We always want to keep our pets happy and healthy because we love them, but we also want to minimize the chance that they will “act out”.Like people, pets can behave badly when under stress, so we need to do all we can to help them feel secure throughout the moving process. When faced with a move, we need to know how to minimize the stress our pets experience, and what we can do about the unavoidable disruption to their daily routine. We asked industry experts for suggestions, and used their invaluable input to create this report.When You’re Packing
To the degree it’s possible, keep your pet’s daily routine as close to normal as you can.
Adhering to normal feeding, exercise, and bedtime schedules is important.
Don’t pack pet belongings until the last possible moment.
If possible, pets should have access to the same dishes, litter boxes, pet beds, and toys until moving day arrives.
Decrease the chance for pet “mistakes”.
Keep cat litter boxes where they always are until you put the cats into the car or until you confine them to a “transition room”.
Leave one or two empty boxes on the floor for cats to explore.
If you have cats, you know that most of them will explore anything new in the house. By leaving a couple of empty, open boxes around, they’ll become familiar with the new objects and won’t be frightened by them when the packing begins.
On Moving Day
Remove pets from the house BEFORE you start moving your household goods.
Letting pets run free while the front door is propped open and people are carrying out boxes and furniture can result in a disaster!
If pets can’t be removed, put them in an empty room with a door during moving.
If you simply can’t remove your pets beforehand, select an empty room with a door where they can be safely housed for the day. Put their food and water dishes, toys, bedding, and the litter box in the room with them. Pets may be comforted by the sound of a radio. And it will muffle some of the loud and unsettling noise that is inevitable when moving heavy boxes and furniture.
Be sure that all your pets are wearing collars with identification tags on moving day.
It’s not unheard of for pets to escape during the confusion of moving day. Even if your pets have microchips, having them wear a collar is a good idea, since anyone can read your name and phone number on a tag, but only pet care industry workers will have the tool necessary to read the chip. To avoid possible injury to cats, always use breakaway collars.
Transporting pets to your new home.
When it’s time to transport your pets to your new home, cats should be placed in cat carriers on the floor of the back seat. Dogs should be properly restrained and should either ride in the back of the vehicle, separated from passengers by a dog grate, or should ride in the back seat, strapped in with a dog seat belt. This protects your dog and passengers in the vehicle: a sudden stop can send a dog hurtling forward, which can cause serious injuries to both your pet and anyone in its path.
Never leave your pet alone in an unattended vehicle.
Even though the temperature in the car only seems a little warm to you, animals overheat very quickly. Every year, thousands of pets die of heatstroke as a direct result of being left unattended in hot cars.
Bring all your pet’s “stuff” with you in the car.
Make sure to put your pet’s dishes, food, leash, toys, bedding, litter box, and medications in the car with you and your pet. Consistency is important for pets, so when you arrive at your new home, set up your pet’s things where you intend to permanently locate them.
Introduce Your Pet to Your New Home.
Before you release your pet into his new backyard, do a quick safety check.
Check to see if the fence in good shape, with no spaces your pet can wiggle through or under. Can your pet reach the neighbour’s pet through the fence? If so, is the neighbours pet friendly? Look for any sharp objects that might be hazards for your pet. Have a look at the plants too; are there any that can harm your pet if she decides to devour them? Make sure there isn’t any garbage lying around for your pet to get into. And pay attention to whether or not there is a shady area where your pet can cool off on warm days.
After running through these checks, put out a large, cool, bowl of water for your pet, and spend some time sitting or playing with him in the new backyard.
Experts recommend that cats stay indoors.
According to one study, cats that are allowed to roam free outdoors have an average life span of only 3 years. Indoor cats have an average life span of 13 years. If you allowed your cat to roam in the past, moving is a perfect opportunity to break him of this habit. If you keep your cat indoors from your first day in the new house, he won’t have had time to establish his own turf outside, and will view the indoors as his territory, and his alone!
Small Pets
Small pets are easier to move.
Birds, rabbits, lizards, and other small animals are easier to move than larger ones, since they are already used to living in cages, or at least to regularly spending “quiet time” in them. To safely move them to their new home, they should be kept in cages or in appropriately-sized pet carriers before you put them into your car.
Keep small pets calm and quiet during the move.
Place a light-weight cloth over small pets’ cages to help keep them quiet and calm during the car ride. Make sure you allow for adequate air flow.
Provide food and fresh water for your small pet.
Most small animals do well with a drinking bottle that can be easily attached to cages. Remember to bring a supply of food, feeding dishes, and medications with you in the car.
