All Forum Posts by: Mark L.

I can understand what your saying, but it doesn't seem right that appraisers would not count strong animal odor as damage. Also I would've expected the home inspector to mention the floors, walls, and furnace and ducting are damaged. I had no idea the permanent damage animal contamination does to hardwood floors etc. He pointed out every other more minor issue or damage. What is animal contamination odor and not informing buyers a dirty industry secret? It seems so.

 I wouldn't have bought the house if I knew pet contamination odor absorbs into hard flooring and painted walls. I had no idea. Yes odors are subjective but the house smells like a dog house or a kennel or barn with dog odor and urine smell. 

I did ask why the house smells. Real estate agents should tell their client pet odor houses are hard to fix and sell and the value is effected. Not every buyer understands the nature of animal contamination odors. 

It is a bad deal. I bought a house that would be as affordable or more as renting an apartment. I had to sink most of my cash into it because real estate prices have gone up 50% in 5 years and I'm of limited means. I paid a little more for the house than I thought it was worth because I kept getting out bid on other offers. I was never told anything contrary to this being a move in ready house. I wish now I hadn't bought a house and just continued to rent. All sellers were selling anywhere near my price range is their neglected and abused houses that despite their equity going up 10%/year still won't put a penny in repairing. Apparently agents won't tell you anything that would discourage from putting in a maximum bid on a property. 

I'm probably just going to have to talk to some more lawyers and see if I have any legal recourse.

I asked about the odor at the showing, and was given a short noninformative answer. If I'm suppose to know all the right questions to ask, I wouldn't need to ask them to begin with. Yes I did pay an inspector to do the report. Why didn't it mention it? That no one was mentioning it led me to continue to believe the odor was a nonissue. I'm upset because I paid for a move in ready house, can't move in to the house and spent all my cash, because I was led to believe it was move in ready condition, and it is not worth what I told it was worth. And no one representing me informed me the nature of pet odors. I can see here all I'm going to get is defending real estate agents and blaming the buyer, no useful advice for me. It was very wrong and crooked to allow someone to be financially ruined you're representing. 

But I didn't know that animal odor absorbs into the floor and walls and is difficult and expensive to eliminate. A real estate broker should know that and inform their client. A permanent pet odor also effects the value and resellablity  of a house, another thing wasn't informed of. What good is a buyer's agent? Why didn't the inspector mention the issue? Why did the appraiser not mention animal odor and appraised the house for so much? These people might as well been representing the seller.

I noticed an odor at the showing and asked why it stunk so bad, and my agent only said she thought the seller had animals. Like I said I did not know pet odor tended to be persistent as it absorbs into the floor and walls. Did anyone that reply so far even read my post?

I purchased a house a couple months ago, and paid at the top price or a little over for a supposedly move in ready home. I had an agent/broker, home inspection and appraisal. I haven't been able to move into the house because of a persistent and strong pet odor. I've been cleaning the floors with enzymatic cleaner and trying to air the house out but despite some improvement the odor is still too objectionable to move in.

I didn't know until after purchasing and attempting to clean, that pet odors tend to be persistent and difficult and expensive to eliminate as contamination is absorb into the floors and walls and even the furnace and duct work. I  assumed the seller had just moved out and didn't do a good job of cleaning, and all the floors being hardwood or tile, I thought normal vacuuming, mopping and airing out would eliminate the odor   No one, not my agent, the home inspector or appraiser mentioned odor and that pet odors tend to be hard and expensive to eliminate. That's something real estate professionals should know, as I learned it already after my first real estate transaction.

Shouldn't my representatives have informed me about pet odors? What recourse if any do I have? I put most of my cash into the purchase and can't afford to replace floors, painting and what ever else.  It's also aggravating the seller made so much money and didn't have to repair the damage her animals caused, because I didn't know better about animal odor and no one informed me. This purchase was a bad deal, and a huge financial loss and ruin.