Bad Smells Don’t Sell a Home

From the AJC

“Buying a home is a very emotional decision and we, as agents, sometimes forge how small issues can effect a purchasers opinion of a property. Pet and Tobacco odors are the most common odors that agents hear negative comments about, but according to this article, there are ways to minimize the impact and even have a positive impact on the buyer’s nose.”

Home decorator Jennifer Schweikert in Burke, Va., has worked with real estate agents and clients to stage or prepare homes for sale. “People don’t realize that they become accustomed to their home’s odor” she said. “It smells differently, though, to the potential buyers entering the house for the first time.”

Here are some tips to keep your house smelling fresh, including what not to cook:

1) Try to avoid cooking fatty, fried foods. “You may not smell the bacon you make every morning, but that heavy greasy smell lingers and makes buyer worry about he home’s cleanliness.

2) Ban broccoli and cabbage. Cruciferous vegetables, which include Brussel sprouts and cauliflower, impart strong odors.  Schweelkert compares them to really “really stinky athletic shoes.” Even worse than cooking broccoli, she says, was the time a client burned the broccoli she was cooking.

3) Bake (or warm up) cookie in the oven an hour before an open house. “You don’t want to overwhelm people with the aroma, even if it cookies, so don’t do it right before the open house starts.”

4) Grind up some lemon quarters in your garbage disposal. It gets rid of any disposal odor and imparts a clean citrus scent.

5) Take out the trash. “Meat wrappers left in the kitchen trash can go rancid quickly. I tell clients that any wrappers or food containers should be immediately taken to the outside garbage.”