There is no perfect house.  

Real buyers buy.

Real sellers sell.

Someone might get a smokin' deal.

I bought a house personally from a lady who had smoked heavy for 50 years.  The walls actually bled yellow.  We washed them with bleach twice, then tried to paint them with heavy duty primer, but even still there were spots the nicotene bled through the paint.  Eventually we had to repaint in a yellow tint color.

I wrote a post about this and also  Q and A

I have yet to have a buyer purchase a home where there were smokers, at least where it was obvious

I did have a listing a few years ago where the seller was a smoker. Her family did a lot of work to remediate and it sold

Paul I have a listing in that category right now. They had to repainting and it still did not do it.

Paul S. Henderson, Realtor, Broker, Tacoma Washington  I wrote a blog about this a few weeks back.  We used to think it was only the odour that needed to be dealt with - Nope!  It has now been determined that the smoke/chemicals permeate into the drywall and a lot of flooring.  It is called Third Hand Smoke and it too causes cancer. 

My clients are running from any home that has been smoked in!

Paul - Never had that situation come up.

I'm not sure anyone actually ever finds the perfect house.

I have only been in a few homes where the owner(s) smoked, and they were a no go from that point. Most buyers are very turned off by cigarette smell.

We walked out of a house like that just the other day.  It absolutely reeked of nicotine.

I have some out of town buyers now, that DID write on a home they loved, and HOPED that awful smell would disappear after painting and replacing carpet.   Did not win the bid though!

Yes, this past year. They got it at a great price. They cleaned it thoroughly, put all new flooring in, etc. and are super happy with it. I must say, I noticed that one of them smokes too, but never inside.

Yes. Our first purchase as a married couple was just as you described. We didn't know much but sure learned quickly. We scrubbed, cleaned with TSP several times. The walls were dripped with yellow stains. We were young...and had to learn the hard way. Although the house was only infused with 20 years of smoke.

I have not sold one, but my ex bought one many years ago before I saw it. When I went in for the first time I cried, because I didn't want to live there. The walls were mustard yellow, except for the pristine white where pictures had hung. The smell was unbelievable. All the flooring was replaced, everything sealed and painted with Killz, and every other inch of the house was cleaned. You couldn't smell the smoke anymore when we were done.

Typically most buyers these days wont walk in. Those that do have a chore of washing, painting every surface and new flooring and that always does not get all the smell out. 

Yes, my best friend's uncle smoked cigars in his home for over 40 years. When he died the family wanted me to list it! We spent 6 months removing the odor! Luckily they had the funds to remediate and take the time to do so. House sold in two days!

Yes I have several times.  Most of the time they walk.  

More often they run from it if upgraded, but if not upgraded and its priced to sell, then they will buy it.

One way to help absorb the smoke smell is to put several containers of charcoal thru out the house. I have done this and after a few days there is a very noticeable difference. If the oder is really bad, change the charcoal after 30 days.

I once had a Seller who smoked...a lot. The home reeked of smoke and the windows had a brown film over them. The Home was sold in that condition and the new owners hired a professional deep cleaning service who cleaned and deodorized ( I think) the home while it was vacant. Fortunatly the home had no carpeting and the new owner had the entire interior of the home painted while it was empty.

They would be super stupid to buy it.  Not good for health at all.  And, next to impossible to ever get that smell out unless you replace all the walls and floors.

As time goes on my sensitivity also rises but I've used zone treatments somewhat successfully and painting will keep it at bay often too. There's a 50/50 shot at making the sale after the initial shock. It's a stigma that's very hard to overcome with non-smokers and more so if they have children.

Good morning Paul. When I was in the business, smoking was a lot for common, most of the time the purchase was made.

 Good morning Paul S. Henderson, Realtor, Broker, Tacoma Washington . I have inspected a few of these. Not much fun.

Yes! I had this happen just this year...beautiful home beautiful view and buyers who LOVED it! it took several weeks to have it cleaned with a professional who washed every square inch... ceilings, walls,floors, closets,  trim, windows, fixtures, light sockets everything . then they kilns everything and painted it... all carpet was torn out and replaced after they treated the floors the same and kilns themm too.....the house was gleaming clean and smelled liked fresh air when they were done but it took a lot of work and effort and patience ... but the buyers love it!   it was a special product you can buy at Home Dept.. THS or something like that...

I'm not a smoker and very sensitive to such houses. It takes some time to get rid of such smell, so I do not consider such houses ''perfect''.

That's why I tell my buyers Paul S. Henderson, Realtor, Broker, Tacoma Washington - there is no perfect house...you have to have some kind of compromise to do, if at all...

My buyer recently bought a house as such.  There appears to have been one room, one area (desk) where she smoked.  The ceiling above was deep yellow/sooted, the walls around the picture in front of the desk were clearly showing the yellow soot...They were going to remove the drywall and flooring in that room and quickly did that after moving into the home.  Otherwise, they didn't seem to have an issue with it. 

We buy and fix homes like this.

That would be a draw back.  Hard to say if you can ever get the smell out

No.  More than ever, buyers are sensitive.

No; in my opinion, no house is perfect. Everyone must compromise.

I cannot stand the smell of smoke. It literally makes me feel like I am going to throw up. Just passing by someone who is smoking will do it to me. I would not enter a home that reeks of smoke.  So, the answer is No.

Yes, and my advice is that it will take a lot to get the smell out of the paint, carpet, drapes, ventilation system and might take more money than they anticipate.  I have been successful in discouraging people from buying headaches so far.

I have sold many smokey properties but I would not describe any of them as perfect.

Yuck.  Most buyers will move on, turns them off so fast, not even funny.  Like a house with mold, you can get it remediated.  Or you can find another house with no mold.

If someone smokes then it would not be a perfect house.

Paul,

It depends on how much the buyer likes it.  A

If this was the problem, then the only situation where the client would likely want to buy the property is if they intend to demolish the house and put up a new house. 

I listed one we gutted it and did smoke remediation work

I bought a rental where the nicotine was thick on everything.  Wash walls and cabinets with vinegar.  That really helps.  We of course had to throw out the furniture.  Install new floors and A/C.   It was not bad after that. 

Had this with pets & spices as well as smokers too...transaction did move

Paul S. Henderson, Realtor, Broker, Tacoma Washington The non-smoker clients that I worked with in the past could tell there were smoker's in the house the minute they hit the front door. That's as far as they got. No sale there.

I have sold many 'smoker den' houses.

There is a buyer for every house.

A delicate buyer would be properly advised to avoid these situations.

No

I have not yet sold a house where the sellers smoked 3 packs a day.

I've sold one home like this. One!!!!!