Where do Pets Fit in Real Estate? -Useful Information For Your Clients

City of Toronto is home to an estimate of 250,000 dogs and 160,000 cats. Across Canada, more than half of all households include a furry, feathered or scaled friend, contributing to a multi-billion dollar a year pet industry in the country.

If your clients are planning to stake a claim in the Greater Toronto Area’s booming condominium market, be sure that they’re aware of a building’s rules before making any firm commitments. Many condominium communities not only restrict the number of pets one can have but also their size, often limiting them to less than 30 pounds. As with every aspect of a transaction, it’s essential that the specifics are documented, and in this case, your client will find a condominium’s pet restrictions noted in the rules that regulate the owners’ living environment, which are outlined in its status certificate. Since the status certificate includes a number of other important details including utility and common-element fees, it’s advisable to make any offer conditional on review of this vital document. Even if they’re leaning toward a freehold property, it’s worth becoming familiar with local pet by-laws, which can vary significantly between municipalities.

When selling a property, eliminating every trace of fur and odour from a home is a must. Also consider that Fido and Fluffy’s paws travel across many different surfaces throughout the course of the day, and unlike us, they don’t have the opportunity to remove shoes and wash hands. To provide for the best return on your client's investment, it’s essential to keep the product that they’re taking to market spotlessly clean, and to have a plan to relocate all four-legged family members quickly when the call for a showing comes. This also applies to exotic pets: a plan will be needed for making Izzy and Snowball scarce as well. Doing so will not only make the home more saleable, it will safeguard your client's pets, as having strangers wander through their territory could at best make them uncomfortable and at worst, disappear. Just as your client would remove their most valuable possessions from their home before a showing, relocating your animal family members is in everyone’s best interest.

Reference: Toronto Real Estate President, Mark McLean