You might be sharing your home with a furry friend or two, but those cute critters have a tendency of leaving foul odors behind. While you might not notice these smells that much, buyers will. You can be sure that any bad odors from your pets will be a huge turnoff for buyers who may otherwise have been inclined to put in an offer on your home.

Here are some ways to help you get rid of those awful scents before the first prospective buyer walks through your front door.

1. Open the Windows

One of the first things you should do to eliminate odors is open up all windows of the home and leave them open for a few hours. It only takes a minute to do and is highly effective. Letting all that foul odor out while allowing fresh air in can help circulate all those smells and refresh your indoor air. Try to make it a point of airing out your home at least once a week.

2. Wash Your Window Drapes

Bad smells have a knack for lingering on softer surfaces like fabric. Take down all those drapes hanging by your windows and throw them in the wash to rid them of any pet odors and refresh them with a renewed scent.

3. Steam Clean Your Upholstery

Not only should your drapes be laundered, so should your upholstery. Pet odors can easily linger on the surface of your sofas and chairs, especially if your furry friend has a tendency to lay on them.

Simply spraying them with cleaning solution isn’t going to do the thorough job that needs to be done. Instead, you should consider having your upholstery steam cleaned – either done yourself or by a professional – in order to eliminate any microscopic smells that surface cleaning won’t remove.

4. Shampoo Your Carpets

If you’ve got any wall-to-wall carpeting in your home, you may need to have it shampooed. But before you take this step, try deodorizing the carpeting by sprinkling some baking soda all over it and let it sit for a few hours to trap any odors. After that, vacuum it all up to get rid of the baking soda and the trapped smells along with it.

If this doesn’t do the trick, then you may have to deep-clean the carpets in the form of shampooing. You can either do this yourself by renting a carpet shampooer from your local home improvement store or hire the pros to do it for you. Shampooing your carpets can be tricky because you don’t want to use too much soap, which will make it hard to eliminate all the suds. In addition, you want to make sure the carpet is entirely dry before replacing any furniture on it.

You might also want to try using a HEPA vacuum, which is designed to trap minuscule particles that the naked eye can’t see. The filters in HEPA vacuums can remove years’ worth of pet dander and odor build-up in carpeting. Again, you can rent this piece of equipment to get the job done.

5. Clean Your Pets Toys

The surface of your pet’s toys contain all sorts of odor-producing particles after being chewed on all day long, so be sure to thoroughly wash these items as part of your overall strategy to eliminate pet odors from your home. And don’t forget to clean and wash your pet’s bowls, bed, cage, and litter box/pee pads too.

6. Change Your HEPA Filters

Ideally, your home should be outfitted with a HEPA air filtration system which is designed to traps particles like pet dander, dust mites, pollen, and even cigarette smoke. Not only are these highly effective in eliminating odors, they’re also fantastic for improving the overall air quality in a home. This makes for a much safer and pleasant interior.

That said, the filters on HEPA air filtration systems need to be replaced every so often. These filters can become inundated with debris after working so hard to clean the air. Regularly changing them can ensure that they are working properly to continue eliminating odors from your home, including those that come from your beloved pet. 

7. Repaint Your Walls

Sealing your walls can help get rid of any unwanted pet smells that are lingering around on these surfaces. You can easily seal your walls by either applying a sealant product appropriate for drywall, but also by giving your walls a fresh coat of paint. Not only will you be able to effectively rid your home of these unpleasant smells, but you’ll also be giving your home a facelift at the same time.

The Bottom Line

Before you list, it’s imperative that you take steps to prep your home for visiting buyers, and one of the tasks on your list is to ensure your home has a pleasant smell. While you don’t want to overpower your home’s interior with strong smells in an effort to mask any odors from your pets, you do want to neutral the smell and leave it smelling clean. If you’ve got a pet as part of the family, keep these tips in mind to keep any bad odors at bay.

California has been in the midst of a sizzling seller’s market right now with demand for housing and tight inventory driving up prices through the roof. If you’re planning to make a move, selling would likely be a great option.

But what about renting out your home and turning it into an income property? If the numbers line up, would it be worth it for you to hang on to your home and generate some income through rent, or should you just cut your ties and sell before moving on to something else?

Before you choose which route to take, you should ask yourself a few important questions to ensure you’re making a sound decision.

Do you have unrealistic expectations about hanging onto your home?

You might want to rent out your home instead of selling it as a means of making a passive income and trying your hand at real estate investing. But you may even just want to rent rather than sell so you can hang onto your beloved home that you’ve developed an emotional attachment to. If that’s the case, be sure that your decision to rent it out is based on sound research and number-crunching just to keep your home in your possession.

