Stinky Houses Don’t Sell Well

You often hear about the benefits of staging a home. What is seldom discussed is removing smells. Some homes just plain STINK. Thank goodness we don’t encounter it too often, but when we do, it is usually bad. As a Twin Cities Minnesota Realtor of 23 years, I’ve been in thousands of homes. From experience I can tell you that you shouldn’t overlook this area.

If you have pets, children, or men in your home, you have to worry about removing odor. Lets face it, all three of these things will leave strange smells around your home that might be a little scary. It comes with the territory, and if you want to be able to breathe freely, you know you have to become an expert in removing odor and stains. No matter how careful you are, you cannot control everyone around you. You know you are going to find a strange odor, and you are going to have to be the one to get rid of it.

Some people go about removing odor by using things like Febreeze. I have found that Febreeze works very well, and even use it in our car. You can use it in any fabric around your home, including your furniture, drapes and curtains, rugs, and other things that may have fabric on them like speakers. Febreze is pretty good about removing odor, and doesn’t cost that much money in the store. There are some odors that it just can’t touch, but for the most part, you will find it works rather well. The odor removers/maskers that plug into your electrical outlets also work fairly well.

In some instances, removing odor means removing the source of the smell. Sometimes the source is something you don’t want to part with. I had a client who lived in Maple Grove Minnesota who had a number of dogs and cats that did their business in the home. Removing the pets was the only solution to removing the odors. The seller was able to relocate them to her mothers home in Northern Minnesota during our selling process. This made the selling process possible.

You may also find that removing odor is a matter of making those who come into your home take care of their own things. If your husband comes home smelling like paint or paint thinner, have a special hamper for his clothing so that the odors do not permeate your house. If your son is involved in football, make sure he takes care of his equipment so that it does that leave a strange smell in your home. In these cases, removing odor might mean removing the items from your home. If you have a garage, this might be the perfect place for football equipment or shoes. Teenagers tend to have a smell unto themselves, so make sure you discuss the need to keep a tidy and clean smelling room.

For hard core cases, there are also services that will come in and ionize the home. You usually have to leave the home for a few days when this occurs. Replacing carpets, painting the walls/ceiling to remove smoke with products such as Kilz also does wonders.

John Mazzara CFP CLU CHFC CEBS CMB MBA MS is an independent financial planner in the Twin Cities, MN. Officing out of Edina, Minnesota-John is centrally located within the 7 county metropolitan area. John owns three separate businesses-a licensed real estate broker associate selling Minnesota Real Estate since 1986-affiliated with RE/MAX Associates Plus http://www.selling.mn , an independent CFP-certified financial planner since 1989 with an independent Minnesota financial planning firm-Financial Planning Associates and the owner of a Minnesota mortgage broker firm-Venture Development Inc-specializing ins residential, commercial and investment mortgages http://www.ventureloanapp.com

John has a wealth of knowledge and experience that surpasses most other advisors. If you are looking for someone to help you in the areas of real estate sales/purchase, mortgages, or and/or financial planning and insurance you should call John for a free 1 hour consultation to see if he can meet your needs. 952-929-2577.

Schedule Your Home Inspection Service Today!

Click Here And Get $20.00 OFF When Your Schedule Your Inspection Online

Progressive Home Services Is Proud To Be Locally Owned and Operated.

Call Us Now: 507-382-7007

We are proud to offer home inspection services to the following south central Minnesota Counties:

Blue Earth, Nicollet, Brown, Watonwan, Martin, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, Waseca, Steele, Dodge, Olmstead, Rice, Le Sueur, Sibley, Scott, Mcleod, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin and Ramsey