Small animals overheat faster than large animals.
Never leave pets of any size in an unattended vehicle!
For additional advice on moving your pets, or for moving pets with medical conditions that require special care, be sure to contact your veterinarian. We have many articles on home buying and selling, as well as related topics, that are available to you at no cost.

You’ll be assembling vital evidence in a Short Sale Packet as part of your work with the homeowner to put together a short sale. In preforeclosure deals this package is very important. The Short Sale Packet provides enough information to convince the bank to accept your short sale offer on the homeowner’s property and get the homeowners out from the under the obligation.In your request for a short sale you’ll want to include everything you can that backs up your request for a short sale. Obviously, leave out extra evidence that may hurt your claim, but don’t purposely hide the homeowner’s income or other necessary pieces of information. You really just want to show the homeowner’s life at its worst and the house at its worst.What’s in a Short Sale Packet?Authorization to Release Information: The homeowner needs to sign this document stating that they authorize their lender, the bank, to share all vital information concerning their mortgage with you. The bank won’t talk to you if you don’t have this!Letter of Agreement and Addendum: This document states that you will work with the homeowner and the bank to stop the foreclosure, but you can’t guarantee that the bank will agree to stop the foreclosure during short sale negotiations with you. Don’t ever forget this document and make sure you point this possibility out to the homeowners when working them.Warranty Deed to Trustee: This basically shows who owns the property you are attempting to purchase. You’ll need to get a notary to authenticate this document.Standard Purchase and Sales Agreement & Escrow Instruction: This is the standard sales contract between you and the homeowner, since you will actually be purchasing the property from the homeowner with the bank’s approval.Agreement and Declaration if Trust: Keep your name off of public records with this document which declares a land trust on the property. Trusts are getting harder to use in many areas. Ask a local pro as to how they deal with the title.Financial Statement: These are the homeowner’s pay stubs, copies of their past income tax returns and other items that show the homeowners really are in financial hardship.Hardship Letter: This is important in pre-foreclosure investing. The hardship letter allows the homeowners to explain in detail all of the reasons they were unable to make payments on their mortgage and why they’ll be unable to completely pay off the mortgage. A good hardship letter can really help you seal the deal.Special Power of Attorney: When working in pre-foreclosure investing you’ll get this signed by the homeowner in front of a notary. It applies only to the property and lets you make decisions concerning the property if something happens to it before the short sale deal closes.Letter That Trustee is making Payments: This letter indicates you’ll be taking the property “subject to” and notifies the lender that payments will be coming from a trustee.Escrow Letter: This letter tells the bank to apply funds in an escrow account to the loan balance when the loan is paid in full and the short sale deal is complete.Be aware there is no guarantee the bank will comply with the instructions for your real estate investment. They may send the escrow proceeds to the original borrower, which is the homeowner.Residential Real Estate Disclosure: This is protects everyone involved in this pre-foreclosure investing project. It discloses any defects in the property and prevents anyone from claiming that they weren’t aware of certain defects in the property after the deal is completed.Extra Pre-foreclosure Investing DocumentsIn addition, are a few extra documents you can include in your Short Sale Packet to get the bank’s attention in this pre-foreclosure investing deal.Cover Letter: Make your Short Sale Packet stand out with a cover letter. It basically states who you are as an investor and that you are requesting a short sale and why the bank should take the short sale.Opinion of Value: This is a professional estimate or your own statement from experience in pre-foreclosure investing. You’ll back it up with a quick list of all the negative points of the property, its needed repairs and the lowest comparable sales in the area.Color Photos: Send the bank pictures of the damaged and neglected areas of the house. They provide photographic evidence of the low market value of the property and encourages the bank to accept your discounted offer.Estimate of Repairs: Get estimates for all of the repairs needed on the house and include those estimates in your Short Sale Packet to back up your discounted price.Proposed Closing Statement (HUD1): Eventually you’ll find that a bank requests the HUD1 form, so it’s a good idea to include this document anyway. It shows all the fees and payments that will be made to the parties involved in the short sale.Notice of Trustee’s Sale: The homeowner receives this notice when their property is going to the foreclosure sale. You are letting the bank know that you are aware of the pre-foreclosure investing process by including this document in your Short Sale Packet.Pre-foreclosure investing is an involved process, but when you properly complete the Short Sale Packet you’ll be one step closer to this essential part of debt negotiation with the bank. The Short Sale Packet contains information that the bank requests from you and your own research on the property to back up your request for a discounted sale price on the property.