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I will not even consider a house where someone smoked inside for years. Maybe at the very great price (50% off), so I can replace all floors, drywalls, paint it. All plastic pieces in the house would also need to be replaces. Wood might go too. Too much stress. And only if I had this other 50% in case (on top of 30% downpayment), I would consider it... There are many houses from non-smokers really to stress about old ashtray.
My mom had her townhouse REJECTED a couple of times due to cigarette smell. Her realtor finally brought in some type of ionizer machine, and they had the entire house repainted. It finally sold.
In her new house, she ONLY smokes in the kitchen next to an open window. No more smoking her bedroom, upstairs, etc.
As far as disclosure goes, you can pretty much assume every home has been smoked in. If the current owners didn't, the previous owners did, probably going all the way back to the workers who built the house.
If you want to get full price for it, the smokers/occupants have to move. Then you rent 2 ozone machines from one of those crime scene clean up companies. Put them in the rooms that were smoked in the most. You turn the machines on whenever the home is empty and turn them off first thing when you get there, air out the house for 15 min or so and get to work.
Rip out the carpets/drapes/blinds and get rid of any furniture left in the home. Have the fireplaces professionally cleaned. Have the ducts/heat/AC cleaned and all filters replaced. Start scrubbing. Clean every surface. Do all this work with every window/door open every day. Leave all the cabinets/doors open after cleaning. Don't forget to do all the windows/mirrors, and all the appliances. Once the house is completely clean turn the heat/AC on, close the windows, turn on the ozone machines and leave for a couple days.
When you come back the smell should be just barely detectable. I would then repaint all the painted surfaces and oil all the wood surfaces. Put sealer/stain on all the concrete floors. After these steps are complete you should not be able to smell smoke at all except for in the immediate vicinity of the fireplaces. I would probably list the house at this point giving the buyer an allowance or discount to add the carpets/flooring/drapes/blinds they prefer.
In 4 of the 5 houses I have done, this was enough. The 5th house was really bad. I had to add an extra step. Fill a crockpot with vinegar and put it in a central location turn it on high and set for 12 hours. Pour a gallon of straight bleach on every concrete floor. Leave for the weekend. When you come back on Monday you will be ready to paint, stain, etc after airing the house out.
Those ozone machines are very powerful. That's what they use to eliminate the dead body smell. They can also be dangerous. Never leave one running while you are in the house and always turn them off immediately when you get there and air the place out.
I would say a discount of 50K depending on the houses size. That is to cover the cost of new carpet, cleaning all hard surfaces, and priming/painting. I have had good luck with eliminating the smoke smell. Pet smells are tougher in my experience, not sure why.
Thanks for all the input. And yes, I plan to stay on the sidelines & watch how this plays out without interjecting any advice. I also agree that the market will be a tough teacher and I dread it for them & their age....the stress of selling a house is hard enough on anyone, much less people in their late 70's.
Like I said, there are smokers' homes and then there's this home. I have never ever smelled anything like it. I think it's the fact that they never EVER open windows that compounds the problem. It's so bad that even if we just go down there for 1 night, our CAR will stink for a few days just because our bags rode in the back on the way home. Our car doesn't even go inside their garage, but the stink from our luggage being in there for the 2.5 hour ride home is enough to stink up the car for a day or 2. We usually leave all the windows rolled down for a couple of days after we get home. Whatever purse I happen to carry down there holds the smell for a few days, too.
Thanks for all the input. And yes, I plan to stay on the sidelines & watch how this plays out without interjecting any advice. I also agree that the market will be a tough teacher and I dread it for them & their age....the stress of selling a house is hard enough on anyone, much less people in their late 70's.
Like I said, there are smokers' homes and then there's this home. I have never ever smelled anything like it. I think it's the fact that they never EVER open windows that compounds the problem. It's so bad that even if we just go down there for 1 night, our CAR will stink for a few days just because our bags rode in the back on the way home. Our car doesn't even go inside their garage, but the stink from our luggage being in there for the 2.5 hour ride home is enough to stink up the car for a day or 2. We usually leave all the windows rolled down for a couple of days after we get home. Whatever purse I happen to carry down there holds the smell for a few days, too.
You aren't going to convince the naysayers in this thread. They will think you (and I) exaggerate and going overboard. Not to mention soft...
Thanks for all the input. And yes, I plan to stay on the sidelines & watch how this plays out without interjecting any advice. I also agree that the market will be a tough teacher and I dread it for them & their age....the stress of selling a house is hard enough on anyone, much less people in their late 70's.
Like I said, there are smokers' homes and then there's this home. I have never ever smelled anything like it. I think it's the fact that they never EVER open windows that compounds the problem. It's so bad that even if we just go down there for 1 night, our CAR will stink for a few days just because our bags rode in the back on the way home. Our car doesn't even go inside their garage, but the stink from our luggage being in there for the 2.5 hour ride home is enough to stink up the car for a day or 2. We usually leave all the windows rolled down for a couple of days after we get home. Whatever purse I happen to carry down there holds the smell for a few days, too.
From this I would say this is not the average smokers home. You need to open windows.
I think I can relate to a situation like that. When my uncle who was a chain smoker passed away and we went to clean out his apartment the stench of smoke was over whelming and I was a smoker. Don't think he ever opened the windows either and the heat was always set in the high 70's.
From this I would say this is not the average smokers home. You need to open windows.
I think I can relate to a situation like that. When my uncle who was a chain smoker passed away and we went to clean out his apartment the stench of smoke was over whelming and I was a smoker. Don't think he ever opened the windows either and the heat was always set in the high 70's.
Sounds familiar. My FIL is so cold-natured, they keep the thermostat around 78 year round. Do you know how stifling that is in Alabama??? At Christmas the heat is up full-blast and DH & I wear shorts & t-shirts around the house, while his parents are in sweaters and pants. In the summer, when we go down there to enjoy the lake, we might as well stay outside on the porch because the temp inside isn't much cooler. IT might be a little less humid, but that's it. They keep the AC on 78 also but it feels more like 84. I'm so miserable down there, and i hate it because I wish we visited them more because I know they won't be around forever. But I just can't take the heat and the smell, not to mention we have a 19-month old. I can't stand having him in that terrible air quality.
Sounds familiar. My FIL is so cold-natured, they keep the thermostat around 78 year round. Do you know how stifling that is in Alabama??? At Christmas the heat is up full-blast and DH & I wear shorts & t-shirts around the house, while his parents are in sweaters and pants. In the summer, when we go down there to enjoy the lake, we might as well stay outside on the porch because the temp inside isn't much cooler. IT might be a little less humid, but that's it. They keep the AC on 78 also but it feels more like 84. I'm so miserable down there, and i hate it because I wish we visited them more because I know they won't be around forever. But I just can't take the heat and the smell, not to mention we have a 19-month old. I can't stand having him in that terrible air quality.
Can't you get a motel room for the nights you are there?
I really can't take the odor of smoke. It's one of the things I'm pretty severely allergic to. There's no way I could live in a house like that, much less even visit.
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