"This house smells like MONEY!

Unfortuneately, not for you."

I'm not sure "the talk" can be called gentle.  It is what it is and as the listing Realtor it's my job to call it out. 

1) there is cheap perfume but NO cheap woman. :) they are all expensive :).

i would say to him ALL homes have a odor. even if its roses, or fried chicken, or coffee. try to get ALL odors out as you want to not offend ANY buyer with a smell they dont like

I always pose it as a question.

Have you been smoking a cigar in the house? Is there a beagle in here? Did you just cook a pot of chili? That is a "sweet" smelling cologne, what is it? 

I'm not sure there is a "gentle" way to say it. I just explain as part of prepping a home for sale that odors need to be eliminated and "by the way, I noticed...." If they don't listen, all they need is to get some feedback from buyers saying their home stinks. They might listen then.

I think we need to ask Richard L. McKinney P.A. how he knows what a cheap woman smells like??

There is no way to dance around this issue. You say it by explaining that buyers are very sensitive to odors and that if you can smell it, so can they. To help the house sell the house has to be neutralized.

What a great Q! Depending on my relationship with the client . . . answers range from "We need to discuss staging." to "WTF dude, do you want to leave ALL your money on the table?" 3:)

Always tell them about the factors that may impact their sale. 

Richard,

That describes Febreeze to a tee!  I am in agreement with Joe Pryor !  A

To me being gentle or beating around the bush just doesn't work. I tell them this is serious business for me and its time to get serious-"you in or you out?"

The house stinks-let's do something about it NOW!

A good Agent will tell them straight out!  They want to sell their house don't the?

There have been many great answers here.

Of course, you could ask your seller if he can pick up half a dozen gas masks at the local surplus store so agents and potential buyers can wear them.

Whoa, that's pretty bad. I have no idea. 

"There is something that I Would like to discuss with you... 

Had to chuckle a little on this one........Do they really want to sell their home?

There are many things to do to prepare a home for prospective buyers.  Give them a list.

That buyer who came by said it smelled like a cigar smoking beagle... pot of chili and brought lady beagle over who overdid the perfume.

This question just made me laugh!  I just viewed a home just like the one you described!!!  All we can do is tell the truth, kindly.

I probably would just ask that they smoke outside, don't cook smelly foods, and you might want to give your dog a bath.   Buyer's comments will be way worse.

You need to be striaght forward with them...Tell them that not many ladies will get past the front door because of the smell

I like you description, go with it.

Let me know once the property has been professionally and thoroughly deep cleaned and we can move on to the pricing discussion! 

By being honest.  Many of your words would work.

There is no gentle way, most will be offended no matter how soft you put it or how bad the smell is

As we discuss how we would prepare the house for sale, I would bring up the topic this way;

“I’m sorry but what type of cigars do you smoke?... My grandfather used to smoke cigars. I’ll always remember he never smoked around his grandchildren but when I visited him I could always smell the strong scent of cigar smoke in the house. Does it smell strong to you? You know, not everyone enjoys the smell of a good cigar and it could turn some buyers away – would it be OK if I email you some information on removing the scent of cigar smoke from the house or should I stop by later this week with the information?"

Regards

Tony D.

It's all about choices...no clean up = investors only and a lower price. Clean up, including odors = open market and more money.

No gentle way. Your home stinks! Honesty is the best policy!

 Good Wednesday morning Richard. I don't know whether there is a gentle way. I do like Michael's answer though.

There are so many ways to bring this up, and it also depends on what type of person your seller is. You have a lot of great suggestions below. 

I  was in an open house I saw rabbits hopping with turd over the dirty carpet.

The two brothers living there told me they put the house on the market previous night. Dad died there. About 15 mins later they mentioned they got 4 offers but only showed to 2 groups( I was the 3rd group). It was a fixer and they sold about 150K over asked for at 1.25M. It is between 2 Apple leased bldgs.

Honestly and gently.

Richard - What is wrong with how you put it, jk.

I would just say that they need to be aware that some smells can really turn off buyers, and suggest they do a thorough cleaning to get rid of any bad odors. If I can smell the cigar, beagle, chili and perfume, any potential buyer will smell it as well. 

I actually think the way you just phrased it is just fine. 

Show him/her/them this question and say "look it's bad but you're not here yet".

You just have to mention that many people are allergic to tobacco smoke, and many potential buyers are afraid of dogs, so we need to come up with a plan to address those. Maybe smoke outside while house is on market, and line up someone to take dog for a walk during showings, and you might have to buy some baking soda of check exhaust fan in kitchen to eliminate cooking opors. etc.

The others have answered the question. Good luck.