Buying a smokers house

mypegasus

Just wondered if anybody had any experiences with regard to buying a house that was owned by a smoker.


Seen a house I like in terms of space and layout, but unfortunately appears to have been owned by a smoker.


It's not horrendous in most rooms, bad in one in particular.


Any ideas for solutions welcome, need to have a think as to whether I offer or not.


Thanks

G_M

I would only purchase this if I was intending to re-paint and re-carpet, and it was priced accordingly.

If the decor and carpets etc are in new condition, and the property was priced on that basis, I'd find another property (or accept that I'd have an extra expense).

zagubov

If you're moving children with you, I'd make re-painting and re-carpeting a must.

There's a lot of tosh about the "toxins" of modern life damaging us, but there's a cocktail of real toxins coating the walls of smokers houses that need dealing with. But even if you or your kids were rarely there and therefore not exposed to any problems, you may find that potential buyers may feel like you do and this may affect its resale value.

bouicca21

A friend recently did this. Didn't take long and you'd never know now. You will have to wash walls and especially ceilings with sugar soap and redecorate, also get rid of any fabrics - carpets, curtains etc.

moneyistooshorttomention

I even got rid of the light bulbs.

...and you have to air the place like mad...

seven-day-weekend

We bought a flat once, for an investment, which despite having been redecorated and carpeted, still smelt of smoke.

We thought they had left us a dark yellow telephone - it turned out to be nicotine stained:eek:, my son wouldn't touch it. It went in the bin.

We did,after ventilation, manage to get rid of the smell.

TheGardener

Its not that long since you would have been hard pushed to find a house that hadn't been smoked in - between that and coal fires. We bought a place where the previous owner has been a very heavy smoker. Using a steamer to get old wallpaper off brought nicotine pouring out of the walls. However, once everything had been washed down, re-decorated and new carpets - I don't recall noticing the smell at all.
If there are any soft furnishings, I would tell the vendor you want them removed just to save you ripping up carpets and having to dispose of them.

freeman3030

It depends how bad it is. We purchased a flat which was owned by a very heavy smoker, everything that should have been white, was yellow. Before we started to decorate we had all of the ceilings replastered as they were artex (we like clean lines) and in places the nicotine tracked through the plaster. So we had to use a stain block in patches. On the whole though, a good clean with sugar soap and repaint is all that it should require. When I buy a new home, I always expect to decorate as it's never going to be exactly how you would like it, plus it's nice to start a fresh in a new home. Equally the carpet is probably when most of the smell be, so at the very least get them professionally cleaned. If you can't afford/justify getting the carpet cleaned, you could always shake some bicarbonate of soda, leave it for a few hours and vacuum up. I've heard bicarb is meant to be good to help remove smells. Personally though, if finances permit, have reach carpet laid. Hope this help.

moneyistooshorttomention

In hindsight - on the ex-smokers house I now live in - if I had realised just how much doing it would take to rid the place of the smell (and if only the info. had been out there about third-hand passive smoking at that point to quote) I would have tried to knock a couple of thousand £s off for having to deal with that.

The vendor had no way of knowing I was planning on gutting the place anyway. Why would they - when the last couple of owners had clearly done as little as they could get away with to it? They probably didn't realise that where I come from is a big clue that I would do that....as that's a typical mindset of people living there.

So I suggest you do now.

spidereyes

Our house was owned by a smoker for 26 years. We somehow didn't really notice the first viewing, it was only weeks down the line before completion when we went back to measure up and the vendors had already vacated we realised how bad it was. We were horrified.

We were planning to fully redecorate but nothing prepared us for the amount of work involved. All wallpaper had to go, the carpets, the sockets, light fittings, even the room with the downstairs toilet had to be ripped out (I mean new walls, everything)

Everything was washed numerous times with sugar soap, steam mops and it still didn't get rid of it.

The ceilings in most rooms had about 3 or 4 coats paint. My hall and kitchen had that, plus 5 or 6 coats of stain block paint and 3 years later they look orangey again from the nitotine coming back through

The inside of my kitchen cupboards are frankly embarrassing- a dodgy yellow from where the nicotines got in, and all my Upvc windows and doors are so discoloured. I can't afford to start agagin with those so have to put up with that

As for the smell, every window and door was opened in my house for about two months, many bottles of air fresher were used and to be honest I'm not sure it's gone even now, 3 years later, my kitchen cupboards still have a horrible smell!

If we realised just how much work was needed we would never have increased our initial offer on the property.

Daffodilly_2

We did it, the house needed a complete makeover anyway but it's not until you move in that you realise how much smoke affects the house. Yes things like carpets, walls and ceilings need washing/replacing/painting etc but also bulbs, light switches, light fittings, skirting boards and any other (normally white) fixtures in the house.

Once you paint the ceiling white you realise how yellow it was everything else is in comparison to your new bright white ceiling! By the time we'd finished with ours you couldn't smell it anymore but I definitely wouldn't pay the same as a similar house that hadn't been smoked in. It takes a lot of work to get rid of it!