Pet Considerations When Selling A Home

Selling a home can be stressful and you're not the only one feeling the anxiety. Your pets can be affected too. Animals are very sensitive to subtle changes in our behavior and habits. If you don't believe me, just watch the family dog when you put on your sneakers by the back door. Walk, anyone? While the beta-fish probably won't care who is in your home, don't count on Fido having the same reaction. What will Fido's reaction be? Will he happily rush to greet visitors, knocking your potential buyer to the floor with enthusiasm, or could he show signs of more aggressive behavior? Will you know if you're not there?

When you list your property with a real estate agent, you won't be around when your property is shown. There may be a lock box on your door, allowing agents and their buyers to gain access to your property at all times of the day. Fido, who normally sleeps on the couch (we all know that's where he goes as soon as you leave) may need to be confined to another room every day, just in case. Worse yet, what happens if an agent comes unannounced and Fido goes berserk?

One of my dearest friends is "mom" to not one, but four German Shepherds. While they act very obediently when she is around, you couldn't pay me to venture into her home or back yard alone if she was not with me. What would a potential buyer do under that circumstance?

Dogs aren't the only ones who can act out during stressful times. Cats are notorious for making a run for a dark spot in which to hide when feeling threatened. Imagine Fluffy, alone under the bed after the real estate agent accidentally closes her in the room for the entire day, away from food, water and, well....you get the idea.

When you choose to sell by owner, you are not only making the selling process easier on yourself, but on your family members too, whether you have young children or pets. Knowing when potential buyers are coming to your home gives you time to plan for alternative pet care, or to move a pet into a more confined area for their own safety and that of your visitors. Maybe Fido will even get a well-deserved walk in the park with your teenager, blissfully unaware of the intrusion that took place during his normal afternoon nap time on the couch.

5th Annual Derrill's Race - Coming May 4th

The crocuses are up, I can see some bare grass and it's time to dust off those sneakers in time for Derrill's Race. Word has it that local teams are already forming and as the race's webmaster, we are receiving email requests for information and registration. Derrill's Race is a 5K Run-Walk charitable event held on the Manhan Rail Trail, right behind our office in Easthampton, Massachusetts. To my knowledge, the use of the rail trail (Easthampton's five mile bike path) as our race route is unique and its hard for participants not to take in the beauty of the Nora Valdez mural and sculpture as they begin their run. I love having my office border the bike path. Haley (my loyal office dog) and I are often found taking a noon walk.

I love the sense of community that living in a small town brings and Derrill's Race is a perfect example of why Easthampton, along with other small cities and towns in Western Massachusetts, is now being looked at as a highly desirable area in which to live and work. When I chose Easthampton as home almost twenty years ago, it was based upon location - 16 miles from Amherst, where I worked at the time, and 16 miles to Springfield, where my husband worked. Easthampton was the logical choice for us. A lot has changed in the community over the years - we became a city, electing a mayor to replace our Board of Select"men". We reinvented our downtown, now home to nationally known artisans and renovated long-idle factory buildings into incubators for many small businesses, restaurants and artists.

If you are new to the community, join us at the race and meet new friends! You don't have to be a runner - we have many walkers as well.

Why My Dog Is So Smart

I have a Golden Retriever named Haley who spends the day at my office under my desk. The great thing about dogs is that they live in the moment. They don't worry about the economy, the "real estate bubble", whether foreclosures are on the rise in Western Massachusetts, whether now is a bad time to buy or sell, or whether interest rates will go up or down. No, Haley doesn't fret about what happened yesterday, the day she opened up the door under the sink and tipped over the trash can. She doesn't worry about what will happen tomorrow either. You see, Haley doesn't read the paper, listen to TV or the radio, and doesn't look online. It's a good thing, because if she did, she'd probably not want to buy a house right now.

Buyers, on the other hand, seem to be listening to the gloom and doom media who can't get enough of making sure we're all miserable. I don't get it. We bought our first home in 1987, when interest rates were 13.5%. Should we have waited until they came down to around 5% in order to buy? Hard to think so.

For the first time in many years we have an abundance of homes for buyers to weigh carefully. Rates are really very low and as long as your credit is good, loans can be written. As long as buyers are careful to stay within their means, home ownership is not out of the question.

Maybe buyers should turn off the TV for a while, stop reading the headlines and go to a few open houses. Sellers will be happy to see them again.

Haley is patiently waiting to go for a walk. I guess I'd better go!