October 2, 2013 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Around Town Oct. 3

• Chadds Ford Elementary School’s second annual Fall Fair went off without a hitch on Sept. 27 with sunny skies and warm temperatures. No word on what the PTO raised this year, but last year the organization raised $4,000. This year’s coordinator, Lisa Albany, said the 2013 event was more for the community than to raise money. As the photo above shows, some people just like getting Principal Marc Ransford wet.

• West Chester’s Uptown! Entertainment Alliance has announced the appointment of Angela Scully as development director. She will be responsible for coordinating UEA’s work to convert the West Chester National Guard Armory into a new theater for film and live performances. The alliance is now completing the purchase of the armory, following the passage of a direct conveyance bill in April by the state legislature naming the UEA as the designated buyer. Scully will be helping to secure the considerable funds needed for its rehabilitation and conversion into a theater.

• The Delaware Museum of Natural History begins a new exhibit Oct. 12, running through Jan. 5. Imagine traveling 20,000 years into the past to a period in our planet’s history when the environment was dramatically different than we know it today. Fierce cats, enormous mastodons and wooly mammoths, six-feet-tall beavers, and other giant creatures roamed the land, and every day was a struggle for survival. This story will be presented, through direct handling and interaction with real fossils from such ancient animals as the giant (five ton!) ground sloth, the cave bear, the largest breed of lion to ever live, and the herds of shaggy elephants that once covered North America. MORE INFO: Visit www.delmnh.org or call (302) 658-9111.

• Jazz artist Phyllis Chapell performs live at Darlington Arts Center’s Coffee House Concert Series on Saturday, Oct. 12. Named one of the top jazz vocalists of all time by JazzTimes magazine, Chapell performs jazz, contemporary and world music classics in 13 languages. The concert starts with an open mic at 7:30 p.m, followed by Phyllis Chapell at 8 p.m. Guests are invited to bring a small picnic and a bottle of wine to enjoy by candlelight during the performance. Tickets are $15 General Admission (or $10 for Darlington members) and include free coffee, tea, and desserts. Advance ticket purchase is recommended: Purchase tickets in advance by calling (610) 358-3632 or visit www.darlingtonarts.org. Darlington Arts Center is at 977 Shavertown Road in Garnet Valley, PA. For more information visit www.darlingtonarts.org or call 610-358-3632

• Trinity Chiropractic will be holding a grand opening and ribbon cutting from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 12. This event is open to all members of the community, their families and children, including their dogs. Activities will include free spinal screenings, DJ and dancing, a bouncy house and face painting for the kids and hourly door prize drawings. Bring a can of food for the food pantry and get a free hot dog. The Kennett Area Food Cupboard, serving Kennett, Unionville, Chadds Ford and Avon Grove will be on hand to accept food and monetary donations.

• The Kennett Area Senior Center sponsors the 2013 Crafts Showcase and Bazaar….Galleria Style on Friday, Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The annual event features the finest needlework, crafts, specialty vendors, Boutique, collectibles, General Store, Fashion Corner, books, baked goods, homemade soup by the quart, and “food to go” for your convenience. The Kennett Area Senior Center is open Monday from 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 610-444-4819 or visit www.kennettseniorcenter.org.

• The next hearing date for the proposed Wegman’s development in Concord Township is scheduled for 7 p.m., Oct. 22 in the Concord municipal building.

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Adopt-a-Pet: Kiki

Along the Ford

Kiki is a beautiful and sweet 3-year-old cat that was surrendered to CCSPCA in June. Kiki’s owners lost their home and had to move in with friends. There was a dog at that house and Kiki was terrified, so she was brought to the shelter in the hopes of finding a new, loving family. Kiki previously lived with other cats and kids and would love nothing more than a quiet home where she can relax. Please consider giving Kiki the second chance she so deserves. If you are able to provide Kiki or any of our other animals here at the shelter a home, visit the Chester County SPCA at 1212 Phoenixville Pike in West Goshen or call 610-692-6113. Kiki’s registration number is 96815234. To meet some of our other adoptable animals, visit the shelter or log onto www.ccspca.org. Not quite ready to adopt? Consider becoming a CCSPCA foster parent. Kitten season is still in full swing and CCSPCA needs fosters for kittens and mother cats. Additional information and applications are available online or at the shelter.