The need to hold onto a home by renting it out can turn out to be a bad decision for some homeowners. Tenants may not necessarily care for your home the way you would, so if you are particular about how your home is lived in, you may be sorely disappointed if renters are hard on your home and leave it in poor shape. If you are considering renting the home just to hang onto it, be sure that you’ve carefully considered the possibility that it might have to be repaired and improved between renters.

How much is the average rent in the neighborhood?

The idea of collecting a rent check every month to cover your mortgage might sound very attractive, but make sure you can command the amount of rent you need to cover your mortgage. Before you start looking for tenants, do some research into what the average rent is in the area for a property like yours. Don’t just look at what current listings are asking, but take a look at recently leased properties to see what they’ve been rented out for.

This is where a real estate agent comes in very handy – they’re not just for buying or selling. These professionals will be able to pull a report that lists similar properties in your area that have been recently rented out and the rent price they’ve been able to command. This will give you an approximate idea of what you can potentially rent your home out for.

Will the rent (and the costs of renting) cover the mortgage payments?

Once you’ve figured out how much rent you can realistically charge, your next step is to do some math to see if the rent covers all expenses related to operating the property. Unless you’ve got a sizeable bank account that doesn’t rely on paying for the mortgage and all other expenses, you’ll want to be sure to factor in all expenses and determine whether or not the rent you charge adequately covers all related costs.

Consider the following expenses that you’ll be responsible for paying:

Mortgage (including both principal and interest)

Property taxes

Homeowner’s insurance

HOA fees (if applicable)

Landlord insurance

Advertising fees

Maintenance and repairs

Property management fees (if you’re paying someone else to manage the property)

Is there a chance that you could move back?

You might have thought about renting instead of selling because there’s a chance that you could be moving back. Maybe you’ve been temporarily transferred to another office for work or simply want a change of scenery for a little while. Whatever your situation might be, there may be a possibility that you could be moving back to the area

If that’s the case, renting may be a viable option, as it could actually be cheaper and less complicated to rent rather than go through the sales process, then have to find a new home to purchase when you return.

Are you looking to take advantage of tax deductions?

Renting out a home can offer you some tax deductions that can help to offset the costs associated with carrying an investment property. In the majority of cases, you can claim deductions on any depreciation related to the home.

In the simplest of calculations, your annual depreciation would be the price paid for the home and whatever you spent on improving it (not including land value) divided by 27.5 years. So, if the home cost you $400,000, less $50,000 for land value, your annual depreciation would be about $12,727 ($350,000 ÷ 27.5 years). You can also deduct any repairs and property taxes related to the investment property. These deductions can go a long way in reducing your overall expenses.

Will housing prices continue to increase over the near future?

If you believe housing prices will continue to increase at a rapid pace over the next few years, it might make sense to hang onto the home in order to sell at a much higher price point and make an even bigger profit, if you can carry an additional mortgage.

However, if you wait too long to sell, you could be faced with capital gains taxes, which brings us to our next question.

Have you considered capital gains taxes if you sell?

If you sell a home that’s not your primary residence, you will be required to pay capital gains taxes. The property would be considered your primary residence if you live in it for two out of the five years before you sell it. But if you sell after renting for more than three years, that home won’t be considered your primary residence anymore, which means you’d be faced with a potentially hefty capital gains tax bill when you sell.

If you’re planning to rent out your home, make sure you understand how much you might possibly have to pay in capital gains taxes. You may even want to move back into your home in order to make sure the home qualifies as your primary residence before selling.

Can you buy another home without the proceeds of selling your current property?

The majority of repeat homebuyers tend to use the proceeds of the sale of their homes to be put towards a new home purchase. Considering how expensive a home purchase is, any amount of money that can be tapped into is a great help.

If you need the equity in your current home to be used as a down payment for a new home, then selling might be your best bet. On the other hand, if you can manage buying a new home without depending on the proceeds of your current property, then renting might be financially possible for you.

Are you prepared to become a landlord?

Even if the numbers make sense to rent, have you considered what being a landlord would be like? In a perfect world, you’d be able to find an awesome tenant right away who will pay rent on time every month and take great care of your property. But that’s not always the case.

You’ll need to be prepared to market the property for rent, schedule showings, take calls from your tenants, collect rent checks, maintain the property and make repairs, and deal with complaints. This can be aggravating and can take up a lot of your time. And if you don’t live very close to the home, that can make the job of a landlord even more difficult.

