The Real Estate Business Just Got Pet Friendly

Never give up your dream home again because of pet unfriendly real estate.

by Kimbally Medeiros, Best Friends Network

You’ve found the perfect home to purchase—it’s in a great neighborhood, there’s a lot of space, and the schools in the community are first rate. But, wait! Did you consider whether or not the home you want purchase is pet friendly? Does finding pet friendly real estate mean giving up your dream home?

Not anymore!

A brand new pet friendly real estate network is now making it possible for you to find homes that are perfect in every way, including allowing you to live in harmony with your beloved pet. The Pet Realty Network, launched in January 2007, is an online organization that allows you to find pet friendly real estate agents and properties throughout the entire United States.

Their mission—to connect pet friendly people to pet friendly real estate—is led by six-year-old chocolate Lab Pimms, the “barketing” director, and his partner, Rhona Sutter, the visionary behind the Pet Realty Network. Owned and operated by the Naples, Florida-based company, Pet Protect, the network reaches across all of America’s boundaries to provide pet friendly realtors the opportunity to reach home buyers with leads to pet friendly real estate. Pet Protect, founded in 1997, was created to provide health insurance to pets. As Pet Protect’s president, Sutter extended the pet friendly service to what is now known as the Pet Realty Network.

With 14 years of experience as a realtor in Naples, Florida, Sutter can only envision progress with the network. From Florida to Alaska, dozens of real estate agents have joined the network to offer their services, allowing them to mix their love for animals with their real estate expertise. In Florida alone, there are already 26 members in the network.

In order to keep the network running, real estate agents have to pay a $50 annual fee to become members. That membership allows them to upload their biographies, tell visitors about themselves and their pets, and list an unlimited number of pet-friendly properties. As a buyer, you are free to search the site, as the network does not ask for visitors’ names, e-mail addresses or other contact information. Prospective buyers can then contact the real estate agents directly.

Pimms, owned by Sutter and named after an English brew, can be seen on the network’s website. On his own page, Pimms is in charge of the question section that fields answers about pets and pet friendly real estate.

With pets as its main concern, the network has recently started “The Lucky Day” campaign in an effort to build awareness about pet adoption and the increasing numbers of pets that are given up to shelters because of residential pet restrictions or relocations.
Partnering with the Humane Society in Naples, the network has also started a program in which it donates $5 of every membership fee it collects from Collier County. The network continues to develop the same program with other shelters across the nation.

The network continually revamps and enhances its website. For example, a pet blog was recently added and plans are currently being made to add pet friendly rental properties.

For more information, please visit:
The Pet Realty Network™
PO Box 11447
Naples, FL 34101
Telephone: 239-403-4100
Toll Free: 1-888-PET SURE (738-7873)
Fax: 239-403-4101
E-mail: info@petrealtynetwork.com
Website: www.petrealtynetwork.com