just bought a house with pet smell what can i do?

Question

When we looked at the house, we noticed the pet odor, but I assumed it would be gone when the pets are gone. Now we've got the keys, cleaned the floors and walls twice but the house still smells like cat pee and we can't walk in without being nauseated. Is that something the seller should have taken care of? Should we have asked them to get ridof the smell before we signed the contract? What can we do to get rid of the smell!?!?! We CAN'T live there with that odor!!

Answer 1

With cat urine I have found that none of the odor neutralizers really work.

I have always had to get down on my hands and knees to sniff the floors the corners and the baseboards to identify where the Urine spots are and mark them.

The I have had to remove all of the carpets, the flooring in that spot and often the subfloor in that spot as well.

It is amazing how far cat urine will travel under floor coverings and even down into the subfloor.

If the cat urine got into the drywall, you have to cut out that part of the drywall and replace it as well.

As far as getting reimbursed for the costs, if the former owners attempted to cover up the smell, even though they disclosed that they had cats, I have been successful at gettiing my expenses reimbursed to replace the parts of the house that had urine on them.

For example, one house that I bought that had cats in it, the sellers always used air freshener and scented candles to cover up the smell.

The fact that they tried to cover up the smell was part of the proof that I used to prove that they attempted to hide the problem of the cat urine even though they disclosed that they had cats.

I realize that this is a very annouying problem. I recommend that you get contractors estimates of the cost to remove the parts of the house that have cat urine on them. Do not waste your time on neutralizers, they do not work. None of the cleaning companies know how to remove cat urine successfully, even though some of the cleaning services think they do.

One you have estimates of the cost ro remove and replace the parts of the house that have cat urine, I recommend that you ask your real estate attorney write leters to the sellers, the listing agent and the broker of record of the company who represented the sellers, the agent who represented you on the purchase and the broker of record of the company that represented you on the purchase.

Ask you attorney to send those letters by certified mail return receipt requested.

Your attorney will know what to write in the letters.

Insist that your own contractor do all of the work. If you can afford it have the work done by your contractor as soon as possible and present them with the bill for reimbursement.

That will prevent them from trying to manipulate you into less expensive methods that do not work.

I wish you great success at getting rid of the parts of your house that have cat urine on them and getting reimbursed for your expenses.




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Answer 2

If you wanted the cat pee odor out, you should have made that part of the purchase and sale contract. Since you didn't, it's up to you now. The sellers made no attempt to cover their pet ownership or the odor. You have no claim against them whatsoever.

First off, replace the carpets and padding. Once cat pee gets into carpet there is no getting it out. If there is lino or asphalt tile under the carpet you'll probably need to remove that as well.

If the floors are bare wood and the odor is in the wood, you're in for an expensive fix as tearing it out and replacing it is the only guaranteed fix.

There are a number of commercial deodorants that claim to kill pet odors, but in my experience they don't do a very good job.

The last tenant of mine who had an unauthorized pet wound up paying me over $4,800 to have the damage repaired from the cat's pee.

Answer 3

It depends on where you live. In California, sellers must disclose any pet/urine problems and/or smells. If they don't then you can hold them liable after the sale - even if you noticed it and didn't ask for it to be taken care of. There is actually a place on our disclosure forms that ask this specific question. If the sellers didn't answer that accurately, then you have a case against them. Check with a local real estate attorney.

Answer 4

Prior to you purchasing this house and it was given off a foul smell within, you should had the sellers invest to remove the smell. But you still can present this case to the sellers and asked if they willing to pay for this service. Note: Are you sure its Pet odor Have you checked the house if something is dead. Sure you may pay for this service but the smell may be still be there.

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Answer 5

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Answer 6

Buy an OZONE machine.

It will neutralize the odor.

Hope this helps.

Terry S.

http://www.Welcome2Arizona.com

Answer 7

theres the perfect cleaner called FABULOSO. its's purple and clean your walls with it, sprinkle it on your carpet lightly, and put some in a spray bottle and spray in into the air. TRUST ME ON THIS!

Answer 8

get the oder neutrilizer from your local vet it works wonders