The smell that quells a home sale

I was out showing some clients a home the other day and as we entered through the property's front door we were broadsided with a wall of cigarette smoke. Suddenly I realized why this home has been on the market so long....

Mind you the home owner that greeted us at the door was not even smoking at the time, so this was residual smoke that stopped us in our tracks. Once my clients had walked into the home they said they wanted to see the backyard and quickly excused themselves out the backdoor. Then it was just a waiting game; as we admired the home's sparkling pool, we were actually planning out our escape. They didn't even want to see the rest of the home, in their eyes they were done with this house.

In my experience nothing can turn off a potential home buyer more then the smell of cigarette smoke. For those of us that are "smoke sensitive", the smell of cigarettes is offensive and a deal breaker. I think many homeowners underestimate the impact cigarette smoke has on the sale of their home. Though it's hard t believe, cigarette smoke permeates into everything in the home, the walls, carpet, window coverings, furniture and even the grout between tiles. One home in particular I remember well; the home had just been vacated and there were cigarette smoke outlines where the pictures had been hanging on the walls. That home sat on the market for YEARS!!!

The smell of cigarette smoke can be very difficult to remove once it's seeped its way into the walls, flooring and cabinets. Buyers understand this and more often then not just skip over a property with smoke issues. If you plan on putting your home on the market and you're a smoker, bring in your real estate professional early to discuss potential problems with cigarette smoke and options for removing/reducing the smells. It's a deal breaker in most real estate markets, and with the current excess housing inventories and slow sales, don't you want your home to be at its best?