Sorry if I offend you..but your house stinks.

Houses smell.  Yep, every single one.  Oh, they don't all smell bad...but they all carry their own fragrance.  A fragance called the Death of a Sale if it stinks.

Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of preparing a home for sale, house smells are the last things sellers seem to think about. Probably because I have yet to meet a seller who smells their own stinky home.  Not once has a seller said to me "I know my house smells bad."

No matter how diplomatic an agent tries to be when listing a stinky house, telling a seller their home smells bad seems to offend them more than telling them their home is worth less than they thought.  Maybe it's because when you live in your home you become immune to the smells that "outsiders" definitely notice.

Please Mr. & Ms Seller, don't shoot the messenger!  Your Realtor is just trying to help you get your house sold and House a'la Stinky is going to be a problem.

Some of the most deadly (yes, they could kill the sale of your home) smells are the obvious ~

• The grandaddy of stink...Cigarette or cigar smoke
• Pets smells and litter boxes
• Mothballs

Then there are the subtle smells that can also be a turnoff

• Dirty sheets/laundry
• Moldy smelling bathrooms
• Dirty Diapers
• Weird cooked food smells (by the way~never cook fish or cabbage while trying to sell your home)
• Garbage cans (empty them every day)
• Over-compensating with too many air fresheners or candles can offend a sensitive nose and make a buyer wonder what you're covering up.

So..if you're selling your home, go outside to clear your nasal passages, then step inside and take an impartial whiff or ask someone you trust to do it for you.  Hey~ you could even ask your Realtor!

 

 

©2007 - 2011 Amy Jones. No article or image may be used without permission by the author. Some posts are also posted on PhoenixArizonaRealEstateBlog.com and YourSunLakesLifestyle.com

 

 

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Amy Jones, REALTOR®, ABR, CNE, EPro
Direct 480-250-3857 

Chandler, Sun Lakes, Gilbert, Tempe & Ahwatukee Real Estate
Voted Chandler's BEST REALTOR by Arizona Foothills Magazine reader poll.

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