Smokers' houses harder to sell

Wilmington (DE) News Journal ^ | September 26, 2003 | Maureen Milford

[Gabz]

As tobacco has become less socially acceptable and home buyers are more aware of indoor air quality, houses that reek of cigarette smoke are becoming a harder sell, experts report.

"It definitely is a major turnoff," said Michael Wilson, a real estate agent with Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors in Brandywine Hundred. "Buyers immediately think about what they'll have to do to eliminate the odor. It's a real drawback and a real negative."

[SheLion]

Puppies, like kids have accidents, as long as you are aware and take care of it immediatley it is not a problem - vinegar is my best friend right now!!!!

Exactly! I'm talking about the lazies that just "kick it under the couch." hehe!

And yes, puppies just can't FIND the tile. They have to use the CARPET! Must feel better to their little butts. :)

[dhfnc]

ACCK!!! I'm going nuts doing just that with a new puppy.

New puppy here too - that's what made me think of it - Plan baking soda is great for odor. I haven't had a complete nights sleep since I brought the "bundle of joy" home. She is great - but it does take time to train.

[SheLion]

Why don't you take a break and go watch TV.

[longtermmemmory]

Open window, air house out. Done.

This is absurd. If you buy a new house, the little lady will want new paint, new carpet (or tile), and a complete redecoration.

So do non-smoker houses go up by an equal amount?

Beware the real estate bubble.

[Gabz]

Your one "vice" and your reasoned statements say much about you.

As to having a window cracked open in the car, I always do it, regardless of wether I am smoking or not or even when in the car of a non-smoker when I wouldn't be smoking anyway. It's a thing with me, and always has been - I can not be in an enclosed vehicle.

For that matter I always have at least one window open in my house at all times -summer or winter. But it's got nothing to do with smoking, because even in the homes of non-smokers if there is no outside air coming in I get a strange feeling, maybe it is a bit of claustrophia or something, but I need the outside air.

[Gabz]

All responsible home owners know that every few years you need to paint...

Very true, whether smokers or not.

and at the VERY LEAST have your carpet cleaned, if not replaced.

Because of having dogs with a distinctive "doggie odor" we never went more than 3 months without steam cleaning our carpets, and we still don't, even though we plan on removing the carpet and replacing it with all wood floors this winter.

To blame smoking on dirty homes is just ignorant and stupid.

And arrogant and obnoxious.

[longtermmemmory]

You forgot to mention people with dogs and cats who don't clean house. What next a doggie discount for doggie stench?

[Gabz]

I also believe that homeowners should be responsible for telling the truth, .......................

There is no arguement there.

I had a real estate agent that didn't like my answers on some of the questions on the seller's diclosure form and wanted me to change them, because she felt it would hurt my chances of selling the home. I refused to do it, because it was an offical document and I would be held responsible, not the agent later on for the answers and disclosures I made.

This goes back to part of my original reason for posting this article, the corruption of the real estate industry in Delaware.

[Gabz]

Lying in a business transaction is not a right.

Lying in a business transaction can and usually is an actionable offense.

If I had not been attacked because of my original posting of this article, I would have probably stayed away from the the majority of the issue of smoking. And dealt with what I really found wrong with this article.

In another post to you I try to explain my position about seller disclosures - in a nut shell they should be as open and honest as they possibly can be.

[longtermmemmory]

DING DING DING~!!!! we have a WINNEEEERRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!

[dhfnc]

And arrogant and obnoxious.

Very well said! :>)

[Gabz]

This is not a personal opinion

It is personal opinion when you go on to say "Some homes do reek of cigarette smoke...."

The word "reek" is a personal opinion word used to conjure a negative idea of a particular smell. My comment went on to say that others disagree with that opinion because they either don't notice, don't care, or like the particular smell.

I'm a smoker and I can smell tobacco smoke - the only time I find it offensive is after some idiot dumps whiskey in an ashtray and then it isn't disposed of immediately. But I think that is more because I don't care for the smell of whiskey.

Please note I did not use the words stench, filth or reek, when I expressed my dislike of the smell of whiskey.

[HamiltonJay]

You are correct it is a difference of opinion. And for you to consider your opinion to be any more valid than that of someone else is the epitome of arrogance.

No, its the factual basis of reality. A house that smells like an smoke and has tar stained walls does, by and large stink to the buying public! I know you won't want to believe it, but even SMOKERS don't want to buy a house that smells of smoke if they have an equal house that doesn't. Thats reality.

The smell of cigarette smoke can be washed away. The filth and stench of bigotry and intolerance goes to the bone.

Oh please, get off your high horse... biggotry? Biggotry? Pointing out fact isn't biggotry! Houses that stink of smoke and whos walls are caked in tar and whatever else the smoking has leached into the building do not sell for as much or as quickly as houses that do not, that is just pure fact. Its not biggotry its reality! And trust me, you cannot, in any way shape or form wash away smoke stains from paint and walls... all the scrubbing and cleaning agents in the world will not remove it.

You are welcome to smoke, I could care less, but to stand up and try to argue that a house that shows the obvious signs of smoking by its owner will command a high price and sell just as quickly is crazy in all but the very hottest markets, is just a denial of reality.

[HamiltonJay]

Oh I fully agree it affects price, I am the one trying to make those arguing the other way (that it doesn't) that they are wrong.

I know it affects price, as I have rehabbed many homes and know dozens of others who do as well and one that rehab 4+ homes a month for retail. Smoke stains and smell absolutely reduce a properties value... it won't sell for as much or as quickly on average as a clean home.

[Gabz]

You cannot honestly believe your house is 79.9k and your neighbors house is the exact same model, and its 79.9k.

Apparently you are not paying attention to what is being said on this thread.

I sold my house this year, and got my asking price for it, which was more than the previous sale of the identical town house unit down the street that had been owned by non-smokers.

That is REALITY. Not averages, or statistics, REALITY.

it may not be your REALITY, but it is mine. Getoverit.

[HamiltonJay]

I never called you FILTHY, nor did I claim you didn't wash your house. However what term would you think should be used for walls that are painted white but are tan to the eye? It sure ain't cleanliness that gives em that healthy brown tint!

I don't know what PC spin you want to put on it, but FILTHY is the term I use in my book!

[Rebelbase]

The nicotine brown-shirt cartel around here live in a fantasy land.

[Gabz]

The silence out there in the establishment is amazing. Fascism is a scary thing.

You've got both those things right.

it's amazing how many on FR buy into it. But then it is not their ox being gored.

I hope they don't expect those of us they think it is fine to demean, denormalize, and dehumanize are goig to be rushing to the rescue when it is their turn. Because they will be next.

[Gabz]

They disgust me just about as much as DAVIS and I don't even live in KOOKIFORNIA. amen!

The nanny do-gooders and the socialistic tendencies of what had once been a wonderful state was the impetus for us to leave Delaware. the smoking ban really had nothing to do with it because we had made the decision before the legislation was even introduced. But it was a further kick to get us out.

[GOP_1900AD]

Hey, I heard that cigarette smoke killed dust mites, mold and all of the other latter day hypochonriacistic mennaces that people seem to have discovered about homes. LOL.. ;) My stupid question of the day... people have lived in similar structures for hundreds of years. Heck, in the past there was no running water, lack of regular cleaning, even animals living in thatched roofs. 3 dog nights had a real meaning. Gee, I bet they *really* worried about dust mites, radon, mold, you name it.... ARRRRRGHHHH!