Strong cat smell in remodeled home

[Artemis Fowl]

I have the fix for the smell BTW.... PM me. I removed 10 years of 24/7 cig smoke without changing carpet or repainting-without hiring anyone.

Why PM? I would also like to know this secret...as would many others I'm sure.

 

[Tom D]

Yea!!! I would love to know what the fowl smoke cleaning secrete is. Besides just wiping everything down.

 

[Dublin ohio]

I have the fix for the smell BTW.... PM me. I removed 10 years of 24/7 cig smoke without changing carpet or repainting-without hiring anyone.

Hydroxyl generator?

 

[sputnam]

As the appraiser, the correct course is to report your observations of the subect property. Talk to your Client. They may be happy with an appraisal made subject to mitigation of the odor... or one with a hypothetical condition that there is no odor. That's up to them.. not you. If they need current market value then, you will have more... um, fun. You will need to spend a lot of extra time and effort deriving and supporting an adjustment. Keep in mind that your job is to do the appraisal. It's not to make sure the loan is approved.

 

[Surf Cat]

The subject was remodeled in the past year and not occupied. The realtor had the front and rear doors open at the time of the inspection. The cat smell was incredibly strong. This is an FHA purchase.

This sounds like a cat-astrophe

It appears that the realtor knew of the offending cat odor and tried to air out the place prior to your inspection.

You are right in that you will not be able to find a comparable with said foul cat urine odor. Make it easy on yourself and appraise it "subject to" remediation. The lenders protected, the buyers protected, and most importantly, you're protected.

There's no need for you to beat yourself up canvassing the MLS trying to find something, anything that resembles an adverse condition. This is not your fault or problem to solve.

It could be a $100 fix like Glenn says or it could be ripping up urine soaked floor boards and replacing costing in the thousands.

 

[Sandra Koutsopoulos]

Market value. What is a house with noxious odor worth? ...compared to a similar house without nasty smell? What would it cost (if it even COULD be remediated) to get rid of the stink? Note the noxious odor in the report (kinda like insect infestation problem which need remediation). Even with value adjustment, FHA may not go for it because it affects livability, house, occupants, and collateral value.

Years ago I owned an old duplex where the elderly owner lived upstairs with her dogs, was fearful of taking them out for potties, and the floors had soaked up decades of urine (curled up the edges of the wood flooring boards with gaps), and even the wallpaper and plaster walls were eeeewwwwww STINKY. I stripped, primed, sealed & repainted all the walls. Sanded the hardwood floors, put a dark English Oak stain on it and 4 coats of polyurethane, and that killed it. That said, cat pee is stinkier than dogs.

In another case, a friend of mine died and remained deceased in his Milwaukee flat for 23 days before being discovered after I sent the police there to do a wellness check on him. I arrived 5 days after the body was removed, and the smell was something I still can't get out of my memory. The building owner hired ServiceMaster for remediation of the odor, and there were still ventilation machines and chemicals on-site when I arrived. I understand eventually they resolved the odor.

If you have a ServiceMaster business in your area, I'd give them a call. Also, check with your city's death clean-up contractors; they may very well have chemicals to purge stink. Crime scene cleaners are known as bioremediation services, and I'll bet they have solutions.

 

[Surf Cat]

If you have a ServiceMaster business in your area, I'd give them a call. Also, check with your city's death clean-up contractors; they may very well have chemicals to purge stink. Crime scene cleaners are known as bioremediation services, and I'll bet they have solutions.

Wait.....what? It's not Road's frigging house. Why does he (she?) have to call Servicemaster or anyone else for that matter?

Disclose it stinks, input the most competitive sales as if nothing's wrong, and check "subject to" remediation. Done.

 

[Sandra Koutsopoulos]

Yeah, Surf Cat. I proceeded a step too far. Not the appraiser's responsibility. Perhaps applies more to the property owner or Realtor to find solutions.
It is what it is. Call it out, disclose, make any appropriate valuation adjustments, & let the chips fall where they may.