Smoking does more than kill your lungs - it can kill the sale of your home.
I grew up in the home of not one, but two chain smokers. I was so used to the smell of cigarette smoke, that I had no idea why kids on the school bus told me I smelled - I could not smell it. I never understood until I went to college, and the RA demanded to know who was smoking in my room!
Smokers, and the people who live with them, can't smell it anymore. My daughter brought home a cupcake from a birthday party at school - she said "I don't want to eat it..." even though it was all pretty, pink frosted with sprinkles. I could smell why - it smelled like an ash tray. But the birthday child and her mom probably had no clue how disgusting their "treats" were to the outside world.
Sure, it's your home, your life, you can do what you want. HOWEVER - when you are putting your home on the market, while it is technically still YOUR home, you are trying to convince someone else to make it THEIRS. And chances are, a great deal of your potential buyers will be non-smokers who stop at the door and refuse to enter once they catch a whiff of your Marlboro's. Nothing will kill a deal faster on a home sale than a stench that makes you want to cover your face upon opening the door. Smokers may think non-smokers are overreacting - after all, the smell doesn't bother you! That's because you're used to it.
I imagine that even prolonged exposure to skunk smell would make it less offensive over time to the point that you don't notice it anymore either.
Apart from having only buyers who smoke express interest in your home, or handing out respirator masks at the door, there is some hope.
----->UPDATE: Unfortunately, the smoke smell will probably never be completely eliminated according to a local expert representative from Pro-Jan Restorations in Honesdale, PA. He said that thorough cleaning, followed by having a special odor elimination treatment (around $250 for the treatment) will probably bring the the smell to an acceptable level, possibly making it unnoticeable to most people.
Help Lessen Smoke Smell When Putting Your Home On the Market:
1. STOP smoking in the house once you put it on the market. Yes, it's a pain to go outside, but you want to sell
your house, right? Get rid of all traces of smoking inside - no ash trays sitting around!
2. CLEAN everything - and I mean everything, from the ceiling down to the floors. Nicotine gets EVERYWHERE. When I brought an oak dining room set from my parent's home to mine, my husband wouldn't let me bring it in the house until it had been thoroughly cleaned - it took at least 4 good cleanings before the rinse water stopped turning YELLOW.
3. REPAINT - scrub the walls, apply a good primer such as KILZ, that will help block odors from seeping through, and repaint your walls and trim.
4. DECLUTTER and remove knick knacks & other items sitting around, collecting nicotine and giving off smoke smell..especially things that won't clean well, such as books and magazines.
5. Have all your carpets & upholstery professionally steam cleaned. Seriously consider a service that offers odor elimination such as Pro-Jan mentioned above - and have them clean everything, including your upholstered furniture. Here is a list of cleaning services near Hawley, PA.
Sure, this is a
lot of work and will
cost money, - but you want to get top dollar for your home, don't you?
All the marketing in the world by the best real estate agent on the planet will not sell your home if buyers won't go inside.I previewed a home the other day that is really nice. Just cute as cute can be. Nicely situated on a large, landscaped lot. Price seemed reasonable, perhaps a tad high...why was this house on the market for over a year?
Could it be that the home reeked of cigarettes once I went inside? Maybe? There were overflowing ash trays on every table. Even I was grossed out - in spite of the fact that I grew up with two smokers. I've been out of a smoky environment for 12+ years and man, I can't handle it!
I expect that any buyers who can get past the front door will make their offer much lower, considering all the cleaning that will have to be done after the closing.
Why not beat them to the punch, and get that cleaning and rehabbing done NOW - and get a better offer on your home? And perhaps - sell it?
Additional Reading on Selling a Smoker's Home:
Smoke Gets in Homebuyer's Eyes - by Douglas Brown, Denver Post
On Tobacco Road, it's A Tougher Sell by Antoinette Martin, New York Times
Getting Rid of Smoke Odors - Active Rain blog by Rick Bunzel
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Use the links below to learn more about real estate for sale and about my innovative marketing plan for sellers in Pike and and Wayne County of Northeast PA.
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Great advice. My partner who sells real estate really hammers about smell...it's more than avoiding the smoke...it's about creating a favorable emotional response as soon as the buyer steps into the home. Thanks for a well written post.