Make Your Home Sellable...Smells And Odors Do Matter

Re-blogged by 0 agents
Make Your Home Sellable.....Odors and Smells Do Matter (edit/delete)
I was out the other day with a buyer client of mine. We were looking in a particular neighborhoodbecasue of the schools she wanted to put her children in. I had sent her about fifteen homes that met her criteria she was looking for. She said she liked to look at them all. So, we broke it up into two days. The hosue she wanted to start at was the least expensive and from the photos looked like the one she said fit her criteria the best.

The house from the outside was as nice as the pictures and the location was perfect for her. I just started thinking in the back of my head; what is wrong with this house? It is priced about 15% less than the comparable homes in the neighborhood...Is it a motivated seller? Or are we missing something? Well as soon as we walked into the home the answer hit me like a pungent smell. The odor and smell in the home was so overwhelming my client had to leave without looking through the whole house. She could not breathe anymore in that home.

The seller has dogs....According to the lsiting agent (six) too many and that is why he is selling the house. The home smelled very strongly of the dogs. He had done nothing to mask the smell or get the smell out of the house. Eventhough, I had given 24 hour notice prior to showing the house it was overwhelming the moment we walked in the house.

The home was nice and positioned well price wise for the neighborhood for a quick sale...But if you cannot get over the smell as you walk into the house you will never get to see the features that make the house so charming. As was the case with my client.

The listing agent told me that has been a problem since she took the listing but did not know what to do about it. I suggested some nice scented candles might help as well as carpet freshener. I told her that my client put an offer in and agreed on a price on a home down the street for about 10% MORE than they were asking for the same house....

My advice is make sure that your home is not only clean for showings but that the scent and smell when you walk in are inviting and alluring.

Dave diCecco

Realtor/Agent

www.davedicecco.com