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I Saw A Really, Really Gorgeous House Today - But.....

This house was totally amazing! It was marry for money gorgeous. It was marry old and ugly for money gorgeous!

But there was this one little thing!

The house was wearing a scent that I call Eau de Kitty Litter! It did not pass the sniff test.

Not to be judgmental or anything. OK, I am being judgmental! But I am planning to put my house on the market, and it has not only tow pussy cats in residence, but also Willie the Labradoodle who sometimes smells a bit funky. And Yikes!

Oh, well, maybe I'll just have one of those buyer specific houses that will appeal only to folks with no sense of smell whatsoever!

Posted by Patricia Kennedy on 06/16/2009 10:36 PM

Comments (28)

Smelly Houses in the Home Selling Channel

smelly houses

Originally posted at: Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection: I Saw A Really, Really Gorgeous House Today - But.....

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28 Comments on I Saw A Really, Really Gorgeous House Today - But.....

JUN

Cat smell is the worst to get out of a house, Patricia. We don't own any cats, as we are dog people. But, the people in the house before us had cats. They cleaned and shampooed the carpets to within an inch of their life, but the smell is still there (although pretty faintly now). Our dog stays outside. Pet odors and smoke are damn near impossible to get rid of.

I'm sure you can get past the smell if you really love the home, can't you?

As Jimmy Durante would say..."The nose knows!"

I just heard on the news that some people who used Zicam nazal spray lost their sense of smell completely... perhaps you can market the home to Zicam users???

There is an ozone machine that supposedly removes odors - but then where would your furry friends live while you were selling the house?

Sharon

Patricia,

I am sure you know that we do not catch our house smell. We get used to it, and while it could be striking for someone entering your home, you may be unaware of it. When you walk into a home and notice a smell, see if you still pick this smell one hour later. Most probably you get used to it and either do not notice it completely, or not as strong as when you came.

And Sharon is right. Try using the ozonator. It kills all odors, and it's own odor dissipates rather quickly. We use it. Hotels use it.

Hi Patricia ~ I'm the resident expert on cat urine odor since I buying a cat hoarder's house. I've had cats all my life with no odor problems. I think it's a-ok as long as you are scrupulous about the box - or better yet - have them go on vacation for a bit. Dogs can be trickier if a smelly one is in residence - I think those smells get in furniture, rugs, etc.

Liz

Several years ago I saw this beautiful custom home - I love it (who cares what the client thought - just kidding) most of the house was ok but once you started getting closer to the mudroom - yikes. I did peak into the mud room and was about to pass out. They had 7 cats. ~Rita

When I pointed it out to a seller and they replaced the carpet it was night and day as far as the cleanliness and fragrance. It made a big difference. If you do not have cats I think the odor is more pronouned.

Pat..Just you just love those homes ..you wonder how the people who live there can t smell the odor..Great post! Thank you

HelpfulHannah your friend in Philadelphia

Pat - well good luck. Pets DO make selling a home a challenge, in many ways. At least you have an awareness of the issues re: smells, showings, etc.

Jeff

JUN

Patricia- I have an air purifier in our home. It gets rid of all odors. I can not stand the smell of dogs. And my cat died last November and we do not have another one. But we also have wood and tile floors. There is not one ounce of carpet anywhere in our home. I hate carpet, it is toxic and mites love to breed and live in it, too germy and gross for me. Our cat went pee and poop outside. He would stand at the door and cry to go out, never had a litter box in the house for him. He was such a Siamese! He did use the bathtub if he had to go really bad and no one let him out. He would pee or poop right on the drain too! Very smart!

Pat, A couple of weeks ago I showed a property that had cat smell in the tiled kitchen. Prior to writing an offer, my buyer had a remediation company go out to the home and provide an estimate. The remediation company said that the only way to treat tile with cat odor is to remove the tile, treat the cement underlay and then re-tile. Needless to say my buyer moved on.

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Hi Pat, what to do. I use something called Natures Miracle on the floors if anyone has an accident, and always on the floor where the litter box is. But otherwise, you can advertise it as wanting a new cat or dog!

When I listed houses, this is one of the things we discussed. If they have a pet and I could smell it, they either had to clean the litter everyday and clean the carpets or I wouldn't take the listing. I wasn't going to lose a sale because of the smell test!

Getting past a smell like cat is very hard. MOst people just think the entire house is "dirty". I'm allergic so I definitely would never buy a house like that. To get the smell out, you're talking changing the flooring and bleaching the concrete slab underneath. ICK!

Supposedly vinigar helps capture those smells, so try leaving out a bowl for a few days and see if it gets better.

Pat...

Oh boy, when we go on tour every Wednesday, pet odor is the number one complaint by our local band of "experts."

I don't know of any workarounds, just do the best you can to keep the house smelling fresh!

As they say in staging, "you can't sell it if you can smell it,". Smoke odor is the worst but pet odor is a strong second in my book. As Donna above mentioned, I have heard vinegar works as well as we actually had a client try it w/some success. Cat urine is the most difficult to get out, but I'm sure there are a lot of local co's that specialize in getting out odors. good luck.

Pat--Most homes with pets sell to buyers with pets. Those odor absorbers work fairly well and the scented scoopable cat litter also helps (if scooped daily). We are recently down to one pet....our cat. But at one point we had two cats and a dog. It the last few weeks without the dog, though lonely, has been less "scentual".

Pat,

It seems that everyone con cures with your comments.

I just know that we do a lot of property management and WE WON'T ALLOW CATS...because of this problem. They make the worst mess and it's a lot of hard work and money to remove that smell...

that's such a shame.

Well I think if you really love the home, once moved in, the smell will be gone.

Hi Pat,

I heard this cold over the counter cold medicine will help with the sniff test problem. It turns out, the FDA says if you take the drug, you may loose your sense of smell! I guess that could be the cure for a smelly home, just take a bunch of cold pills, and forget all about it...

-Lisa

You know what they say: "A big CAT can scratch you, but a little pussy never hurt anyone"...

Pet odors and cigarette smoking odors are hard to overcome in a house. I'd never buy one that smelled like either. But I'm sure yours does not smell!

Now that I got that little early LOL FRIDAY out, I must admit that I would rather live in a one room shack that smells good, rather than in a palace that smells bad. That little pussy cat odor goes a long way; I've had homes stripped of carpet and padding, and you can still smell that odor on the concrete. Yuck!!!

Personally I prefer Dogs! No offense to the cat lovers, (I love cats; let's exchange recipes! Oops, another LOL Friday slip...); I just can't take the chance of that odor.

Now featured on the Optimist Group.

JUN

Well just think...you can always advertise homes like that in places that still allow indoor smoking. Hey, I think there are still smoking rooms in ATL airport. You spend anytime in one of those and you're surely not going to smell kitty litter...ever again. :)

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