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Photo of the Week: Counting Colors

Photo of the Week

Strong sun at a low angle turns a few colors into myriad shades and hues.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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Residents balk at proposed developments

Local News

A standing room only crowd at the Chadds Ford Township municipal building spoke almost unanimously with one voice and one word: No.

No to the YMCA, no to a K. Hovnanian Homes development and no to the southwest leg of the loop road around the intersection of Routes 1 and 202.

A special informational meeting of the Chadds Ford Planning Commission drew a larger attendance than almost a year’s worth of supervisors’ meetings. The crowd was made up mostly of residents from Painters Crossing Condominiums and from the Estates at Chadds Ford, the communities most directly affected if the proposals go through.

Hovnanian and the Y want to build in the township, but current zoning prevents that. Both have requested changes in the zoning code. Hovnanian is asking that the Brandywine Drive site be rezoned from Planned Business Center to Residential-Multifamily, while the YMCA wants a text change to allow for non-commercial recreational use in the LI, Light Industrial District.

While all speakers spoke against at least two or three planned developments, commission member Mike Ashmore reminded people later in the session that the township can’t prevent development. He said the Comprehensive Plan, last updated in 2008, is what guides current planning, including the focus on building up the Route 202 corridor with both commercial and residential development. He suggested that maybe the comp plan should be re-examined before there are any zoning changes.

Commission Chairman Craig Huffman opened the session with a quick rundown of 13 proposals under consideration in Chadds Ford and Concord Townships, but the primary concerns for the residents centered on three.

Margaret Faia, from the Estates at Chadds Ford and the Chadds Ford Preservation Society, said she and her group oppose the YMCA being built in the Light Industrial District at Hillman and Dickinson drives across from the entrance to the estates. She said the area is already too congested.

The loop road would also run along Hillman Drive and that will add to the problem, she said. According to her research, 90,000 vehicles go through the intersection of Routes 1 and 202 everyday.

“How many will use the loop road,” she asked.

Faia added that she opposes another possible business development along Dickinson Drive — one not yet before the commission. That, too, she said, would add to traffic congestion.

She added that doing business is a privilege, but safe residential areas are a right.

Richard Kaser, also from the Estates at Chadds Ford, said that since Evergreen Drive is the only access point — in and out — for the development, traffic from the YMCA would pose a serious problem.

“It’s a serious safety concern for us…Our children will be put in danger,” he said.

Another estates’ resident said the K. Hovnanian-proposed 120-townhouse development along Brandywine Drive would create an undue burden on the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District.

Harvey Lane resident Eric Goodman cautioned against the Hovnanian project because it would just increase traffic along Brandywine Drive and possibly bring unwanted people onto neighboring properties.

Only one person, another estates’ resident, spoke out in favor of the loop road, saying it was needed.

Three property owners from the Painters Crossing Condominiums — including township tax collector Valerie Hoxter — expressed concerns over the loop road proposal. As currently planned, the road would run within 100 feet of the 1500 building, Hoxter said.

That proximity of traffic noise and headlights shining into windows would adversely affect the owners and ultimately reduce property values for every owner of every unit in the entire complex, she said.

Hoxter added that the township did a good job in listening to homeowners on Summit Drive and Heyburn Road when it prevented those streets from being used for ingress and egress to and from Chadds Ford Estates. She wants the same consideration for condo residents.

Also taking aim at the loop road was Republican Party candidate for supervisor, Frank Murphy, who said truckers would wind up using the loop even if it’s marked for residential traffic only and they’ll drive at 55 mph even if marked for 35 mph.

“The loop road is a real problem and must be thought through,” he said.

Murphy added that he grew up in Upper Darby and lived in Aston, but “I don’t want Chadds Ford to be Upper Darby or Aston.”

About Rich Schwartzman

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New hotel planned for Chadds Ford

Local News

While there is to be no more testimony, Chadds Ford Township supervisors kept open a conditional use hearing so one board member could review the testimony for which he was absent.

Supervisors opened the hearing on Oct. 2 — prior to the start of their regular meeting — for an Ambassador Inn and Suites that’s planned for the old Watkins building on Route 202. Two witnesses testified, but Supervisor George Thorpe could not get to the hearing until late. He will review the testimony he missed and the board will resume, and then close, the hearing during its November meeting.

Land planner Wayne Grafton testified that the proposed extended-stay hotel would use the same building as is there now and that there will be no expansion of the current footprint. The proposed 28-room hotel would fit within the current 11,500 square foot structure.

