Selling a smoker's house

missbiggles1

spunko2010 wrote: »

Depends on the level of staining on the ceilings and walls. If it were me I'd be inclined to give those a lick of paint if visible.

I don't think there is a set discount figure you will arrive at based on the inhabitant smoking.... Best bet is to see what kind of feedback the agent/interested parties offer and if they even mention it?

Or a couple of good washes with sugar soap - wonderful on nicotine stains.

Jhoney_2

I don't see the problem as being the smell, which can be removed (throw/wash the carpets and soft furnishings), but the time, effort and indeed money to put it right.

Professional decorators are pretty costly and so the task of sugar soap cleaning and painting every wall/ceiling etc is a drag and takes time - which requires a price reduction imv.

dodger1

Jhoney wrote: »

I don't see the problem as being the smell, which can be removed (throw/wash the carpets and soft furnishings), but the time, effort and indeed money to put it right.

Professional decorators are pretty costly and so the task of sugar soap cleaning and painting every wall/ceiling etc is a drag and takes time - which requires a price reduction imv.

If I was buying a property I'd almost certainly be doing it every time.The chances of finding a home that is already decorated to my liking (style and quality) is unlikely.

[Deleted User]

A wipe with Flash type cleaner or vinegar removes tar stains and smells. Same with the carpet. And a good airing of course.

You could encourage your mum to smoke outside or vape or whatever but to be honest, she's your mum, not your child. She will do what she wants to do.., and has every right to, even if its damaging her health. Its her health. If the house sells for less, that's her problem. You can't control what she does and I don't think its appropriate.

Jhoney_2

dodger1 wrote: »

If I was buying a property I'd almost certainly be doing it every time.The chances of finding a home that is already decorated to my liking (style and quality) is unlikely.

True, but without the urgency of removing smoke smells and stains which is central to the issue:)

ShakeItOff

We were going for viewings in March time, and I think we would have been put off by a heavy smoke smell. If there was only a little wiggle room on the price, that would have been a deal breaker for us.

Perhaps encouraging her to stick to one of two rooms to smoke in would help? Mother in law used to smoke, but only ever in the dining room with the door open, so her house never really smelled of smoke.

Rambosmum

we turned down a smokers house (yellow walls, permeated stench) despite the very good price tag- the work to get it out would just be too much. When we visited all the windows were open and they'd obviously recently painted over the nicotine walls but the yellow was showing through and the smell was just really obvious despite the open windows/ fresh paint and air freshener.

teddysmum

As I hate the odour of cigarettes, I would not consider a house smelling of them, in case it was not possible to clean up.


My son bought a second hand wooden fire surround (only used for decoration so not heated at all), which stank of smoking and even months later, despite spraying and polishing, I , as a visitor, could still detect the smell, though my son , living with it, no longer noticed.


It's fine now, but two years on, so how long could it take to cleanse a whole house ?.

King_Slayer

We viewed a house with bad smoke staining in the kitchen and the smell was quite prominent. However it was a nice house and the garden was smaller than we were looking for, so not sure if it had ticked all the boxes - whether we may have been willing to compromise and tackle the stains later.

toddler9

We are in the process of buying a smokers house. We knew it needed a lot of work as it hasn't been touched for a few decades but it wasn't clear on Rightmove that actually everything was covered in nicotine
We reduced the price accordingly and explained to the estate agent that we couldn't move anything in until we had completely gutted the house and therefore this would add extra costs we hadn't foreseen. We had planned to do up one room at a time but as I am pregnant I can't live with the house the stare it's in so we need to have it all done ill front.
I think if you are selling a house which is likely to be a project for someone anyway then your price will already reflect that. Some people may be still put off though that they couldn't move in and do a bit at a time because living with cigarette smoke as a non smoker is impossible really.