To tell someone their house stinks of dog?

[newtscamander]

I'm an estate agent, people have put their house on the market with me and all three viewers this week have mentioned it stinks of dog. BUT they wouldn't have otherwise bought the house, as it just wasn't right for various reasons. So really the dog smell isn't necessarily stopping the house from being sold...yet... WIBU to tell them though?!

I expect they know.

If someone is stupid enough to not buy a house because of that I wouldn't trust them to be bright enough to be able to complete the sale. They are on my list of people to avoid along with homes with no bookshelves, big lights and no lamps and "comes from a pet free non smoking home" types.

Yup, I imagine they know as well! Our house stunk of cigarette smoke when we bought it, took months to get rid of the smell, and while it was unpleasant it wasn't a deal breaker.

"I expect they know."

I bet they don't. They will be nose blind.

Sorry betsy a house that smelled of animals would be very off-putting to me. I would think of the hassle and expense of getting any carpeted areas thoroughly cleaned.

Trust me. They won't be getting the carpets cleaned. Rather replaced.
Out house had mdc. Manky dog carpet when we moved in. Ancient and gross.

Its tricky, because if yoy offend the owners that's potentially a 3k fee my office will lose. But we are here to guide them through selling and get it sold quickly ..

You should tell them. I have a dog and I don't think it smells, when I sold my last house I would have wanted the EA to tell me. I can understand how you get used to it and don't smell it any more.

Why is pet free , non smoking a bad thing? Standard on eBay otherwise people assume the item is stinky and hairy and won't buy.

With a house you view before buying and the above problems can be solved.

Well I wouldn't quite express it like that but surely part of your job is to pass back relevant feedback
So is it relevant?
Will it affect the sale or might it affect the price?

I have two dogs. My house smells of dog in one part of the hallways because my small dog is an utter dickhead and pees there when he is anxious. Which is all the time because he's a dickhead.

If I was selling the house I would deal with it. If my estate agent said 'a few people viewing have said that there is a noticeable doggy smell and it bothered them. Might it be worth getting the carpets and sofa cleaned?' I would treat that as professional advice and would not be offended.
I would be a bit disappointed that he/she thought I was stupid but I would prefer that to him noticing a potential impediment to a sale and not saying anything.

tell them
i have a dog and also smoke but i am paranoid about smells in the house
i would hope if it were bad someone would tell me

Can you frame it in terms of feedback from viewers rather than as your opinion?

Betsy I'm pretty bright and strong animal or smoking smell would put me off.

People with dogs tend not to be able to smell it (just like you can't smell your own perfume).

Surely you could politely mention that it was raised and suggest a carpet cleaning firm?

at Pag's dickhead dog!

He is. We mostly call him dickhead now. His real name is a memory.

"Trust me. They won't be getting the carpets cleaned. Rather replaced."

Even more hassle and expense then.

That must be entertaining when the Vicar comes to visit.

Could you post them an anonymous letter? It is likely one of the viewers will get the blame. (Use your left hand to write the letter - unless you are actually left-handed obvs.)

I don't think this would put people off the right house, nothing new carpets and a deep clean won't fix.

Could you post them an anonymous letter? It is likely one of the viewers will get the blame. (Use your left hand to write the letter - unless you are actually left-handed obvs.)

As a buyer you note it and if you like the house reflect the extra cost in your offer.

Could you post them an anonymous letter? It is likely one of the viewers will get the blame. (Use your left hand to write the letter - unless you are actually left-handed obvs)

Or you could use letters cut from newspaper.

I would phrase it as "the feedback we have had from this week's viewers was that it wasn't quite what they were looking for and they could smell the dog which was not an inviting smell."

Surely you can just tell them that the last three sets of viewers have commented adversely on the dog smell and that may have contributed to their decisions not to make an offer?

I can't see that being put off by dog smell makes the potential buyers stupid. If I had a choice between a house I can move into relatively easily and one which will have to have a major cleaning and redecoration to make it habitable, it's not exactly the hardest choice to make.