Landscaping would be improved and the impervious cover in the parking area would be reduced. The number of parking spaces would be reduced from 60 to 57.

The site, located at 1516 Wilmington Pike, on the west side of Route 202 farther north than Jimmy John’s on the east side, will keep the same right in/right out access.

Grafton said the building — vacant for 10 or more years — is currently “functionally and visually obsolete” and adds nothing to the community. Turning it into a hotel would “have a positive impact.”

Owner Brian McFadden, who owns three other hotels — one in West Chester and two in Ocean City, N.J. — said there will be no restaurant or bar, but there will be kitchenettes in each of the rooms.

There will also be no pool or tennis courts and he agreed to accept a condition preventing them.

About Rich Schwartzman

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Police log Oct. 3: Car thefts in Chadds Ford, Concord

Police

• Pennsylvania State Police from Troop K, Media barracks, said someone stole a 15-passenger church van from Calvary Chapel on Brandywine Drive in Chadds Ford Township sometime between 7 p.m. Sept. 24 and 7 a.m. Sept. 25. Thieves also took various pieces of lawn care equipment after breaking into a shipping container and three utility trailers. The van is maroon in color with Calvary Chapel in white letters on the side.

• An orange 2007 Dodge Caliber was stolen from a home on Spring Valley Road in Concord Township during the overnight hours on Sept. 26. The car had the plate HWF9336. Anyone with information is asked to call the state police at 484-840-1000.

• State police arrested a Luzerne County man in Concord Township for a variety of offenses including receiving stolen property and attempting to elude police. A report said Steven Charles Dillon, 20, of White Haven, was finally taken into custody after a brief pursuit. The report said the car he was driving had been stolen in Haverford Township. In the car were a number of stolen items including GPS units, iPods, a printer and some marijuana. Dillon was arrested just before 1 a.m. on Oct. 1.

• A 31-year-old woman from Anaheim, Calif. was taken into custody after a police chase stemming from the theft of a cell phone at Costco in Concord Township. She was eventually caught in Brookhaven Township. According to state police, Killy Kat Miller stole the phone then fled Costco in a white vehicle that was later spotted at Granite Run Mall. Miller then fled south on Route 352, police said. Pursuit was called off due to safety concerns. However, the report said, Miller was involved in a hit and run in Brookhaven and stopped her car at a Burger King where Brookhaven Police took her into custody. Miller, and two people in the car she hit, received minor injuries in the accident.

• An unknown male suspect entered a garage in the 200 block of Concord Road in Concord Township and stole an iPod from the victim’s unlocked car. The incident happened shortly before 10 p.m. on Sept. 27.

• Someone shattered the right rear passenger window of a car parked at the Brandywine River Museum and stole two backpacks and a purse containing valuables. Police said the incident happened at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27.

• Sometime between Jan. 28 and Sept. 28, someone stole the license plate from a trailer in the 100 block of Beaver Valley Road in Concord Township.

• Police charged a Chatham, N.J. man in connection with a three-car accident on Route 202 on Sept. 26. A report said Johngrace Pallepogu, 28, failed to stop in time and struck a car in front oh him. The second car was pushed into a third car. No injuries were reported.

• Police reported no injuries in a two-car accident at Parkersville Road and Route 926 in Pennsbury Township on Sept. 29. The report said Anna Makri, 68, of Chadds Ford, was driving north on Parkersville Road, but failed to clear traffic before trying to cross the intersection. Her vehicle was struck by another traveling east on 926.

About CFLive Staff

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New marshal making his mark

Local News

Mike Daily says he’s serious about making it work. The “it” in question is his role as fire marshal for Chadds Ford Township.

The township had a fire marshal before, then didn’t and had to borrow one from Concord Township. Daily was appointed to the job this past spring.

Chadds Ford Fire Marshal Mike Daily reviews fire drill results with St. Cornelius School Principal Barbara Rosini. Daily called the results "fabulous." — Chadds Ford Fire Marshal Mike Daily reviews fire drill results with St. Cornelius School Principal Barbara Rosini. Daily called the results “fabulous.”

To make it work, he’s actively engaged in efforts to raise the position’s profile in the township by doing things that haven’t been done in a long time, if ever, in Chadds Ford. He sent out letters to roughly 400 businesses in the township saying they would be inspected for safety and he’s since gotten started on that task.

