A smell is more than something wafting through the air. A smell can trigger memories, it can actually distract you.  Some scents lead you to start trying to figure out what it is you’re actually smelling, comparing it to a repertoire of scents you’ve encountered throughout your lifetime.

We as real estate sales representatives work hard, helping you prepare your Orangeville home, getting it ready for sale.  We have you clean, tidy up, organize, declutter and in some cases, your home has been staged.  This can all be counterproductive if a buyer walks into your home only to find it smells unpleasant.   Here are the top smells to avoid during the sale of your Orangeville area home.

Air Fresheners or Candles

You may find the scent pleasant and think it’s appealing but many people have allergies to scents and others (us Realtors®) find many of these scents, overpowering.  A strong air freshener can actually deter people, making them wonder what you are trying to cover up.  Stick to one or two mild scents.  Citrus scents are rated high when it comes to pleasant smells and studies have actually shown that simple scents allow people to focus. This translates into potential buyers spending more time in your home.

Pet odours

This can be tough, especially as we live with many smells that we don’t even notice.  The best way to avoid these scents is to have everyone stay on top of their pet duties.  Keep the hamster cages clean, the litter box scooped and sweep up around it (there really isn’t anything worse than stepping in litter when you’re showing a house, well maybe a few things but it’s still gross).   As we get head into the winter months Fido becomes a concern too.  Wet dogs definitely don’t add any pleasant odours to our homes.  Be sure to keep their beds laundered and carpets fresh.

Cleaning products

We all know that our kitchens and bathrooms have to sparkle when your home is for sale but the smell can be overpowering if you overdue it.  Bleach is a powerful disinfectant but the smell of it and other powerful cleaners can turn potential buyers away.  After an initial deep clean keep on top things limiting the strong cleaners, a little goes a long way.

Smoke

It’s almost unacceptable now-a-days to smoke in your own home, let alone in public places but we still occasionally encounter homeowners that do.  Smoking in a home can automatically decrease your home’s value.  A buyer will either turn and walk out of a house that smells of smoke without giving it any consideration what so ever or see it as an opportunity to low ball, deducting  tens of thousands of dollars off of their offer.

Let’s face it, we can’t make everyone happy but avoiding these smells will help.  Nothing beats the smell of clean.  Keeping your house clean and tidy is the first step.  Stay on top of dust, dirt and fingerprints and it will pay off.  If you fancy a meal that you know will have lingering smells such as fish or curry, head to your favourite local Orangeville restaurant.  If you need to smoke, go for a walk while you do it.  Doing so could literally save you thousands of dollars and mean the difference between selling quickly or staying on the market reduction after reduction until you sell at a lower price.