← Back Sellers · 5 min read

Selling Your Home with Pets in Brisbane: Practical Tips

Practical, non-judgmental advice on managing pets during open homes, photography, and the sale campaign.

Selling a home with pets is extremely common in Brisbane's inner east. Many vendors have dogs, cats, or both, and the process of managing a sale campaign around them is something agents deal with every week. The goal is not to pretend the pets do not exist, but to make sure their presence does not create an avoidable negative impression during photography and open homes. Most of what needs to be done is practical and straightforward.

Photography day

Photography is the first impression buyers get of your home, and it sets the expectation for every buyer who walks through the door. On photography day, the goal is for the home to look as clean and neutral as possible, which means removing any visible evidence of pets from every room and the yard before the photographer arrives.

Inside the house, this means picking up water and food bowls, removing pet beds and crates from any rooms being photographed, clearing litter trays from bathrooms, and wiping down any surfaces that your pets regularly contact. Pet hair on sofas and beds should be vacuumed or lint-rolled before the shoot. Claw marks on timber door frames or skirting boards are worth addressing before photography if they are noticeable, as these appear clearly in wide-angle interior shots.

Outside, pack away any kennels, outdoor pet runs, feeding stations, or dog washing areas that would be visible in yard shots. The lawn should be checked for any pet waste and cleared thoroughly. If your dog has worn a path in the grass along a fence line, a fresh layer of mulch or a pot plant positioned thoughtfully can soften the visual without a major landscaping investment.

Organise for your pets to be out of the house for the duration of the shoot. A dog that barks at the photographer, or a cat that keeps walking across the benchtop being photographed, adds stress to the session and risks appearing in images that then need to be reshot or removed in post-production.

Open homes and inspections

The most important rule for open homes is that pets should not be present. This applies regardless of how well-behaved your animals are. Not all buyers are comfortable around dogs or cats, and a buyer who is allergic or anxious around animals will not spend the time they need in your home to form a genuine buying intention. A dog that is excited by strangers in the house, even one that is friendly and good-natured, can be a distraction that shortens inspection times and creates a negative impression of the home's presentation.

Make arrangements for your pets to leave the property at least 30 to 45 minutes before each open home. This allows time to remove any last-minute evidence of their presence and to air the house before buyers arrive. Useful options include taking your dog for a long walk during the inspection period, leaving pets with a neighbour or family member, or arranging for them to spend the morning at a dog daycare facility. For cats, a carrier in a friend's car or in the garage is a practical option, though check the temperature carefully in Brisbane's warmer months.

Before each open home, do a quick sweep of the house for pet items: bowls, leads, toys, and beds should be stored out of sight. Check rooms for odours and ventilate where needed. Buyers notice smell before they notice almost anything else, and a fresh-smelling house presents significantly better than one where the first impression at the door is animal odour.

Managing odours

Pet odour is one of the most commonly raised concerns in buyer feedback for homes with animals, and it is worth addressing properly rather than masking. Strong artificial fragrances and air fresheners can actually make the problem more obvious to buyers who will assume you are covering something up.

The most effective approach is ventilation combined with cleaning. Opening the house thoroughly for several hours before each inspection, washing any fabric items that absorb odour regularly, and having carpets steam cleaned before the campaign begins are all worthwhile steps. If you have a dog that spends time indoors, the areas of carpet where they sleep most often are worth particular attention. Enzymatic cleaning products are more effective than standard cleaning products for breaking down pet odour rather than simply covering it.

If your home has been assessed by your agent or a pre-sale stylist and pet odour is noted as an issue, it is better to hear that feedback before you go to market than to have it reflected in buyer behaviour and price feedback during the campaign. A professional carpet clean and a week of consistent ventilation before launch will cost less than a price reduction driven by buyers who could smell pets when they walked through the door.

Pet damage and disclosure

Physical damage from pets, such as scratched doors, chewed skirting boards, worn patches in carpets, or stained areas on timber floors, should be addressed before going to market where the repair cost is reasonable relative to the likely impact on buyer perception. Buyers will notice these things and will use them to justify lower offers or to walk away from a property they were otherwise interested in.

Not all pet damage needs to be repaired. Cosmetic wear that is minor and consistent with the age of the home will generally be accepted by buyers as normal. The items worth addressing are those that are visually prominent, that appear in photographs, or that a buyer might interpret as a structural issue rather than a cosmetic one. Your agent should be able to advise you on which items to address and which to leave, based on what is typical for your price range and the buyer profile most likely to compete for your property.

In Queensland, sellers are required to disclose known material facts about a property. If there is significant damage to the structure or fittings of the home that is attributable to pets, that is worth discussing with your conveyancer before you go to market. Disclosure requirements are specific, and your legal advisor is the right person to guide you on what needs to be included in your disclosure statement.

What buyers notice and what they overlook

Most buyers in Brisbane's inner east are pet owners themselves or are comfortable with the idea that a home has had pets in it. The things that create a lasting negative impression are not the fact that you have a dog or a cat, but the evidence of those pets being present during the sale process: smell, mess, visible damage, and a sense that the home has not been properly prepared for inspection.

A home that is clean, well-presented, and fresh-smelling will be assessed on its own merits regardless of what the owners' lifestyle has been. The preparation you put in before each open home is the thing that determines whether buyers leave thinking "what a lovely home" or "I need to factor in some repairs." Most of the difference comes down to two or three hours of focused effort before each inspection, and the habit of keeping the house in a consistently presentable state throughout the campaign period.