Would indoor guinea pigs affect your view of buying a house?

[Lunchtimehelp]

Would indoor guinea pigs put you off buying a house?

We will be putting our house on the market in a few weeks. We have indoor guinea pigs.

I ask people when they come round if they can smell them and they say not really but I don't know if they are just being polite. I do clean their poo out everyday and deep clean once a week.

We could put them outside for viewings/house photos but it'll mean forking out another £100 for a suitable cage/run that's big enough and foxes cant get to them. We have quite a small garden

What do you think?

I would post a photo but I don't want to be identified.

I think that if you are someone who doesn’t have pets, you’re more likely to be able to smell animals in a house. It would probably put me off to a certain extent, depending on whether I could smell them and whether they were very visible indoors. Perhaps that’s because I don’t have any pets.

I love guinea pigs! Unless the viewer is stupid enough to think the guinea pigs are a fixture I don’t see why they should make any difference.

Guinea pigs absolutely do not smell. It's one of the reasons we kept them as pets, rather than other animals.

Honestly, yes, it's likely to put at least some people off, although for most it would likely be subconscious. Guinea pigs do have a distinctive smell and it's not an aspirational one.

No. If I like the house then I can always remove which helps remove pet smells

Wouldn’t put me off

but the “not really “ is polite for yes they do smell

My child says you can definitely smell the guinea pigs in their house

(And we love guinea pigs)

I have guinea pigs, rabbits and cats in my house so I wouldn't be bothered in the slightest! I suppose people who don't have pets may notice smells more than I would though.

They reek . l love them but they stink to high heaven .

I think it probably would put me off. But I'm more likely to buy the kind of house that needs everything ripping out, so that would negate that consideration.

I'm afraid that everyone's being polite. Even I wouldn't tell a friend that their house stinks.

"not really" means yes, they can smell them

sub conciously it may put people off.

why can't the indoor cage go outside for a bit? or in the garage/shed?

Male piggies smell but not females, right?

All mess (mostly!) is contained so no chance of wee soaked carpets or chewed doors. Also no bald patches in the garden so wouldn't have thought it was an issue for buyers.
In this weather windows and doors can be open too so if there's any smell it'd soon disappear.
If you're there at viewings and the buyers seem nice rustle a bag for maximum cuteness!

Awwww no it wouldn’t put me off, but I have pets.

They smell. My granddaughter has them. But it wouldn’t put me off if I liked a place otherwise.

Sadly for people who have no or very limited imagination and perhaps those who cannot understand any smell will go away then the answer is yes.
And in the big scheme of things when selling a house £100 on an outside run pales into insignificance.

Love Guinea pigs so wouldn’t put me off

could you buy a 2nd hand cage or put them in a run outside when viewings take place

Right now it’s a buyer’s market. I think you’d be crazy to leave them in situ, unless you don’t actually want to sell?

Ask around for a pet sitter who’d be prepared to house them for a week or two, ask your agent to arrange open house viewing for one weekend, and take the first offer you get.

It depends. If they are in certain area and buyer doesn't have to worry about weird pee stains etc hidden behind furniture, probably not. I find they smell way more than pet rats though. Some people will worry about getting the smell out.

If they’re in your child’s bedroom then that’s fine IMO But if they’re kept in the kitchen or lounge etc I’d move them elsewhere.
always depends on clean their cage the day of the viewings too
good luck selling your house

No not at all as long as they’re not included in the sale!

I love them, but they DO smell, even if cleaned out daily (which they don't like)x.

@Lunchtimehelp presuming you intend to take them with you, 🤣, I wouldn't want to be in a chain with the kind of lemming that wouldn't buy a house because if guinea pigs, so win/win for ne.

💁🏻‍♀️
🥲shame you don't want to post photos.

Definitely don't put them outside.

It depends if they smell. Our headteacher kept a guinea pig in her office that absolutely stank. You could smell it half way down the corridor

Of course they won't affect the viewings! Just leave them in their home. No need to buy an outdoor run. As long as their setup is clean and tidy, it's not a problem.