Of course, you can always hire a property management company to handle these tasks for you, but you’ll have to pay them. Just make sure this added expense doesn’t eat too much into your profits.

Are you educated on tenant and landlord rights?

You can get yourself into real trouble if you make a move that violates the landlord-tenant laws in your jurisdiction. These rules dictate how you conduct yourself as a landlord, including how much you can increase the rent and how you’re allowed to evict renters. Make sure you’ve familiarized yourself with these rules and regulations to avoid landing in legal hot water.

The Bottom Line

If it’s time to move, selling is always the more obvious choice. But if you have valid reasons for holding onto your home and have crunched the numbers, renting might be a financially viable alternative. Before you make your decision, be sure to consult with a real estate professional who has experience dealing with both sales and rentals in your area to find out which option is best suited for your situation.

Your credit score is a critical component of your financial health, so you want to make sure it’s as high as it can be. If it’s in bad shape, you’ll find it difficult to get approved for a mortgage, auto loan, and other loans on credit.

But if you think all is well with your finances, it can be rather disheartening to find out that your credit score dropped from one month to the next. The question is, how and why would this happen?

There are plenty of reasons, including the following.

1. Your Payment is Over 30 Days Late

One of the biggest reasons why a credit score plummets is because of missed a payment that is at least 30 days overdue. If you were a couple of days late on a payment, you won’t notice a difference in your credit score. But once it’s past due by at least 30 days, it will be reported to the credit bureaus. When the credit bureaus get wind of your overdue payment, your credit score will suffer.

Your payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score, so you can be sure that a missed payment will have a major impact. Even just one missed payment can make a big difference. Not only will your credit be dinged, you’ll also be stuck with a late payment fee from the creditor you owe.

2. You Maxed Out Your Credit Card

It’s recommended that you stay well under your credit limit on your credit card if you don’t want your credit score to be affected. Your credit utilization plays a big role in the health of your credit score, so you don’t want to spend so much on your credit card that you have little or no available credit left.

If you make a large purchase on your credit card one month, your lender might think that you depend too much on your credit to make purchases, which they’ll view unfavorably. As such, you might notice a drop in your score even if you pay off the entire balance in full and on time.

3. You Applied For a Few New Credit Accounts

Too many new accounts opened within a short period of time can be a bad thing for your credit score. Every time you apply for another credit account, the creditor will pull a “hard inquiry” on your credit to verify your financial health and check out your payment history.

Creditors aren’t usually in the habit of extending credit to those with a bad track record of late or missed payments, so checking your credit is a crucial way for them to make sure you’re a low-risk borrower.

But every time they check your credit, your credit score can drop a few points. And the more accounts you open, the more inquiries will be made, which means your credit can be significantly affected as all those hard inquiries add up.

4. You Recently Closed an Old Account

Old credit can actually be beneficial for your credit score, even if you don’t use it. Financial advisors will often recommend keeping old credit accounts open in an effort to improve credit scores, so closing them can actually have the opposite effect on your score. If you’ve recently closed an old account, your credit score might drop.

5. You Paid Off One of Your Loans

Paying down your debt is typically viewed as a positive thing for a person’s financial health, but sometimes paying off a loan can be a bad thing for your credit score initially. After your loan has been paid off and the account has been closed, you’ll have one less account on your books, which can impact your score.

That’s because having a mix of different types of credit helps establish and maintain a sound credit history, which is therefore good for your score. If you take one account out of the mix, your credit score could decrease.

6. Your Name is on Someone Else’s Delinquent Account

If you co-signed for someone else’s loan, you take on a huge risk if they happen to default on their payments. Some people may not be able to get approved for a loan on their own without someone else’s help, which is why they would need a co-signer to get the loan they require.

If the borrower happens to be very good at making their payments in full and on time each month, your credit score can actually get a boost. But the opposite is also true: if the individual is delinquent on the loan, your credit score can suffer.

7. There’s a Mistake on Your Credit Report

Sometimes a drop in your credit score might not necessarily be your fault. It’s possible that there’s a mistake on your credit report that’s pulling your score down. To find out for sure, you’d have to pull your report (which you can do for free once a year) and review it to see if there are any errors.

If you find any, that could explain the sudden drop in your score. In that case, you should have it investigated and resolved to help bring your score back up to where it should be.

The Bottom Line

There are all sorts of reasons why you may have noticed a drop in your credit score. The key is to identify the exact reason why your score changed for the worse and take steps to rectify it. You can also get in touch with a financial advisor or credit counselor who can guide you on the path to a solid credit score.

