I was showing homes to a client of mine this past weekend, and we walked into a home that was filled with air-fresheners...everywhere. There must have been an air-freshener in every room in the house. This showing reminded me of 2 things...

1. I detest the Febreze commercial currently on the air that interviews a REALTOR® who sprays Febreze on her client's furniture prior to an open house. Really? You spray a product on your client's furniture? I really hope this is just for the commercial, but I really had high hopes that this was an actress and not an actual REALTOR® - turns out she is a REALTOR®...and now I'm thinking there is a chance she might actually employ this tactic in her business. I can't imagine doing this.

2. Air-fresheners in a home that is listed for sale is a bad idea. You may not agree with this, but hear me out. First of all, I have never smelled a "good" smelling air-freshener. They are usually a sickly, overdone, heavy smell.....doesn't matter what the fragrance is. Secondly, they are usually very difficult to control how much smell is being dispersed. This usually leads to the smell being too prominent in the home.....and it leads me to ask one question in front of my clients - "What are they hiding??" The client is clearly trying to mask the smell of something (in the case this past weekend, the sellers were obviously smokers), and usually it is not getting the job done. When I smell air fresheners in a home currently listed for sale, I smell trouble!

It took me at least a couple of hours to get the air-freshener smell out of my nostrils after this showing, and my client was really turned-off of the property. It was not an inviting smell at all. To add insult to injury, these sellers had set-up a timed release air-freshener at the front door.....which just happened to go off and coat me when we were leaving the property. Normally I am more casually dressed for showings, but on this particular day I was wearing a suit. Now I have a dry cleaner appointment to add to a busy upcoming week. Good times.

My advice to anyone selling a property - DO NOT use air-fresheners. Oh...and to any current or potential clients...I promise not to use Febreze on your couch.

Disclaimer:

The term REALTOR® is a registered trademark of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) identifying its members/real estate licensees in Canada.