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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Smelly house for sell

17 replies

Rubblefish · 03/05/2026 20:14

Viewed a stinky house that smelled of cat piss today, I think we need to tell sellers your house smells hubby thinks it rude

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Besidemyselfwithworry · 03/05/2026 20:16

I agree with you
I’d email the agents and say lovely house but it stinks of cat piss! But they’ll probably ask you for feedback I’m guessing?
it’s not going to sell very quickly unless they sort that out!

somanychristmaslights · 03/05/2026 20:16

Can you tell the estate agent?

mycheeseplantiscalledcharles · 03/05/2026 20:20

I don't see the need tbh, the house is up for sale, it's not House of the Year. Many people buy absolute stinking wrecks, you surely would just take up the carpets if you were going to buy it?

Rubblefish · 03/05/2026 20:45

It was bad Hubby is a builder and looked around and skirting boards were yellow where cats had pissed or marked their territory. My AIBU is tell the estate agents 🤮

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MissMoneyFairy · 03/05/2026 20:46

Is the house lived in at the moment.

rubyslippers · 03/05/2026 20:47

Absolutely tell them
they’re trying to sell an expensive asset
getting it clean and tidy is minimum - cats wee everywhere is grim

I once viewed a house that smelt horrible - like a sickly sweet rotting smell. I absolutely told the agent

NotThisAgain1987 · 03/05/2026 20:49

I mean assuming they have a sense of smell they will already know

AccordingToWhom · 03/05/2026 20:52

NotThisAgain1987 · 03/05/2026 20:49

I mean assuming they have a sense of smell they will already know

Not necessarily, if they've lived with it for a long time. Being 'noseblind' is absolutely a thing.

You'd think the Estate Agent would have noted it really.

PinkyFlamingo · 03/05/2026 20:53

NotThisAgain1987 · 03/05/2026 20:49

I mean assuming they have a sense of smell they will already know

You would be surprised at som people and what they get used to and don't notice
No way would I buy this house, it could have seeped into the floorboards. Tell the estate agent.

pteromum · 03/05/2026 20:53

NotThisAgain1987 · 03/05/2026 20:49

I mean assuming they have a sense of smell they will already know

This.

of course the estate agents know.

By all means feed back to them. but unless it’s a private Sale, which it isn’t, why bother telling owners?

offer what you think it’s worth if you like it. Via solicitor, reduced for cleaning costs

TerribleGardener · 03/05/2026 20:53

The agent will already know. We once viewed a house that absolutely stank of cat wee also had caged rabbits inside so may have been that anyway the agent warned us before he opened the door that it stank but that the owners didn't accept there was a problem.

Rubblefish · 03/05/2026 20:56

It was bad "nose blind"

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User478 · 03/05/2026 21:00

We bought a stinky house, mixture of dog, cigarettes, weed and incense (to cover the smell).

It took a few years, a lot of cleaning, washing down walls and replacing carpets, but the smell is mostly gone; occasionally we still get a whiff though.

We adjusted our offer to offset the smell, if you're not going to put in an offer don't bother saying anything (the agent will know it stinks) if you're going to put in an offer factor in the cost of replacing everything that could have absorbed the smell.

XenoBitch · 03/05/2026 21:01

I know someone who is trying to sell their house at the moment, and it does stink of cat piss. Was it in Wales?

But anyway, mention it as part of the feedback to the agents about why you wont be proceeding, but there is no need to tell the sellers. They already know.

BridgetJonesV2 · 03/05/2026 21:02

Trouble is that smell is likely to be in the woodwork and plaster, and god forbid even the floorboards. Some friends bought a house that had had a "cat lady" living in it who hadn't noticed the smell. They ended up taking the house back to the bare bones to get it out.

Bumblebeeforever · 03/05/2026 21:09

The estate agents will know but might be glad of the feedback as they can legitimately pass it on, especially if enough people say it. I once went to see a house that had an unpleasant smell and the agent warned me before we got there, I think she knew no one was going to buy it so had given up to be honest.

Rubblefish · 03/05/2026 21:12

We know its in the fabric of the house, you can replace everthing but it will still skink, not worth the effort 🤢

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