Significant pet odor, would you buy this house?

Question

Hello,

We're looking for some advice. We're relatively new investors. There is a house in a nice neighborhood that checks most of the boxes for what we're looking for in a long-term rental. We were able to negotiate a significant discount on the price because there is a significant pet odor throughout the house. Initially I thought it was cats but the seller has said they had multiple dogs but no cats.

Our plan is to have all of the flooring replaced, we're ripping out the carpet and having LVP installed. Further we're planning on washing the walls with a vinegar solution and painting the entire house with an odor blocking primer/paint. We will also have all the ducts cleaned and are replacing the furnace and AC. Has anyone had experience with this? We have heard some horror stories of people having to replace all of the drywall and are worried. We've also heard stories of people getting a discounted price and being able to take of the odor with just flooring and paint. Is there a way to know before hand if drywall would need replaced? Thanks in advance!

Theresa Harris · Answer

I agree with Mike.  also look into buying an ozone machine (you can get them on amazon).  Let it run for 12-24 hours with the house empty.

Denise Supplee · Answer

Hi @Sandra Gutierrez, Pet odors can usually be handled with the steps you listed, but the real issue is whether the urine made it into the subfloor or lower wall sections. Before committing, have your contractor pull up a small section of carpet and check the subfloor for staining or moisture readings. If it’s clean or only lightly affected, new LVP, primer, and duct cleaning often solve it. If the subfloor is saturated, budget for sealing or replacing sections. Full drywall replacement is usually only needed when pets repeatedly marked the same wall area, and you can spot that during the walkthrough by checking for staining or strong localized odors.

Travis Timmons · Answer

Ozone, vinegar solution, 50/50 water and bleach, kilz, and paint will get it done. Make sure that you hit the ceilings and floors/sub floor while you have them up as well. Our first property was a hoarder/cat lady house. You can do it...just have to be thorough and be honest about whether you have properly addressed each room and surface. If you forget an area or room, the smell won't die, and it is much more expensive and painful to get back to re-do it.

If you can find an experience local investor or contractor (that has nothing to sell) to walk it with you, even better

Scott Chilton · Answer

Pet odors can hide deeper than you think, so it’s smart to check now instead of discovering it after closing. Most smells come from carpet, padding, subfloor, or the lower parts of the walls. If pets lived inside for years, the odor can soak in, but many times removing the flooring and sealing the surface fixes it.

Take a close look at the usual problem spots, like areas where pets slept or marked. If the subfloor shows staining, you may need odor-blocking primer or some minor patch work. You can also pop off an outlet cover to see if the smell has reached the wall cavity, though that’s less common.

These quick checks help you understand the real scope so you can budget accurately. If the odor is only in the flooring, your current plan is likely enough. If it’s deeper, you may just need a couple of extra steps. Many rental rehabs turn out fine with this approach. You just want to verify the depth of the issue so the “deal” stays a deal.

Arman Ahmed · Answer

@Sandra Gutierrez

Hey Sandra, tackling pet odor in a property is a common scenario for investors, especially when buying at a discount. Your plan with flooring replacement, deep cleaning, odor-blocking primer/paint, and duct cleaning is solid and often resolves the issue without needing to replace drywall. Drywall replacement is usually only necessary if the odor has deeply penetrated or there’s mold or moisture damage. A good tip is to do a thorough sniff test in each room after removing carpets and baseboards, and consider using an ozone machine or professional odor inspection if you want added certainty before investing in major drywall work.

Steve K. · Answer

For the right price, cat or dog piss both smell like money to me. Make sure you're getting it for the right price.

Travis McCormack · Answer

@Sandra Gutierrez

I’ve done many rehabs with “pet odors”.

Cat pee is the worst. You should be able to differentiate between cat pee and dog pee and poop. Cat pee has a real ammonia odor to it. Depending on the level of cat pee, you can have to hit the house, removing the drywall, insulation and subfloor to remove the baked in odors, then ozone and oil based kilz. Worst cat house I did had 250+ live cats and the 25+ dead ones we removed inside during demo. That house took 6 months of spraying the framing materials with bleach and water daily with windows partially open and fans to circulate extra air, before we started putting it back together. It was worse than the house with the dead body in it for 23 days during summer.

Dogs are generally not as bad. I’ve completed most of the dog rehabs with new flooring and oil based kilz and ozone machines helping neutralize the smell

As far as your flooring goes, you need to look under the flooring at the subfloor. The house I’m finishing right now had 8 dogs inside that they left inside while at work. I had to change the entire subfloor out in the house except for 2 bedrooms where they must have kept the doors shut and dogs out. Be sure to check out the subfloor before you figure out your repair costs or you could already be thousands over budget.

You can get a good price on houses being sold but you have to be sure to do your due diligence and see just how deep the problem goes

Also, there could have been cats prior to the current homeowner or the current homeowner could have previously had cats. You should be able to identify that cat pee ammonia smell right away when you’re in the property. I find cat odors much more difficult than dog odors to deal with

Significant pet odor, would you buy this house?

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