OK, so I stole the phrase "nose blind" from a Febreze commercial. But when I saw it, it was like the heavens opened up and the angels started singing. Truer words have never been spoken. Ok, that last part may be a bit of an exaggeration- but seriously- just like the commercial says, your house probably stinks and you don't even know it. It's called being nose blind.
Basically, every house has a smell. You know that smell you smell when you go on vacation for a week then you come home? That's your smell. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a smell though, until it's a gross smell.
 |
| If you have 5 cats and 1 littler box, this is probably what your house smells like. |
What is a gross smell, you ask? Litter boxes, animal urine, hamster/rodent /reptile cages, cigarettes, trash cans, dirty dishes, gym socks, last night's fish sticks... you get the idea.
I can hear what you're undoubtedly saying right now- but I clean up after my [insert random animal/reptile here]. And I, captain honesty, am here to tell you IT DOES NOT MATTER. It still has a smell.
 |
| So you had fish for dinner last night? |
See, I've been doing this whole Realtor thing for a while now and I am telling you unequivocally buyers will RUN from your house if it reeks of any of the items I listed above. If it only kinda stinks, it will take about two or three rooms worth of walking around before they pinpoint it and then they will hastily finish the tour and quietly and politely say outside to me "it had a funny odor", as if I didn't smell it too.
Remember the "coming home from vacation" analogy? Well every time a stranger walks into your house, especially if it has been closed up while you're at work, they smell it as you do when you come home from a week away.
Now that you have let your panic and disgust subside, I'll clue you in on a few things you can do as a seller to make sure that you're not being nose blind when selling your house.
1. If you have dogs that live in the house, consider having your carpets shampooed prior to listing the home, and minimizing the dog's time in the home when it is active on the market. There are companies that use an enzyme to clean carpets without soaking them and it is great for odors and stains. If you have a pet with chronic bladder issues, you may think about replacing the carpet all together. Seem like a lot of trouble? Well, it could mean the difference between a sale or not.
2. If you have a litter box or caged rodents/reptiles, temporarily relocate them or put them in the garage. Figure something else out for your little friends. Other than pee soaked carpet, there really isn't much more that can turn a buyer away faster than a house that smells like a litter box or a hamster cage.
3. If you smoke inside your home, stop immediately. Aside from the health risks, you are literally permeating the walls of your home with smoke smell. Although this problem is not as common in recent years, it does happen occasionally. If you are a smoker and you are going to sell your house, you can take a few drastic measures if you are financially able. You can paint interior walls and clean or replace the carpets and (duh) stop smoking inside. If your furniture is permeated as well, you may consider moving into your new home after your current home is clean and being sold. If finances prevent these measures, you may just have to discount the price of the home to entice buyers to make the repairs themselves.
4. If you're incapable of keeping your home picked up on a day-to-day basis, consider limiting showings to days of the week when you can make sure it is clean, tidy and (mostly) smell free. I know you are busy, we all are. You make dinner, throw the dishes in the sink, then run off to baseball practice until 9pm. There they sit until someone gets around to washing them which may or may not happen the same day. Well when the stinky laundry is piled up, the trash is full, the sink is full of dirty dishes and someone comes to show your house while you're at work, well... you see where I'm going. You either need to be committed to making sure the house is show-worthy every time you leave the house or set showing time parameters where you know you can have the house ready.
As our market continues to be more "normal" and there is more inventory available to buyers, buyers are being more choosy about the homes they purchase, so sellers are needing to set themselves apart from their competition. Now that I have opened your eyes to this phenomenon and you have hopefully admitted to your own nose blindness, you won't make these mistakes when you sell your house- and most importantly, you will hire Realtors like US who aren't afraid to tell you.
