24 Apr Episode 1: How Cooking Smells Can Impact the Sale of Your Home
I am definitely NOT a picky eater! I love most food especially exotic Curry Dishes and SouthEast Asian Inspired Seafood Dishes which are weaknesses of mine. However, some of the BEST foods in the World also are very aromatic which is great for the pallet but not great for your kitchen and if you are selling your home. The smell of these amazing dishes can linger for some time. Not everyone will appreciate or enjoy the smell of curry or the juiciness goodness that is produced from frying up savory bacon. As a REALTOR® I recommend that if you have your home for sale then it is best to keep the aromatic meals to a minimum while your home is for sale. Or, at least if you have a morning showing then to make sure the previous nights delicious dinner has been cleaned up after and that if there was any splatter that be cleaned up right as well well. This may seem like common sense; however, I have shown homes where my buyers would not even step into a home if there was a strong food smell. People can be fickle when it comes to cooking smells!
Before listing a home for sale, I always recommend thoroughly cleaning the kitchen. I work with a fabulous cleaner and as a perk as working with me as your REALTOR® I provide her service to you at no cost, so, that your kitchen will be sparkling clean and odorless! Once we are on the market, then I recommend staying away from ‘stinky’ foods such as bacon, garlic, curry, fish, red meat and other strong aromatic foods and/or spices for the duration that the home is for sale.
Keep to simple meals or meals that are light in smell.
Now is the ideal time to perfect your baking skills! Just as people don’t like aromatic cooking smells pretty much everyone LOVES the smell of fresh baked bread or cookies! Just be aware a cookie or two may go into the tummy of a hungry buyer! But, also remember, it is a proven fact that the majority of= people are more willing to make decisions on a full tummy. So that cookie could be the deciding factor whether the prospective buyer decides to write an offer or not! One may say that statement is a little much; however, in my 15 years helping people buy and sell homes I can confidently say that sometimes the smallest things can affect ones’ decision. So, to help mitigate a seller loosing an offer over a delicious meal I give my opinion based on previous experience.
Also, please know that if you are an amazing cook and enjoy aromatic foods then I would love to attend one of your dinner parties once your home is sold! I love savoury and spicy food!