Unrealistic to think a house will come up that don't have pets?

[CactusFlr]

I'm not a pet owner and I'm adamant I don't want to buy a house that has pets but am I being unrealistic? Most of my family have or have had dogs. An EA mentioned it's about 70%. Is that really true, it's seems high to me?

Thing is, if you’re stressing about pets, it’s the same with babies and children. My babies have pissed, shit, puked all over the carpet, but my dog has never done any of those things inside the house.

The smell of cigarettes is FAR harder to get rid of because it permeates the walls, ceilings etc. But pet smells don't linger like that, unless you're one of those people who keep 17 cats and dogs and let their piss soak into the floor. Cats generally are very clean; mine has never peed on the floor, is low shed and we have only hard flooring. I can't believe any residual smell wouldn't be removed with a good general clean.

OP, given your problem is OCD, can I suggest you refine your criterion to 'clean, well kept houses' rather than trying to control potential causes of contamination?

I've only lived in one house where the carpets were left by the previous owner (they were hideous). They had been cleaned and there was no smell or sign of their dogs.

Surely most people want their own decor including carpets in a new house?

If your parents can only just afford a house now and still have to house you, you are being very unreasonable to expect them to find a house that's never had pets in it.

If your anxiety is that high, then I'm going to presume any other people having lived in the house and walked on the carpets and no doubt spilled things on the carpets is going to distress you, not just pets. Plus people having used the toilet, or done who knows what in the shower.

Start looking through Rightmove / Zoopla - you'll find there are quite often houses that people have 'done up to sell' which have all new flooring.

But, of course it would limit you massively if you put such a restriction on things.

I lived near an old guy, when he sold his house he left his cat behind and the new people had to rehome it on the day they moved in ( as well as clean the place and get rid of all the rubbish)

I think you will be better off looking for a new build with your OCD. That way you will be safe in the knowledge that you are the only person to have lived there.

They don't like the idea of a new build and I'm not in a position to dictate what they choose. I'm trying to get my head around doing something that normal people do all the time but it's really difficult. I have a lot of mixed feelings about moving. Everything we look at doesn't seem quite right and I don't know if I was out of the equation they would have bought something sooner. I'm not sure if my comments are influencing them against a property and I do feel selfish doing that because they're not getting any younger and want to get settled somewhere nice.

How about taking yourself out of the conversations? Say you don’t want to be involved, don’t want to see them on line or go to viewings. As long as there’s a bedroom for you and it’s in this town, wherever they pick, you’ll make it work.

tell them that the only house that would be perfect for you is the one you live in now, so given that, they should go ahead and pick what they want, to show you / discuss with you only after they’ve had an offer accepted.

Overall, it might just make your mental health easier if you just had to deal with the final decision, not get involved in the search.

This is the best advice.

whatever they buy it will work out

Did you read the OP’s posts? She has OCD. Is that usually your response to someone with a mental illness?

Get a professional cleaning company in.

You need to step back and let them do this. You are not helping or being reasonable by what you have put here, which is understandable but don't let your OCD bully them too. They deserve to buy where they want. A clean will suffice.

I agree with this about fag smoke.

At my last job, when one of the partners retired, the junior partner bought him out and gifted the retiree the lease hire car he had been driving.

In reality the car stunk of fag smoke and would have been valueless when it was chopped back in for a new one so it wasn't the generous gift it looked like. The inside was yellow and it was only a year old. I would drive it sometimes to go get milk and buns for break time and my clothes would reek all day.

I think just change the flooring and redecorate if needed, the only time pets have put me off a property is when dog owners have left dog poop all over the lawn, I really wouldn’t want that job of picking it up if I moved in.

You'd be amazed how many leave their cats behind. Still, I don't think that's the OP's worry.

Different people handle stuff different but this would be what would work for me in a situation like this but I don't have anxiety in general.

I don't really worry about just upcoming life things that are set in stone and I never stress about things after they already happened either (can't change them so not worth dwelling on) but when faced with having to make a 'choice' I can suddenly become crippled by indecision.

I think OP has already took that she can change things like carpets etc... so hopefully just focusing on things like that rather than the house might help. As I said most houses I viewed I would have no idea if they had a pet so OP doesn't need to know either way. A sort of 'shroedingers cat' of house buying (did a pet ever live their or not). I think OP has already took that she can change things like carpets etc... so hopefully just focusing on stuff like that (picking her favorite new carpet etc...) instead.

Just let them choose but ask that they get a new carpet.

Are you getting treatment for OCD?

Reality is that even if there’s not a pet now there will have been one in the past in most houses plus people dying, giving birth etc for the older ones. Sorry probably unhelpful.

@Funnywonder You can GET A BLOODY GRIP too. ❄️ ❄️ ❄️

So I don’t think you’re being unrealistic- it’s not a condition I’ve heard before but I’m a huge fan of you do you as long as it’s not hurting anyone. That said you might be restricting yourself quite a lot and there’s a potential that someone might have a pet you don’t notice (although as a pet owner myself there’s a lot of stuff that goes with them even if the pet is out). There’s also the chance that someone doesn’t have a pet but may have a friend or family members pet that comes and stays a lot but isn’t actually there.

As other posters have mentioned you could get new carpets etc and/or have the place deep cleaned. Might be worth telling them you have serious allergies instead as people can be judgy and also just not do a thorough job if they don’t deem it serious enough.

finally, I am pretty shocked how angry people on here get from someone just asking politely for advice/help- man they are coming for you instead of just minding their own business and getting on with their days huh! Ignore them and take the helpful advice here ❤️

Even a deep clean doesn’t remove whatever it is that causes allergies. I can sense animals I’m allergic to as soon as I walk into a house. Can’t explain it. It’s just something in the air. Cats are the worst.

OP it’s unbelievable how many people have pets and a pain in the arse for house hunting. Pet owners don’t get it. They say I’ll just put the cat in the other room. It doesn’t alleviate a bloody thing. Best not to enter the house at all.

A deep clean doesn’t shift the smell either - to a non pet owner…..

When I was renting I moved into a flat that had had cats in. I am very allergic so I made it clear to the landlord before moving in that I needed proof of a full carpet cleaning etc., which were provided. It was absolutely fine, I'd never have known there had been cats in there before me.

I think you need to come to terms with this somehow. Even if the current occupants don’t have pets, the previous ones might have had pets. Piss can get on underlay etc and you might not see it. I recently recarpeted a room that had a load of piss on the underlay. I also have carpets that are from not the previous occupants, but the ones before that.

It won’t hurt you, so it’s best to try to rationalise it. Perhaps you could pay for one room (your bedroom) to be recarpeted if it’s upsetting you that much? Hard floors are much easier to sanitise. But you don’t need to live in a house that’s pristine clean - because it’ll be fine anyway.

Does a goldfish count?

Let them decide what they want to buy themselves then. You won't be living with them forever and it's their house, not yours. Stop commenting and making their lives more difficult.

Unfortunately yes. :( especially now. It’s so off putting.