This is a tough time to sell a house. There are more homes on the market than there are buyers. And it's become more difficult for first-time buyers to qualify for the loan they need. Not only that, most loan programs are now requiring a larger down payment, and appraisers are having to look more closely at each transaction to confirm fair-market values.

If you have a house to sell, all those factors are working against you. So it makes sense to do everything you can to put your home's best foot forward when you show it.

I was reminded recently of that fact when I visited the home of a friend and was greeted at the door with the pungent aroma of the cat's litter box. I don't know if the box hadn't been cleaned recently or if this cat was particularly odiferous, but the smell was fairly strong throughout the house, and I found myself wanting to get outside as soon as possible.

Pet odors are a problem in many homes. And the issue is made worse by the fact that, in many cases, the pet owner is not aware of the problem. It's called olfactory fatigue, and it occurs when you are surrounded by an odor as a natural part of your environment for a long time. Your nose simply ignores the smell and considers it part of your environment. So if you suspect you may have an odor problem, you may need to ask a close friend to give your house the "sniff test."

There are many potentially disagreeable odors that may exist in your home. And if they do, they can torpedo your potential sale. Put yourself in the place of a buyer. Let's say you have found two homes you like equally well. You are just as happy with one as the other. But one has a persistent off-putting aroma. Maybe it's just easier to buy the other house.

Here are some areas you might want to explore to see if there are inappropriate odors present:

•Pet smell: This can come from a pet soiling your carpets repeatedly and ruining them, or it may be nothing more than stale bedding. Whatever the case, it must be resolved if you hope to get fair market value. I once marketed a home for a seller who refused to acknowledge a serious cat odor in the wall-to-wall carpeting in a specific area in the den. We ended up getting a relatively low offer that requested a cash allowance for replacement of all carpeting in the house. It would have been much less expensive to replace the carpet in the den and resolve the issue, but my sellers claimed they could never smell the problem.

• Diaper pails and laundry hampers: There are two places in the house that must smell "Clorox clean," and they are the kitchen and the bath. If a prospective buyer walks into a bathroom and is greeted by a whiff of dirty diaper, you can pretty much kiss that sale goodbye. There is absolutely nothing, in my experience, that will turn off a buyer faster than soiled diapers. Dirty clothes comes in second place. Instead, the bathroom needs to be fresh and bright, with an odor of springtime in the air. I'm not sure how you achieve that other than lots of cleanser and lots of elbow grease, but it is almost a requirement in this market.

• Damp, moldy, mildewy smells tend to emanate from parts of your house that never see the sun and aren't well-ventilated. The basement and crawl space spring to mind. Here the solution is simple. Have a timed exhaust fan installed in either a window or a foundation vent. In addition, if you have exposed dirt in your crawl space area, cover that with polyethylene sheeting from the hardware store. It's inexpensive and stops moisture from evaporating out of our Georgia clay into your basement.

• Kitchens: While kitchens usually don't have problem odors, this an area where you can score a plus on the smell-o-meter. I always recommend that you require appointments to see the interior of your home. And since you know when a prospective buyer will be dropping by, you have time to bake bread. Go to the store and buy a couple of loaves of frozen bread dough, put it in a pan, and follow the directions. The aroma is almost enough to drive a buyer into a purchasing frenzy. By the way, chocolate chip cookies work almost as well.

Always remember: The nose knows!

Find previous articles by John Adams and more home buying advice on the ajchomefinder mortgage center.