Pet-Friendly Home Features to Look for When You Own a Dog
When you buy a new home, take into consideration the needs of everyone in your family, including your dog. Dogs have particular needs when it comes to living spaces, so thinking those things through in advance can help you choose a house where your pet can be happy and safe. Consider the following variables when you’re looking for a new home for you and your dogs.
Walkability
Dogs need a walkable neighborhood where they can exercise and enjoy themselves. Many features make a neighborhood walkable. Wide sidewalks in good condition make walking your pet easy and low-stress. Sidewalks should be continuous, so check the sidewalks by walking them yourself. This way, you can ensure that the sidewalks run in a continuous loop around the neighborhood.
Once you find a few neighborhoods that are walkable in the area where you want to buy a home, communicate with your real estate agent about which neighborhoods are best for you. As you find more neighborhoods, you can continue to add these locations to your list.
Suitable Yard
Dogs, as a general rule, need yard space to get exercise and enjoy themselves. A good yard is one that has room for your dog to run. Your real estate agent can help you sort through listings to find a home that has expansive green grass a level yard where your dog can spend time outdoors.
Slow Traffic
Dogs can take off running at unexpected times, sometimes into the middle of the road. This behavior can lead to tragic, unintended consequences. For obvious reasons, many dog owners prefer to live on roads with slow traffic and few cars.
Once you’ve found a house where you’d like to live, take some time to observe the road where the home is located. This observation can help you decide whether or not the house where you want to live is on a high-traffic road. Consult with your real estate agent to find out if your real estate agent knows about the traffic patterns in that area.
Fencing
Many dogs need fencing that’s in good condition. Ideally, the home you would like to buy will have a fence that is capable of containing your dog.
If the house that you would like to buy has no fence or a fence that will not contain your dog, work with your real estate agent to negotiate a lower price for the house. This way, you’ll be sure to have some money left over that you can use to install a proper fence for your pet.
Proximity to Other Pets
Sometimes having other pets in the neighborhood is a bonus, and sometimes it’s not. If your dog is very social and likes to be around other dogs, you may wish to live in a neighborhood where other dogs are nearby. If your dog is afraid of other animals, the opposite might be true.
It can be hard to gauge how many dogs are in the neighborhood. The best way to find out is to communicate with your real estate professional, who can communicate with the seller’s real estate agent. The seller’s real estate agent can ask the sellers themselves, “are there other dogs in the neighborhood? Are they friendly?” This information can be very useful.
Maintain Good Communication With Your Real Estate Agent
A good real estate agent is someone who you can trust to find a house in a neighborhood where you and the other members of your family will be happy. At Charles L. Moles Real Estate, LLC, we’re always happy to answer home buyer questions for clients. To find out more about buying a pet-friendly property, contact us today.
