Comments on: If it smells, it doesn’t sell – planning for pets in home sales…

By: Jillayne Schlicke

Jillayne Schlicke — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 06:02:33 +0000

Did I say something about pet odors? Maybe you were confusing this post with the article I uploaded today about those predatory lending dogs stinking up the mortgage lending industry.

By: Shelley Propernick

Shelley Propernick — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:33:36 +0000

I agree with Jillayne regarding pet odors. Nothing is more embarassing then taking a new client to a home, walking inside and having it smell like pet urine. The listing agent has to know the home smells. A good thing to do, would be to educate your seller!

By: Reba Haas

Reba Haas — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 19:43:18 +0000

Ok, first, I can’t even begin to imagine taking on a listing without first seeing the property that I’m going to represent. Second, that is really gross about the doggie diapers and I really feel for that little dog. BAD OWNERS!!!!

By: Jim Frey

Jim Frey — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:48:03 +0000

Thanx Reba – very pertinent in this day & age. I brought my clients to a listing yesterday. The listing agent told us there was a little dog that would bark & run under the bed after we entered. The dog did exactly that, BUT the home owners had “doggie diapers” scattered around the house, dog stains everywhere. unfreakinbelievable! (LOL!) I decided to tell the listing agent & he said he had NEVER been in the house (yes, that’s what he said) – & I said “you are NOT gonna sell the house unless you replace ALL the carpets” – period. He said he’d look into it….hmmmmmm, this does really happen folks!

By: Reba Haas

Reba Haas — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 08:52:21 +0000

Yes, I agree about smells in general no matter what is the offending reason. There is a house near Greenlake that is trying to be sold between $650-700k and it STINKS! The first thing that hits you when you walk in the door is the smell. I took some listing clients to this house to show them what one of the comparables would be for their similar, yet smaller, home. My remarks in the discussion about the price we’d put their house on market for brought into account this house and how buyers in the marketplace would compare them. We got a good price for their home and while we were the smaller of the sizes of homes in this price range we got consistent feedback about how much better the house was presented.

Greg, thanks also for the additional good options. I also have had sealants used in houses where wood floors have been soiled by countless years of animal pee in a house. It helped seal in the smell and carpet could be laid over it. Sadly, it was in a house I had purchased and this horrible smell was discovered only after removing the old, ugly carpet. I had planned on refurbishing all of the hardwoods in the house but this was so bad the only thing we could do was seal and recover. Ick.

By: Greg Perry

Greg Perry — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 02:55:06 +0000

Nice post. Right on target.

A couple of things…. A high powered ozonator will remove all organic odors, including cooking odors. It’s a good thing to do if there are any unpleasant odors milling about.

If a pet soils all the way to a sub floor, white pigmented shellac will completely seal in all organic odors (pet odors, smoke odors, etc.). No need to pull up a sub floor.

In addition to pets, baby pails and small children odor management is a must!!!!

By: RE Dispatch: Today in Real Estate, 3-16-07 | Real Estate Investing for Real Blog

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 01:41:57 +0000

[...] If it smells, it doesn’t sell – Planning for pets in home sales… , Rain City Guide [...]

By: Holly

Holly — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 23:08:25 +0000

Great entry.

We sold our home last year, and we have 2 cats and a greyhound. The cats went to stay with a friend while the house was for sale, because I know my cats, and the moment a buyer walks in the door, one of them will either barf up a hairball or make a big stink in the litter box. Our dog spent weekdays at doggie day care. On the weekend, she went everywhere with us.

And it worked. The house sold quickly, and the feedback on cleanliness and appearance was very positive. Funny thing — we rented back the house for a month after the sale closed, so we brought our cats back. The new owners came by at one point, and said, “wow, we didn’t know you had cats.”

Our new house was purchased from some friends who also had pets. We made the deal before it went on the market; see, they had a cat with terminal cancer, and were willing to give us a great deal so they wouldn’t have to deal with removing their poor kitty to sell their house.

Seattle is a very pet friendly town, but I agree that you’ll have a much easier time selling a home if the pets are not there.