He’s also been inspecting local schools and conducting fire drills. One such fire drill was held at St. Cornlius School on Sept. 26.

While the staff knew the drill was going to happen, the students didn’t. Still, the 233 students evacuated the building in 1 minute and 15 seconds.

“Fabulous,” was Daily’s comment. “I’ve gotten nothing but support from this school.”

School Principal Barbara Rosini said she appreciates Daily’s efforts to help ensure her students are safe.

And the business owners who were initially apprehensive about the inspections, seem appreciative, too, he said.

“At first they’re shocked when I show up, but after they see how I handle things, they couldn’t be happier.”

According to Daily, it was the supervisors who set schools and businesses as priorities for fire safety, along with the movie theater and large venues. While Fred Field, the Concord Township fire marshal, would respond to requests, supervisors wanted the township to have its own fire marshal who would be more proactive.

“Some of the businesses I walk into have never seen the fire marshal, or it’s been since ’08 since they’ve been inspected…I am, for the first time in a lot of years in Chadds Ford, inspecting businesses for health and safety,” Daily said.

There’s a form on the township Web site that business owners can access to inspect themselves before Daily ever shows up.

What gets looked at are fire alarm systems, points of egress, sprinklers and the access and condition of fire extinguishers.

Currently, there’s not much of a fire code for Daily to enforce. There are only two Chadds Ford ordinances that specifically address anything to do with fires. One is the ordinance that created the fire marshal’s position and the other is the outdoor burning ordinances. There are building codes the township has adopted, however, that address some fire related issues.

“Chadds Ford [supervisors] realize that they are a little behind and they know I have every intention of me telling them what they need. Ordinances will be forthcoming,” he said.

He added that he, as fire marshal, may issue citations and even suspend a business license for violations if necessary, once stricter ordinances are enacted or otherwise incorporated into the township code.

Daily has been involved with emergency response since his mid teens. He joined Brookhaven Fire Co. when he was 16 years old and has spent the last 28 years on Chester Township Police Department. He is a corporal working as patrol supervisor.

About Rich Schwartzman

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Blogging Along the Brandywine: A new world symphony for a new orchestra

Along the Ford

If you missed the opening night spectacular of the Kennett Symphony on Sept. 21, in the Madeleine Wing Adler Theater at West Chester University, you’re no doubt kicking yourself by now.

As my husband and I were leaving the concert, a good friend asked, “Was that the same Kennett Orchestra?”

For above the collective roars of approval, bravos and multiple standing ovations coming from the Swope Music and Performing Arts Center at West Chester University was the sound of tradition being broken, as the first of three finalists to vie for the position of new director of the Kennett Symphony orchestra took the podium. Former Director Mary Woodmansee Green announced her retirement last fall after 25 seasons with the orchestra.

The first of the three candidates to audition before the public, during the 2013-2014 “Conductor Search Season” was Michael Hall. If one could win the auditions on youthful good looks, charm, charisma, style and musical knowledge alone, the contest should be over right now. Done!

At 8 p.m., Hall confidently strode out on stage in black tails. And even before reaching the podium, brought down his baton for the drum roll to start a rousing National Anthem. The audience was on its feet in a heartbeat! Wow. The competition was on.

The first number was Kodály’s Intermezzo from Háry János Suite. While part of the standard repertoire in Kodály’s native Hungary, this relatively short number is not as familiar in America. But under Hall, the orchestra nailed its intricate rhythms and made its non-western modalities comfortable. At times, Hall reached out to the orchestra as if to literally grab a line of music — and they delivered.

Rounding out the first half of the concert with its familiar opening cadence was Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, which started with a somewhat light moment. After the Steinway concert grand was rolled to center stage, there was an uncomfortable moment of suspense when soloist Igor Resnianski and Hall failed to appear from the wings. Finally the stage manager came back on stage to push down the castor’s wheel locks, thus preventing the grand from traveling across stage during the stronger passages.

And Resnianski, an award-winning pianist of international acclaim did not disappoint, displaying strong interpretation and technique. During the solo passages, Hall turned, standing in rapt attention, watching every nuance of Resnianski’s performance. Did I mention his youthful good looks, charm, sophistication and style…oh yeah, I did – sorry.

After intermission, the concert concluded with Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, from the New World.