When it comes to getting a mortgage, borrowers are typically asked to present several pieces of documentation. Some of the more important paperwork includes a letter of employment from your employer as well as statements of income verifying how much you make on a regular basis.

But if you’re self-employed, you don’t have an employer, nor do you collect any paystubs that show your regular income. This can be a problem in terms of applying for a mortgage. Some lenders might be worried that your income isn’t steady enough to allow you to handle monthly mortgage payments. Others just might not want the hassle of dealing with more documentation that’s often required to scope out a self-employed individual before approving a home loan.

That said, you don’t have to toss out your dreams of buying a home and getting a mortgage just because you work for yourself. If you are confident that you can handle a mortgage, there are several things you can do to increase the chances of getting approved for a home loan.

Gather a Sizable Down Payment

The more money you have to use as a down payment towards a home purchase, the better your odds of getting approved for a mortgage. That’s because a larger down payment will essentially reduce the amount of money borrowed, which will reduce your loan-to-value ratio (LTV). A lower LTV is perceived as less of a risk to most lenders, thereby increasing the odds of home loan approval.

Not only that, a higher down payment will also afford you with a lower interest rate. While a high LTV doesn’t necessarily mean your mortgage application will be denied, it could make it more difficult to get approved for a home loan at a decent rate.

Show Proof of a Large Savings Account

In addition to a large down payment, a healthy savings account will please lenders and give them some assurance that you have enough money in an emergency fund to prevent any missed payments should you have a bad month or two with your business. The more money you have saved up for a rainy day, the better your chances of an approved home loan application.

Work on Your Credit Score

Your credit score plays a key role in your mortgage application. A high score shows lenders that you’re capable of making your debt payments on time and in full each month and are serious and responsible about paying down your debt. A lower score, on the other hand, has the opposite effect.

If your score could use some improvement, take the time to increase it before applying for a mortgage. Don’t miss any bill payments, minimize the amount you spend on your credit card, and avoid taking out new credit accounts. Improving your score will make you a good candidate for mortgage approval in the eyes of your lender, and it may also help you get a lower interest rate too.

Have All Your Business-Related Information Readily Available

As a self-employed individual, you’ll have to come up with plenty of documentation to prove you’re financially sound. Typically, lenders want the following documents from applicants who run their own businesses:

• Minimum of two years’ worth of tax returns (including all associated schedules)
• Profit and loss statements
• Balance sheets

The more documentation associated with your business’s income that you can supply, the better your chances of qualifying for a mortgage.

Don’t Write Off Too Much

As a business owner, you probably try to write off as much as you can to save money at tax time. However, it’s important to keep in mind that deducting from your taxes lowers your qualifying net income, which can therefore make it more challenging to get approved for a home loan.

Lenders will be looking at your net income over the past two years, and if you deduct too much from your gross income, your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) will suffer. While it’s beneficial to save some money by deducting business expenses from your taxes, you don’t want to write off too much to the point that your income won’t appear adequate enough to sustain a mortgage.

Pay Down as Much Debt as Possible

Too much debt will throw off your debt-to-income ratio and will make you seem like a risky borrower to lenders. The more you’re able to pay down your debt, the lower your DTI will be and the better your odds of getting approved for a mortgage. Not only that, but making your mortgage payments will be easier for you if you’re not drowning in debt.

Have Separate Personal and Business Accounts

Lenders will have to verify that the money being used for your down payments won’t negatively impact your business’s cash flow. This process of verification can be complicated if the money you use comes from one account that is used for both personal and business purposes. For this reason, it can be helpful if you separate your money into personal versus business accounts to make the process less cumbersome for everyone involved.

Keep Detailed and Up-to-Date Records

You may be required to submit a profit and loss statement, so properly classifying your income and expenses in great detail is very helpful. Maintaining good records can reduce any headaches when it comes time to provide the information your lender requests.

Wait Until You’ve Got a Solid Self-Employment History

It might be worth it to wait a couple of years to apply for a mortgage if you’re just starting a business or if the past few years haven’t been too successful. If you’re able to prove to your lender that your business is on solid ground by showing at least two years of solid self-employment history, you may be able to boost your odds of mortgage approval.

The Bottom Line

Being self-employed might require you to submit a few extra types of paperwork compared to a W-2 wage earner, but that doesn’t mean getting approved for a mortgage should be an impossible feat.

Understand what is required of a self-employed individual well in advance of applying for a mortgage and go into the process prepared. Speak with a mortgage specialist long before you decide to buy a home to find out exactly what you need and what you should do to put yourself in the position for mortgage approval when the time comes to apply.