Odors Can Kill a Sarasota Home Sale
Simple Steps to Remove Home Odors
 Most Realtors agree that typical prospective buyers make a decision, positively or negatively, within 10 - 20 seconds of entering a Sarasota Florida home for sale.
Many things can contribute to their forming a negative opinion about a home, but one of the biggest factors is the presence of an odor upon entering the home.
"We all become accustomed to the smell of our own home and thus we may not recognize an odor problem unless someone not usually in our home points it out to us,"
according to one noted Sarasota real estate professional. If your Realtor says something about an odor, it's best not be offended. Do something about it and do it immediately if getting your home sold is your primary objective.
A home that smells fresh and clean will create positive feelings, while an animal smell or a cooking residue, or, worst of all, a cigar or cigarette smell
will lose you prospective buyers faster than most other possible objections they may have with your home.
Brian Ward, a well-known Sarasota real estate expert, suggests that there are several things you can do to minimize objectionable smells in your home and make it more attractive to buyers:
- Have your carpets, curtains, and upholstery cleaned, preferably professionally with a process that will remove odors, not just mask them.
- If you smoke, smoke only outside the home while the home is for sale. Cigarette smoke is one of the most objectionable odors a home can have. Cigar smoke smells are even more objectionable.
If you are a heavy smoker, you may even have to paint to remove the yellow-stains on walls and ceilings. Failure to do so can make it take a very long time to find another smoker to sell your home to.
- If your interior needs painting, use only latex (not oil based) paint. Oil based paint smells linger in a home for a long time whereas latex paint gives a home a "fresh" scent.
If your walls are painted in strong colors, using more neutral paint colors will help with visual appeal.
- If you have a cat, empty the litter box very often. Litter box odor alone can kill a deal according to Judie Berger, a Sarasota realtor and cat-lover. If your pet has urinated in the home, it will be very difficult to remove the smell that had gotten into, for example, wood flooring or the pad beneath carpeting.
Failure to remove animal smells will cost you several thousand dollars in selling price.
- If your home will be vacant, do not turn off your refrigerator. If you must turn it off, be sure to prop the door open. A warm refrigerator can produce very objectionable odors regardless of how clean it's interior is.
- If your home will be vacant when it is shown, do not put moth balls around the home. Their strong smell is not only unpleasant; it can trigger allergic reactions. Also, use a "bug bomb" to kill any
active flea eggs that may be in your carpeting. Normal vacuuming keeps this under control but in a vacant home all those eggs will hatch and flood your home with fleas.
Most hardware stores sell the appropriate bug bomb for your area. Don't forget to leave the home for a few hours and open the windows widely when you return.
- If your home will not be occupied while for sale, leave the air-conditioning running on a relatively high setting (like 85 degrees) to control humidity and avoid a build-up of mildew-related odors.
- Change the filter in your air conditioner or heat pump system to eliminate stale smells. Be sure to clean all the a/c vents of accumulated dirt and dust.
- In the bathroom, i there are mold or mildew stains, remove them with a mildew and mold remover available at your grocery store. No one likes a bathroom that does anything but sparkle.
- If you will be home when potential buyers will be viewing it, you can make it smell great by leaving warm cookies on the counter for them to sample. You can also put cinnamon on apple slices and heat them in your oven for a few minutes before the showing. Lightly scented candles can also help create a pleasant smelling surroundings.
Do not use strong air fresheners that will suggest that you are trying to "cover up" some smell.
- If the weather is pleasant, open your windows and doors prior to a visit to ventilate stale air out and bring in some fresh air.
Another Sarasota Florida realtor has written an article about things you can do outside your home to improve its curb appeal. You may want to read that article as well.
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