Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My dilema is how am I going to sell my house with all the snakes in it?

Here are some known facts. I am selling my house on my own (not with a real estate agent). I do not have a close friend/family that is willing to allow me to keep the snakes at their house. I do not want to take out a bridge loan.

Do I:
A.) Tell them the room is off limits and show them a pic of it on the inside (without all the cages and snakes).
B.) Come on in! Here are my snakes (tell them in advance so no one dies in my house from a heart attack)!
C.) Send them to your house and you watch over them for me?

I would love to hear from those who have gone through this great adventure!

Thanks in advance!

Robert
Baker's Boas

As a former agent, I would suggest that you tell everyone ahead of time. If they're really turned off by it when you tell them, imagine how they would react if they get there and...SURPRISE! If you do eventually list with an agent, they can make a note on the MLS' agent only remarks, and then the other agent can softly break it to potential buyers. You just wouldn't want the liability of some buyer having a heart attack on your kitchen floor!
Hope this helps!

Full disclosure is always best IMO. When we sold our house (13 years ago) the collection was a lot smaller and I had built a small shop out back. I moved all the shop stuff into the garage and all the herps and rodents into the shop. I think it did help that none of that was in the house.

Probably would be easiest if it was all gone from the house while trying to sell it. any local herp societies? Maybe they could hook you up with someone willing to host your collection for a bit.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

f you are unable to relocate the collection....

Clean CLEAN CLEAN Clean and tidy will loook a lot better to any prospective buyer.

We all know the snake room can have an odor to it. No way around having animals without smells. What counts is not being able to notice one!!!!

Any local comercial space available you could rent or sublet for a short term?
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I could not agree with you more! Full disclosure is the best policy. Imagine if a prospective buyer discovered that you were not honest about your snakes, they would probably assume you would lie about other aspects of the house. Also Dave is absolutely correct, keep your snake room and cages immaculate (as everyone should 100% of the time).Think of this experience as an opportunity to educate prospective buyers.

I agree 100% with Dave. Personally, a clean snake room would not bother me if I were a prospective buyer, but I can tell you for a fact that there are a lot of buyers out there who don't think like that. I've sold several houses, and some people will complain about the silliest, most minor cosmetic things.
Makes no sense to me, but it's reality. And the sad fact is most people don't appreciate snakes like we do.

My opinion would be to try to relocate the snakes temporarily, and if you can't, disclose they are there and make it as clean as possible. Trying to hide them probably isn't a good idea.

Whatever you do, good luck!

Thanks,
Ed

I know when my parents were trying to sell their house while I was overseas on deployment they just covered up all my cages and racks with a dark sheet...so that might be an option for ya?
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Brandon Nixon

since im local to u ill move out my room and put you snakes in there lol ill even do it for the low cost of a single moonglow lol sorry i dont have any better ideas bet bet would be is when showing the house keep your snake room nice n tidy and warn them before hand like ok this room is full of snakes if you wish to see it lol

I would get every sign of a snake out of there before having any strangers over to poke around.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

*sigh*

check with a rescue in your area.... we do this kind of thing a lot... BUT-- we get donations to do it.

We go to peoples houses, help them pack up thier snakes/other herps, and cages, and drag them to our place... some times for a month or more... and if they're moving locally- we'll keep them until they've moved into thier new place,and help them move thier 'kids' into the new place--- the average we charge for this kind of thing is about 100-200 for a month (includes food) and it also kind of depends on what it is, and how many....

i would not charge 100$ a month to board 1 corn snake- thats silly!

anyway- i know we like boarding, as it brings in a big of xtra cash for supplies and things in the rescue-- so you might check with them- and it sure beats having them stashed at a friends/parents who is so terrified of them, they wont have any care while you're dealing with your mess....

just a thought
Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue