Tahoe Real Estate Seller Mistake – Smelly Home!

There are many things that can unintentionally hurt a Tahoe sellers’ efforts to sell their home. They can do everything right, but if they make this Tahoe seller mistake it can cost them a sale!

What is this unintentional common Tahoe seller mistake that makes my list on how a seller cannot only hurt their marketing efforts, but can cost them a sale? Here it is:

Tahoe Real Estate Seller Mistake:

The home has a bad, odd, unpleasant, chemical, or funky smell – odor to it.

The problem with a smelly home is once an agent knows a home is smelly, they tend to not show it, so it’s very important to make sure your home smells good from the very beginning of the listing, preview, and showing process.

Once a buyer has that nasty smell – odor scent in their nose, that’s all they can think about, and it takes the focus off seeing your Tahoe home and all of the great things about your property.

It’s a simple marketing concept: once a buyers’ attention has been moved and focused on a negative item, you’ve lost that buyer!

Here are the most common reasons a Tahoe Seller has a smelly home:

1) Mold, Mildew, and Rotten Wood: In the Tahoe area a common problem for property owners is the smell of mold, mildew, or the smell of rotten wood – the seller has a current unidentified pest problem.

If you haven’t been to your Tahoe home in a while you may just attribute that musty, funky smell to the home when you first walk in, as the smell of just being closed up.

That smell is really the smell of some type of current pest problem. Most likely the home has a mold, fungus, mildew, rotten wood, dead animal (yes dead animal – squirrel, raccoon, mice, bird, even a bear, or bear poop) etc… under the home, and it can only be identified by a licensed pest control company.

The number one reason to get a pest inspection done by a seller prior to putting the home on the market is to ensure that there isn’t a hidden mold, mildew, rotten wood, or a dead animal problem under the home and that your home doesn’t smell from the unidentified pest problem.

2) Pets: It doesn’t matter how much you clean and care for your pets (I should know, I have dogs!), your home has a pet odor to it. That’s not a judgment on your cleaning abilities, it’s just a reality of the situation and being aware of it is the first step in preparing your home for sale.

3) Cooking: Everyone understands that you’ll be using your kitchen while your home is on the market, but be aware, last night’s fish dinner, your venison stew, or your breakfast bacon may still be hanging in the air when buyers come through your home to see it. Some may like that smell, but others may not. Think twice about what you are cooking.

4) Smoking: You have every right to smoke in your home, again, this is not a lifestyle judgment, but sellers need to know that the smell of cigarettes, cigars, pot, even long-term smoke from a fireplace can be enough to send potential buyers packing.

5) Chemical: An over-the-top chemically clean home, too many room fresheners, new carpet, even the smell of new paint can send potential buyers packing.

Everyone wants a clean home, and buyers can appreciate new carpet, paint, and other improvements, but it’s important that a seller allow for enough time for those installation and cleaning smells to work their way out of the home.

What can you do as a Tahoe Seller to get rid of the smells and to make your property smell-friendly to potential Tahoe buyers?

1.) If you have pets, change out all pet beds, blankets, and get rid of any soft goods that cannot be immediately laundered.

2.) Keep pet food and liter pans to one room that can be closed off, preferably as far away from the front entrance.

3.) On showing days bake a single batch of cookies. Buy the cookies dough at the store, and cook 6-10 cookies in your oven, or better yet toaster oven. Don’t like cookies, try cinnamon buns, biscuits, or anything else that can be baked in less than 20 minutes and is a sweet treat.

That competing sweet bakery smell will help to off-set your pet, cooking smells, and any other day-to-day living smells in the home. Studies have found people have a positive response to the smell of baked goods, so use that to your advantage. Do you want to be remembered as the bad smelly home, or the home that smelled like baked cookies?

4.) Soft Goods – Have carpets and fabric furniture professionally cleaned. If you have old drapes now may be the time to get rid of them, or to have them professional cleaned. Don’t forget to launder all bed coverings (bed spreads, comforters, throw pillows, any item that typically isn’t laudered and cleaned during the month.

If you can clean, launder, replace, or remove those items, your home will smell fresh, and those negative smelly problems will be minimized, or gone.

5.) If you are replacing carpets, painting, or doing a heavy clean, make sure you’ve given yourself at least a week to ten days before showing the home, so that the chemical smell is long gone by the time buyers see the property.

6.) Get a pest inspection and take care of any work that needs to be done.

Life is smelly, but your Tahoe property doesn’t need to leave agents, or buyers will a bad impression.

Take the time to make sure your home smells as appealing as it looks and avoid the Tahoe Real Estate Seller Mistake of a Smelly Home!

Check out your Seller competition here! North Lake Tahoe Homes for Sale:

Want to see what condos are for sale in Lake Tahoe? Here are the current listings:

For all of your Tahoe real estate needs –

Laura A. Allen | 530.414.1260 | Laura@TahoeLaura.com
BROKER ASSOCIATE, Tahoe Real Estate Agent
CalRE# 01473598
Coldwell Banker, Tahoe City, CA CalRE#01908304

All information is deemed reliable, but is subject to change, and/or correction without notice.

Tahoe Real Estate Seller Mistake – Smelly Home!