Smokin' hot is not - a good selling feature
As soon as you open the door on a smokers home the buyer's know it. Though smoke order can be eliminated from a house it takes work and many buyers aren't interested in the remedy. If you are a smoker not only do you need to move your habit outside but to get the best value for your home you need to remove drapes and have them cleaned and get your carpets shampoed. Remember that the smell follows you back into the house on your clothes so keep your closet aired out as well.
Before you put your house on the market, stop smoking in the house. Every smoker has heard of the carcinogens, the dangers, the yellow teeth, the permanently puckered lips, the cough, the costs, blah blah blah. When it comes to selling your house, your motivation is none of these. Who cares? Well, Buyers care. Your motivation now will be a speedy sale and a good offer.
A house, were the owners smoke, has a very strong odour. It also has tar and nicotine staining the walls, the carpets and the drapes. Smoke can go everywhere. Even smokers are going to notice a house that smells awful. You will turn away a lot of Buyers if you don't stop smoking in the house. If needed, wash and/or repaint the walls and ceiling and shampoo the carpets. Any fabrics, including the clothes in the closet, are going to reek. No room spray will mask the smell of stale cigarette smoke. Even after scrubbing, washing and painting the smell will linger so open your windows before visitors arrive. Please, please , please remove the dirty ashtrays (sometimes they smell worse than the cigarettes) even if they are placed just outside the back door. My Buyers and I will be going outside and into the garage so keep your butts in the metal garbage can.
Don't let smoke get in the Buyers' eyes.
Photo credit: My cigarette is burning
When my father had to move to a personal care home, my brothers and I needed to sell the condo. Before even thinking of a For Sale sign, we hired a painter to come in and paint the entire condo and a flooring company to remove all carpeting and install hardwood. Although my father had quit smoking years before, his health prevented painters coming into the condo and removing everything. He had emphysema from decades of smoking and had to use an oxygen tank. Sadly, the pleasure of having a nice fresh smelling home was not his to enjoy.
Valerie Zinger email: vzinger@royallepage.com (613-723-5300)
Royal LePage Gale Real Estate, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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