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[Mominohio]

It has been over 20 years since we sold our last house, and when it went up for sale, even though it was in really good condition for the age of the property and the neighborhood in which it was located. We had beautiful old wood windows and one small pane had a small crack in it. We made sure it was not only listed on the disclosure, but that is was told to the buyer before she signed the papers.

Mind you this house had a brand new roof, brand new basement waterproofing, brand new water heater etc. and updated flooring paint etc., beautiful antique wood floors, and all natural, beautiful wood work that hadn't been ruined by paint. The buyer had come to us, begging us to list and sell. Yet just before closing, threw a fit about that one small windowpane with a small crack, demanding we fix it  before closing. 

We didn't, she still bought.

I think people really need to focus on what is important in a real estate transaction, and quit having hissy fits about things that really don't matter if you love a location, or a particular home. So many things you see on these shows are just insane. Things that can be changed/fixed for next to nothing, shouldn't even be considered a bargaining point. You take a risk of angering the seller, and they won't work with you. And they shouldn't when things become as ridiculous as the OP's example has become.

[GCR18]

I probably would have put them away and kept them away until I moved.  While a little extreme, a scent could kill a sale.

[Big Sister]

@CANDLEQUEEN

Be assured that another buyer will come on by and love the condo and its scents.   The other looky loo is not serious.

[Kachina624]

Pity the poor Realtor who must be embarrassed and about to pull her hair out.   As for your aunt,  I'd tell the prospect I'd done all I was going to do... take it or leave it. 

[novamc1]

Gosh......... I'm in the minority here,  but my sympathy lies with the purchaser in this situation.  The seller should not take it personally if a purchaser is hypersensitive or allergic to scents and needs to find out just how strong the odor would be if she moved in.  Smells do linger, and if the prospective buyer can walk into the place with all candles removed, then she can better determine whether she could tolerate living there.

After being in the real estate biz for many years, I can testify that the saying "Houses That Smell Do Not Sell" is really true.  I have shown my fair share of homes, and sometimes the onslaught is intense once you walk through the door.  I've endured everything from pet smells to strong Indian cooking spices, and often those smells stay with the home---and can be actually embedded in it-- long after the owner moves out. 

I do agree this buyer is probably a pain to work with, but as one who is seriously allergic  to cats (a problem for me sometimes when I'd encounter them in homes), I can see why she needs to avoid scents. 

I'm not the only one who can barely stand to walk by the fragrance counters in department stores.  I just don't like strong scents.  Other people have asthma attacks or other severe health effects.

Again, no one should take this  candle episode personally or as an insult.  If sellers could hear what buyers say about some homes when sellers aren't around, they would think this candle episode is not even worth a second thought. 

[CANDLEQUEEN]

Well my aunt has done all she can do, and she basically told the realtor if this woman wants to come through a 2nd time, she will have to walk through with my 2 little candles and one dish of potpourri, it is Christmas time and I will no longer remove those small items.....We are talking two candles, and one dish of potpourri-not a boatload of different scents in every room.....I think that my Aunt went above and beyond, now it's basically up to the woman if she is interested or not. She is going to encounter smells and scents wherever she goes-everyone's home has a scent to it whether you can smell it or not- and most likely you can't because you live there...The realtor felt bad asking this of my aunt, but she really thought that the woman was a serious buyer-we shall see if she is!!!!!! She did say she loved the condo and she wouldn't have to do anything except move in,so time will tell!!!!!Thanks for letting me vent!   

[novamc1]

Just to put some perspective on all this, it sounds to me that not many items and not large ones need to be removed in an effort to accommodate someone who might be a very good buyer and enable the seller to make a faster and more pleasant sale.

I've worked through various downturns in the real estate market over the years when sellers had to bend over backwards, jump through hoops, wring their hands with anxiety, and spend lots of cash to paint, repair and dress up a home enough to attract a buyer, when few buyers were around.    They had to extend themselves much further than this seller just to get someone to come look at the home. 

No one said trying to sell a home is convenient.  I dread it when I will be doing it myself. The home has to look practically unlived in at all times, so sometimes the best thing to do is have the seller move out of it entirely.  Sellers also need to expect to have their daily routines disrupted by people coming to see the home at inopportune times, such as dinnertime or very early in the morning.

If the market is hot and the home is popular and attracting tons of interest from people coming through it, then sellers have some leverage.  But there are times when buyers have leverage.

The Realtors I know might outwardly sympathize with a seller who has been asked only to remove a few items before a showing, but inwardly will  be asking themselves how serious this seller is, how long does she want her home on the market, and wouldn't she like to make a quick sale to the buyer who is currently  expressing interest?

  Of course, if lots of buyers are expressing interest, it doesn't matter if one takes a hike and goes elsewhere.  But you never know who the best buyer is or will be......a contract in hand is worth two that haven't been written yet.

  And there's an often-true adage in  real estate  that says your first interested buyer will be your best buyer.  Once others see the home has been on the market too long or their agents get wind of buyers looking but not buying (or complaining about the aromatics in the home), they will think less of that property and probably offer less.

My two cents.  I wish the owner good luck and best wishes for a successful, timely transaction.

[Campion]

I have that allergy. I cannot go into Michaels or A C Moore and the smell of these actually makes me wheeze and burn all over (any mucous membrane starts to burn fiercely.)

If you don't have a sensitivity to perfumes, you wouldn't understand this, but it's very terrible. I have had to leave concert seats due to someone sitting next to me drenched in perfume and I dread this happening on a plane. My inhaler works a bit--but it makes my heart race. Nothing works on the burning. 

[Q4u]

When we sold our last house to move across the country, the bottom was starting to fall out of the housing market where we were.  We knew it, but the last 2 years prior we had all new windows put in (3100 sq ft house), ALL new flooring, laminate flooring and carpet.  Everything repainted.  Entire new kitchen with new appliances, all cabinetry stained to match the kitchen cabinet stain, bathrooms redone and on and on..... a new house.  We were lowballed with every offer and I mean hideously so.... with one young couple having an extremely aggressive realtor (a friend of their family) who was trying to bully us into accepting their low offer (by low I mean it was tens of thousands below asking!).  

They wanted the house but they wanted it at an unreasonably low price even for what was happening to the market.  We budged a little and they finally agreed to buying it and had an inspection.  The inspection "document" was over 40 pages long.  We've been through this process many times and had never, ever seen anything like this.  One of the problems?  A small weed growing between the outside foundation wall and the concrete driveway, that it would/could undermine the foundation of the house!!  That a working 20 year old furnace needed to be replaced!!

They wanted it all fixed or they were out.  We had had it and told the real estate agent that we were not going to deal with them anymore.  As it happened, two other offers came in and our RE agent told them so.  We were done.  They panicked and agreed to the price we ultimately agreed to and we would only fix "reasonable" things, which turned out to be only two or three.... and we did.  That house was gorgeous... we (DH) took extremely good care of it.

Crazies....  unbelievable crazies.... especially their "friend of the family" who was going to take real good care of "the kids".  Such good care nearly lost them the house they really wanted.....  

[Lucky Charm]

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I can't stand the smell of BB&B because the Yankee Candles are right at the entrance.  I hold my breath.

Our Kohls smells like cheap pot pourri, Kirklands you can smell in the parking lot.  I have a friend who goes nuts with pot pourri and I smelled like 'First Frost' pot pourri for a while after I left the other day.

I can't stand the smell of fabric softener.  When I'm out walking, sometimes you can smell people's dryer loads.  It doesn't smell pretty, it doesn't smell real.  It stinks.

A clean house doesn't need to be scented.  It's just more chemicals into your system.