You have just finished getting your home ready so you can sell it for top dollar. You’ve painted, cleaned, de-cluttered and tidied it from top to bottom.
However, is there something you may have overlooked? The answer could be yes. If your home smells of hockey gear, strong cooking odours, wet dog or kitty litter, you have a problem!
There are many tips available on staging your home, but the scent factor is often not talked about because no-one likes to hear that their home smells! However, Buyers generally have a very keen sense of smell from the moment they walk in your door and if it’s not a good odour, can immediately be turned off. A lot of Sellers do not address the smell issue themselves because they have lived in it, and simply gotten used to it. Your home may look nice from the outside and gleam on the inside, but Buyers need the scent factor also! Homes that have been closed up or don’t have a lot of air flow could smell musty or damp. Other homes smell of cigarette smoke which has been a turn-off for most Buyers for a long time. Animal odours are not welcoming either. Realtors don’t want to offend their clients, so take some steps before you are ready to list to consider the odours in your home. Candles and baking can mask smells, but sometimes other steps may need to be taken – if there are a lot of pet odors in the carpets, consider having your carpets cleaned or even replacing areas where odors are most offensive. If you have a kitty litter tray, clean this on a daily basis and put it outside or in the garage for showings. Wash the hockey gear! Your goal is always to increase value, and you can do this by making your home more desirable and by making it smell great! Let’s chat! Angela