If it Smells; It Won’t SELL!

By Connie Tebyani

When selling your Ventura County home, one of the most important impressions that can be left imprinted in the memory of Buyers is something that you cannot see.  That one impression can make or break your home even being considered for an offer;  it’s how your house smells.

Do you have dogs or cats?  Are you a smoker?  Do you regularly cook fish or spicy foods?  If you answered yes to ANY of these questions, you need to take measures to ensure that your house doesn’t smell of these offenders.  You may not even realize that your house has any odor because your sense of smell, both physically and mentally, have blocked that odor in your receptors over time.  It’s a proven medical fact.  Just as you would put perfume or cologne on daily, after 15-20 minutes you can’t always “smell” the perfume on yourself, even though those around you can, your nose has become accustom to it.  The same goes for your house.

Here are a few simple and basic steps that should be taken when selling your Ventura County home.

1) Are you, or any member of your household a regular smoker? Unless they partake of their habit exclusively outside,  then your house smells of  smoke as well.  Household “fresheners” might help momentarily, but the smell will be deep down in your draperies, furniture and carpeting.  Even walls can be stained from the nicotine of heavy smokers.

• Get your carpets, rugs and possibly your furniture cleaned
• Wash all bedding
• Wash or dry clean draperies
• Start smoking outside (yes, even if it’s cold or raining)
• Paint your home with a low emissions paint.  Some makers even sell additives that can be mixed directly into your paint before applying in scents such as vanilla and lavender.  The scents last for about 6 months.

2) Cooking smells can linger up to 48 hours in a typical household, even longer if it’s something cooked on a regular basis.  Just as smoke invades every fabric of the house, so do odors of fish, spicy foods, curries, etc.

• Wash ALL dishes and cooking pans immediately after the food has been prepaired.  Dirty pots, pans and plates keep the smell lingering.
• Clean all cooking and food preparation surfaces  as well.  Cooking oil and sauces can splatter as far as three feet away (and up) from the cooking surface.
• Follow the same rule as if you have a smoker in your household and try to take into consideration when your home is going to be shown or when your next open house is scheduled.  Do NOT cook these foods the night before an open house or showing.

3) Man’s best friend, may not be the Buyers best friend: Remember that there are MANY Buyers who are allergic to your furry friend and you want to remove ANY traces of them when you are trying to sell your home.

Cats:

• Litter boxes should be cleaned out twice a day and spring for the extra odor absorbing litter if at all possible.
• Large cat houses should be removed completely, smaller scratching posts should be concealed behind a door or large piece of furniture.

Dogs:

• Remove all dog beds every time your home is going to shown to a potential buyer.  Even if they have cedar chip fillings, they still smell of  “dog”.
• Remove food and water bowls
• If you have a dog that barks ( especially if they bark a lot) REMOVE the animal from the premises for the showing.  Take them for a walk while the house is being shown, or ask a neighbor to watch the animal at their home if you are working.  There is nothing worse than not being able  or feeling uncomfortable when opening a door to a bedroom with a barking dog behind it; no matter how small they are.

CLEAN THOSE CARPETS and AREA RUGS!  Even if you think they “don’t need it”, trust me they do!  Get a deep steam cleaning company and ask them to pre-treat your carpets for animals. If you have area rugs, you also need to have them cleaned as well.  Larger rugs may need to be removed from the home for a day or two to be cleaned off-site.  If the smell still lingers up to 1 week after your carpeting  has been deep cleaned, you may need to consider replacing it because the odor from urine may have seeped into the padding, which cleaners cannot reach.  Again, ask for an unbiased “sniff test” from your Realtor seven days after the carpets have been cleaned.

Case in Point: Platinum Home Staging, Inc. recently Staged a large Oak Park home which the owner had three small dogs.  Even though they had vacated the property, the entire house still smelled like “dog” and in some rooms, even smelled of urine.  The owner could not smell this herself, but every other person who entered the home COULD.  Even after cleaning the carpets, one room in particular smelled, yet this room was floored wall to wall in marble.  It was the Seller’s area rug which had been soiled repeatedly by her “kids” that was the offender.  Our Staging Professionals removed the rug immediately and replaced it with a brand new rug.  FOUR  MONTHS had passed and the Realtor called us asking to remove the Staging, the house had not sold.  Upon our arrival we were appalled to find the stained area rug back in the living room!  Even after four months of being a completely vacant house, the first impression every Buyer noticed was the SMELL of that soiled rug.

Also note: Scented candles and wall plug-ins will NOT take away offensive odors in your home.  Remember the commercial where all you could see were roses and fish falling from the ceiling?  These will only mask the smells, not remove them.

Ask your Realtor honestly about  how  your house smells and be prepared for an honest answer.  If you need additional help in preparing your Ventura County home for sale, contact Platinum Home Staging, Inc. for your FREE estimate.