Estate agent claims a house smelling clean like bleach could be a huge red flag

An estate agent on TikTok has revealed that not all is always as it seems, after sharing a story which proves that just because a home smells clean, doesn’t mean it is

If you’ve ever viewed a house you spotted online, you’ll know that properties can look an awful lot different online – and there’s a lot you just wouldn’t know without seeing it in person.

In fact, one of the most important things you just would’t know without viewing a property is how it smells, which it turns out could reveal an awful lot more than you might think.

An American estate agent, who posts from the handle @capecchiandco on TikTok, recently revealed what happened when one of her clients bought a house which had an overwhelming smell of bleach and chlorine at the initial viewing.

This was, of course, a bit of a red flag to the realtor but after the couple put in an offer on the home, a house inspection ruled there was nothing wrong with the property.

“I was showing buyers this house that they wanted to see, and we knew that the seller was gonna be present because she was not gonna leave the house,” the estate agent explained in the clip.

“That’s typically not the norm, but frankly it’s her house and she can decide what she wants. So we arrive and she’s like ‘come in.’ We open up the door and it’s really dark inside, and the smoke smell just hits you, but on top of that there was a strong chlorine scent.”

During the viewing, they went into the home’s garage, where she found many of the home owner’s pets sitting inside the car in the garage, and she said she could tell there was a lot of them as they were making an awful lot of noise.

For more of the news you care about, straight to your inbox, sign up for one of our daily newsletters here.

“So we get the house under contract and during the inspection period there are quite a few things that are uncovered. We had a hell of a time trying to negotiate with her (the owner) she was really really difficult to work with,” she said, adding that during the buyer’s final walk through, they could still smell really strong chlorine.

“You’re kinda like what is she trying to cover up here, but also you don’t know what you don’t know. Anyway, it closes and my clients are thrilled. They go there on day one, ready to do all the remodelling,” she said. “They start pulling up some of the floors, you might want to hang on to your stomach for this one.”

Upon pulling up the floors, they discovered that all of the subfloors were so soaked in animal urine that they were almost sick, with the estate agent explaining: “They had to throw out, not only all the floors, the subfloors, all the trim, it was soaked.

“It was so bad, and they call me right away and they’re like ‘well, we finally realised why the strong bleach smell.’ She was covering up pet urine odour.”

Absolutely horrifying. Note to self: just because something smells clean, doesn’t mean it is.

Do you have a story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk