Some real estate pros are bringing foster dogs with them to showings, hoping that while finding the perfect home for a buyer, they’ll be able to find the perfect homes for the foster pet, too.
Kelcey Otten, a real estate professional with Compass in Manhattan, will often bring two small dogs she fosters with her on showing tours to pet-friendly apartments. She’ll bring the pups in her purse on a property tour. “I thought if I could bring my foster pups with me on buyer tours, then I could expose them to a larger pool of potential adopters,” Otten said to the The New York Times. She hopes that she’ll be able to find the foster dogs a home while also closing a real estate deal.
“I do my best to be mindful and get permission beforehand” to bring the dogs, Otten told NYT. “Most of the time, people are just super excited to see a dog.” In the last three years, Otten has helped place 15 dogs in permanent homes.
Some potential buyers are also seeking out animal-loving agents. Eileen Mandel told NYT that she wanted to work with Otten as her real estate agent because she and her husband have three rescue dogs. They wanted a pet-savvy broker to help them find a home in New York City. “My top priority was finding a place that would accommodate all of my dogs,” Mandel said to NYT.
Certainly, a pet in tow isn’t going to necessarily help sell a property, Otten says, but “even if a potential buyer doesn’t want to adopt, bringing the dogs on showings still helps generate leads. Having a cute little thing running around brings a levity to the whole experience.”
Domingo Perez Jr., a real estate pro with Warburg Realty, and Kathryn Landow, another Warburg agent, teamed up to partner with Animal Haven, a nonprofit organization that finds homes for abandoned cats and dogs throughout the New York City area. They recently hosted an adoption event with rescue animals during a real estate preview on a terrace of a building. The event featured kittens and dogs from the shelter.
“We’re in the business of finding a home for everyone, both two- and four-legged,” Landow says.
It’s not just dogs and cats either. Lori Coredero and Sara Magers are real estate pros with The Rescue REALTORS® team at Pacific Playa Realty in Los Angeles. When they have a listing that has enough outdoor space and the homeowners’ approval, they’ll bring bunnies to the open house. They will team with Too Many Bunnies Rabbit Rescue to hold an adoption event at the open house.
“We’re not just helping a potential buyer or seller with real estate, we’re helping raise community awareness about the homeless animal population,” Cordero told The New York Times.
