual smoke, fried food or overpowering air freshening chemicals. Not nice!