The Smell of Home Selling Success

What does success smell like to you? The first whiff is an overlooked part of the vital first impression of visiting a home. It is critical part of the sensory experience from the moment we walk in.

Sense is the strongest sense tied to memory and also strongly tied to emotions. We remember places by their smell - good or bad. The eyes register their surroundings first and the nose acts as back-up. So even if a home looks clean and tidy, if odour issues haven't been addressed you are less likely to make a quick sale. As the saying goes, if you can smell it, you can't sell it."

The first step in resolving this issue is brutal honesty. Our olfactory abilities are lame at best, but it does weigh heavily on the subconscious level. We become accustom to odours at the conscious level within minutes. I recommend getting honest outside to get a fresh assessment. Better to come from a friend, than a professional who wants your business and is afraid of offending you.

The most common odour problems in homes are mould, smoking, and pets. Most smells dwell in the soft surfaces around the house. That means the carpets, draperies, furniture, and bedding and mattresses. Odour s can also become entrenched on hard surfaces or down pipes. Get a fresh nose involved and start inspecting your home and to find sources.

Don't waste your time running out to the store and buying an armload of air fresheners. Covering up odours with stronger perfume is a red flag and a temporary solution. You need to get at the root cause of the smell and remove it if possible.

Mould is the most serious offender and it can cause very strong allergic reactions in people. Once entrenched in your home it is expensive to remedy, it can devalue your home, and most insurance companies will deny mould claims. Mould is caused by moisture, so it is important to control the humidity to less than 55% in your house with a dehumidifier. Start by looking for water leaks or water intrusion from the foundation, leaking pipes, windows, walls, and downspouts. Your HVAC system needs to have its cooling coils and drain pan sanitized regularly along with changing the filter to prevent mould spores from circulating.

To clean mould from hard surfaces, mist with water first to prevent any spores from becoming airborne. Effective mould cleaners are alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, and ammonia. If you have mould in soft surfaces, you have little choice but to remove it after dealing with the source. If there is mould in the carpet and under padding, the underlying floor boards will need to be sanitized before the carpet is replaced.

Pet odours and dander are another major turnoff for potential home buyers. You greatly reduce your potential market if pet dander, odours and staining are obvious, even with other pet owners. Case in point: a recently sold home had very high volume traffic and tons of positive comments and showed like a model home. It sold after two weeks. Not bad, but could have sold much faster. Despite new carpeting and all visual evidence removed, the home smelled of cats. Although the home was a visual treat, it didn't smell that way. The 42nd potential buyer that visited, and finally bought, was a fellow cat owner.

Young children can sometimes present similar challenges to pets. Closely inspect diaper pails, check mattresses for stains, check corners, and hideaway places as possible sources of hidden odours.

Smoking is another odour that really turns off buyers. All the soft surfaces need to be washed or replaced and a fresh coat of paint will greatly brighten and refresh the walls and ceiling.

Closets frequently harbour odours by association. Shoes that have seen better days and clothes that need dry cleaning can be smelly distractions, especially closets by the front door. Clear out the offenders.

If removing the sources of odour is not an option, the alternative is using a commercial air purification unit or commercial scent diffusers for ambient scenting. Ambient scent diffusers work differently from store bought air fresheners. They constantly diffuse only enough scent to hang just below your conscious level to evoke a certain atmosphere. Using these commercial tools is not the best choice because there is a certain level of deception involved. Some may call it sensory marketing. The reality for the home seller may be the difference between a couple thousand dollars in carpet replacement or a bite size rental fee for a fresh air unit.

With the nose so closely associated with emotions it is no wonder we connect positive home environment with the scent of baking bread, apple pie, or cookies. The nose knows and remembers the first sensory experience of a space for better or worse. In the end, a successful sale depends on creating a positive emotional connection with a potential buyer. And that's what the smell of success smells like.