But what made this concert standard ultimately amazing was Hall’s arrival on stage without his score, surprising even the members of the orchestra!

In an orchestral score, while each page may contain only three measures of music, it can include separate staffs for as many as thirty or more instrumental parts, many in different keys due to the various transposing brass and wind instruments.

Without the score, Hall was immersed in his music, his audience transfixed in their own new world. This was the Kennett Symphony as they had never heard it before.

After the concert, I e-mailed Hall to ask, “…Tucson Symphony; S.W. Florida Symphony; Winnipeg Symphony, Pacific Symphony; guest conductor with the Houston Symphony Orchestra….What attracts you to such a small town in Chester County in southeastern Pennsylvania , and what is it that’s going to keep you here for more than a year or two?”

He emailed back, “I see so much potential in this organization, and I met so many people who want to see it grow and flourish. It would be an honor to be a part of their future.”

I have always held up the perfection of the Bay-Atlantic Symphony under the direction of Jed Gaylin as the epitome of a superb regional orchestra. Under the direction of Michael Hall, Jed might have a run for his money.

Oh and did I mention his youthful good looks, charm, sophistication and style?

About Sally Denk Hoey

Sally Denk Hoey, is a Gemini - one part music and one part history. She holds a masters degree cum laude from the School of Music at West Chester University. She taught 14 years in both public and private school. Her CD "Bard of the Brandywine" was critically received during her almost 30 years as a folk singer. She currently cantors masses at St Agnes Church in West Chester where she also performs with the select Motet Choir. A recognized historian, Sally serves as a judge-captain for the south-east Pennsylvania regionals of the National History Day Competition. She has served as president of the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates as well as the Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford where she now curates the violin collection. Sally re-enacted with the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment for 19 years where she interpreted the role of a campfollower at encampments in Valley Forge, Williamsburg, Va., Monmouth, N.J. and Lexington and Concord, Mass. Sally is married to her college classmate, Thomas Hoey, otherwise known as "Mr. Sousa.”

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Mind Matters: Just one thing …

Health

In a very un-Buddhist maneuver, I swatted a stinkbug in the midst of reading “Just One Thing: Developing a Buddhist Brain One Simple Practice at a Time,” by Rick Hanson. Maybe in time I will let go of my stinkbug problem (which came about after one little critter crawled in my ear several summers ago). Meanwhile, the simple practices Hanson recommends in his pragmatic primer are the wedding of Buddhist mindfulness with neuroscience. Little exercises can change our brains because of “experience-dependent neuroplasticity.”

For better or worse, “How you use your mind changes your brain.” Psychologist Donald Hebb’s phrase for this is “neurons that fire together, wire together.” Point being, if we use our minds for anger, worry, self-criticizing, or critical reactivity to others, we are shaping our neural structures of the brain to conform to that mindset. Yet we can retrain the brain when we mindfully see the good in ourselves, when we let go, when we can tell ourselves, “You’re all right now,” notes Hanson.

Succinctly, yet almost poetically, Hanson describes how to develop calm strength, self-confidence, and inner peace. Yes, his is yet another self-help book, but it is laden with little bursts of simple wisdom that he has integrated from many masters. For example, he relates what practically every psychotherapist says: Risk the dreaded experience. He describes the universal routine of human experience: a feeling or desire arises which seeks expression followed by an associated expectation of emotional pain—that is, “the dreaded experience.” And so comes the shutdown of feeling and expression—the inhibiting response.

I observe this pattern in my office many times: A person feels sadness or some other feeling arise; expression of this feeling may have been forbidden in the family and so it is again repressed. This is where the person jokes or avoids by changing the subject.

Change of this old pattern—self-expression to expectation of pain to inhibition—comes about by first observing it in ourselves, and then slowly challenging ourselves to risk expression. And then there is “imperfection.” How refreshing it is to read an author not scolding for disorganization and brokenness. Quite the contrary, Hanson notes, “imperfections are all around, and they include messes, dirty clothes, weeds, snarled traffic, … injury, illness, disability, pain, problems … loss … objects … chipped, frayed, broken; mistakes … confusion … war and famine, poverty, oppression, injustice.” While it is important to change what we can and work for the good, it is also important to learn acceptance for what is. Anxiety arises when we lose sight of the latter.

