Your investment up in smoke

There are lots of people in our society that smoke cigarettes. I am not judgmental, but if you choose to smoke in your house, you're going to have a hard time selling it to someone who does not smoke! I would think that these days the non-smokers outnumber the smokers, so you are literally cutting your prospective buyers by that percentage! I think the number of smokers are declining, every once in a while you run into a house that's been smoked in regularly. I think that more and more people realize that you should step outside to take that smoke.

 

I inspected a smoker’s house recently. I am not a smoker... I tell you it was horrible! The second I set foot in that house I cringed. My throat was burning by the time I finished. The buyers were not smokers so I tried to explain to them the extent they will have to go to remove that smell. I am definitely not an expert in smoke remediation.  When you can see where the pictures were on the wall, and the wall is actually yellow, save for where the pics were hanging... that should be eye opening!    

Common sense tells me that everything that is porous in that house will have to go! Window curtains, carpet... etc, is toast! Wash everything else, walls, ceilings, floors, windows... everything!

 

Probably will have to paint, maybe seal it all with Kilz or some type of remediation material and re-paint the whole interior. The HVAC system will have to have the evaporator coils acid washed, maybe more than once, and all the duct work either replaced or a super clean job of some kind. There are smoke remediation companies out there that can help, and from what I have heard can be very effective... and expensive!

These remediation pictures were not taken at the house I inspected, they are here merely for illustration to show how extensive it can be.

I must have made my point; I heard they went back to the buyer to ask for a remediation allowance of $2K... probably not enough.

Personally, if I was a prospective buyer and opened that door and it smelled like that I would have not even gone in. But that's just me.

 

When you buy a house it shouldn't be that much work to make it comfortable and livable... deal or not! I would recommend that one does their homework on remediation costs before they tackle a home like this.

 

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  Fred Hernden 

 

 Superior Home Inspections

 

  813-526-0900

 

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