Dogs in the house, Sellers should know there is a price to Pay

If I was a smart buyer, I would smell a big discount coming my way. 

If you can SMELL it....you can't SELL it!  It really speaks to the motivation of the seller.  If they want to sell bad enough at a certain price, then they must get rid of the smell and make adjustments with their dogs during the listing period.  It's only temporary and then they can go back to life as normal in their new home.

Odor in general is bad - dog odor and smoke odor are the worst. 

Laurie

I love dogs but can't see 5 dogs having the run of the house while it's being shown (it sounds like). Don't they have a kennel area outside? Dogs should not be cooped up inside anyway. No wonder they smell, they need fresh air. IMHO.

Good post, I have a large Chocolate lab and I have to keep him in the house most of the time.

The ordor can be a problem and giving him a bath regularly and making sure that he and the house is clean can be a problem at time.

Odors in general can be a bad thing.  The biggest problem I have encountered in regards to pets is when sellers gate off a section of the home and leave a note that says something to the effect of "do not enter this area as dogs may bite- if you are interested in seeing this area schedule an appoinment over the weekend and we will remove them for the showing."

I have seen notes like this about 5 times last year, if prospective buyers can't comfortably tour a home they probably are not going to buy it.

Odors in general can be a bad thing.  The biggest problem I have encountered in regards to pets is when sellers gate off a section of the home and leave a note that says something to the effect of "do not enter this area as dogs may bite- if you are interested in seeing this area schedule an appoinment over the weekend and we will remove them for the showing."

I have seen notes like this about 5 times last year, if prospective buyers can't comfortably tour a home they probably are not going to buy it.

Definitely a tough issue.  A lot of dog owners simply do not smell the scent of their own home after a while.  They become immune to the odor. 

Pete, pet odor can be controlled. Seller just need to be aware of it and the impact on selling. Thanks for the reminder.

Pet oder can be an issue, but homeowners have to be able to live in the house while it sells. While its a buyers market, keeping the pet at a friends home or a kennal for extened periods is not an opetion for most.

I have indoor dogs and yes there can be a smell. If my home was on the market I would keep the dogs out as much as possible-maybe suggest that to your client.You have to be careful not to offend the people ,mine are my babies. But I do know that smells are bad when trying to sell. Maybe a nice doghouse would be an answer!

While I agree that odors in general are a problem, it is unreasonable to expect that any pet be bathed daily.  People who have multiple animals in their homes are far more tolerant of those issues than non pet owners.   I've had owners who had awful cat smells that they didn't recognize at all.  The same goes for smokers.  

Recently, I showed a property with a massive Great Dane and a Jack Russell.  Having both of them greet me at the front door was a surprise, and my buyer hid behind me.  Both are friendly animals, but 160lbs of hound in your face can be intimidating.  Buyer bought the house at a discounted price but it had nothing to do with critters.  There was deferred maintenance in many areas, and the buyer was happy as long as the critters didn't come with the house. 

I bet the dogs eats a lot of homework too LOL.....I have encountered this many times over the years and the owner loses sensitivity to the smell after a while. In one case, I had to rip out carpets and bleach bath the whole place. Bleach kills the germs and bacteria that make the smell..Buyers already have enough to deal with

Pets, particularly dogs, aren't bathed everyday. Basically, it damages their skin and their fur.  And, it won't eliminate the odor. Brushing helps. Carpet deoderizers, some of the cleaning solutions used by hotels and restoration companies (think water damage) are helpful solutions, too.

Stanley, I think you make a valid point. Lots of people are afraid of dogs and lots of dogs give people reason to fear them. Also I find that dogs in particular can be a real distraction when showing a home for reasons of love and hate. Sometimes the prospect just wants to play with the dog and they forget why they are there in the first place.

I agree and often Cats are worse.  Small dogs that don't shed seem to be better, but let's not forget that even hamsters and so on can make  house smell.  We get accustomed to the smell, but a buyer who walks in is not.  If selling everything needs to be kept doubly clean including the pets themselves.

Like some people, certain dog breeds have stronger odors than others. Some folks do need to bath their dogs but some breeds are relatively odor free. Cat houses are 1000 times worse than dog houses where odor is concerned.

This is totally true but yet at the same time its hard to bring it up. Oh by the way your house stinks! How do you bring this up without offending people,especially those who treat their dogs like children.

This is a big issue in my home. Neither my boyfriend or myself dislike pets, we just don't have any that walk on all fours. However when he bought the home it was in distress and the previous owner did have animals. We are not sure what variety. There were stains all over the house, with a massive smell. Before he moved in i went through and did a MASSIVE cleaning and steam cleaned the carpets. Unfortunately all that did was make the spots bigger as the leakage issue had seeped into the pad under the carpet. We have not been in the home long and are slowly making repairs as we go and have yet to get new carpet. Now EVERY time i shampoo the carpets i smell pet urine for at least 2 days. I find this rather annoying since we don't have pets (of the 4 legged variety.) This is something i try to keep in mind when i am showing a home. Not only that but when you bring a animal into a new place and they smell another pet, they WILL try to mark their territory.

Most people have some fondness of animals (dogs or cats) but when you bring buyers into a home and it hits you in the face as you walk in - huge turnoff.  I would be afraid to show a home with 5 dogs -sorry - that's scary.   I wish you lots of luck.