Fear is one aspect of generalized anxiety. Hanson considers that evolution has actually provided us with anxious brains in order to survive “the tiger in the bushes.” However, even metaphorically speaking, there often are no “tigers to fear.” Yet fear is fanned by the media and “political groups try to gain or hold onto power by exaggerating apparent threats.” Hanson’s point? “Most of us feel much less safe than we actually are.”

Humility, generosity, and being brave enough to love, Hanson would say, are the means to counteract anxiety and fear—for me, stinkbugs notwithstanding.

* Kayta Curzie Gajdos holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is in private practice in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She welcomes comments at MindMatters@DrGajdos.com or (610)388-2888. Past columns are posted to www.drgajdos.com.

About Kayta Gajdos

Dr. Kathleen Curzie Gajdos ("Kayta") is a licensed psychologist (Pennsylvania and Delaware) who has worked with individuals, couples, and families with a spectrum of problems. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, and bereavement. Dr. Gajdos developed a private practice in the Pittsburgh area, and was affiliated with the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, having written numerous articles for the Family Therapy Newsletter there. She has published in the American Psychological Association Bulletin, the Family Psychologist, and in the Swedenborgian publications, Chrysalis and The Messenger. Dr. Gajdos has taught at the college level, most recently for West Chester University and Wilmington College, and has served as field faculty for Vermont College of Norwich University the Union Institute's Center for Distance Learning, Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also served as consulting psychologist to the Irene Stacy Community MH/MR Center in Western Pennsylvania where she supervised psychologists in training. Currently active in disaster relief, Dr. Gajdos serves with the American Red Cross and participated in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as a member of teams from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Now living in Chadds Ford, in the Brandywine Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Gajdos combines her private practice working with individuals, couples and families, with leading workshops on such topics as grief and healing, the impact of multigenerational grief and trauma shame, the shadow and self, Women Who Run with the Wolves, motherless daughters, and mediation and relaxation. Each year at Temenos Retreat Center in West Chester, PA she leads a griefs of birthing ritual for those who have suffered losses of procreation (abortions, miscarriages, infertility, etc.); she also holds yearly A Day of Re-Collection at Temenos.Dr. Gajdos holds Master's degrees in both philosophy and clinical psychology and received her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. Among her professional affiliations, she includes having been a founding member and board member of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Pittsburgh, as well as being listed in Who's Who of American Women. Currently, she is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Delaware Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, The Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Delaware County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board. Woven into her professional career are Dr. Gajdos' pursuits of dancing, singing, and writing poetry.

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Get Real: What about your pets?

Home and Leisure

Home sellers are advised to create the illusion that everything is new and fresh in their homes; however, when pets are involved, it’s not always easy to keep things clean and orderly.

The simplest solution for a pet owner who is selling a home is to relocate the pet to a friend’s or family member’s home or to a pet daycare while the home is on the market. Keeping a pet in the backyard, the garage or in another room that you keep locked is insufficient, and is certainly not fair to the pet.

When a pet is in a home that buyers are coming to view, it could scare away the people from even stepping foot into the house. Many people are worried about dogs or concerned about birds. Allergies can also come into play if cats or other animals are inside.

Owners may think of their pets as the gentlest creatures, but when strangers come into the home to look around, who knows what the animals are thinking? A dog that barks or jumps on people is never a good thing.

If pets are left in the home, make sure to put them in a carrier and attach a note warning buyers not to disturb them.

Removing signs that you have a pet is simply smart practice. Make sure you clean a litter box daily and keep it out of sight. Also, keep all food and water dishes somewhere out of the way, or put them away after the pet eatConsider hiring professionals to remove all pet stains on the carpet before buyers spot them and form unfavorable opinions about the rest of the home.

Finally, although a sleeping cat on the bed may make for a cute picture, someone who is looking at photos on the Internet may automatically bypass a house with photos that include pets, because they immediately imagine animal smells and/or claw marks on the rug.

Pet owners must understand that not everyone loves animals as much as they do and that to many, pets are an unwelcome distraction. Don’t let a pet be the reason you don’t sell your home. Work with your local Realtor to find solutions that will show your home at its best.

* Beth Alois and Jim DeFrank can be reached at 610-388-3700. Prudential Fox and Roach, REALTORS is an independently owned and operated broker member of BRER Affiliates LLC. Prudential, the Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are registered service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Used under license with no other affiliation with Prudential. Equal Housing Opportunity.

About Beth Alois

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