3 Smells Homebuyers Hate When They’re Touring Houses

When you’re selling your home, your job is to make it as appealing as possible to buyers – and that means cleaning, decluttering, and highlighting its best features through home staging.

Another part of that is making sure your home isn’t scaring off potential buyers because it’s got funky smells.

Check out these three smells that will send buyers right back out the door.

3 Smells Homebuyers Hate When They’re Touring Houses

When homebuyers walk into your house, they’re building an overall impression – and it has to be a good one if you want your house to get on their “short list.” While you don’t have to go out of your way to add fragrance to your home, you do have to make sure that it at least smells clean.

And you have to make sure that it doesn’t smell like:

• Food

• Pets

• Must or mold

Food Odors

When you cook, you’re creating odors that’ll stick around a while. The best solution (other than going out to dinner, that is) is to clean up immediately after cooking. Wipe down all the hard surfaces and launder whatever fabrics you have in the kitchen. Take out the trash quickly, too.

Pro tip: Leave a small bowl of ground coffee or vinegar on the kitchen counter to help absorb unwanted smells.

Don’t forget, too, that buyers will open up your oven and your refrigerator – that’s pretty standard when appliances come with the home.

Oh, and one other thing: Don’t cook hard-boiled eggs while your house is on the market. Trust us.

Pet Odors

Even if the people who come to see your home are animal-lovers, they don’t want to smell your pets. When your house is on the market, make sure you’re bathing and brushing your pets regularly – that’ll help minimize allergy reactions that buyers could have, and it’ll definitely minimize the odors your four-legged family members leave behind.

Empty the litter box daily to avoid lingering odors – and when you leave the house with your pets for a showing, bring all their gear with you (including the litter box).

If your pets have had accidents in your home, be aware that you’re not going to be able to mask those odors. You’ll have to remove the source, which could include re-carpeting or removing soiled wood.

Must or Mold Odors

If your home smells musty or moldy, find the source of the problem and take care of it. It’ll turn up in a home inspection anyway, and it’s one of the things you’ll be required to disclose – and if there’s a mold problem, your chances of a sale go way down.

Are You Selling a Home in Lakewood or Long Beach?

If you’re selling a home in Lakewood or Long Beach, we can help. Call us at 562-882-1581 to find out how we’ll market your house to all the right buyers so you can sell it quickly and at the right price.