There is a component here that may need to be discussed. Some Buyers may have allergies that eliminate homes with previous smoker occupants. They or their children simply cannot breathe in the home. It is interesting this could become a disclosure. I still remember staying in a home decades ago that had heavy smokers. Could not wait to leave.
Smoking impacts home prices
“A recent study of real estate agents in Ontario, Canada, found that smoking can reduce a home’s resale value by 20 percent. The study was commissioned by Pfizer Canada, a pharmaceutical manufacturer.” Daily Real Estate News
All of us know that it is more difficult to sell a home where pet, dampness or smoking odors can be noticed. Deep cleaning will sometimes remove most of the evidence. Smoking is banned in many rental homes and buildings that have public access and now many colleges and universities are also banning smoking anywhere on the property. Secondhand smoke has been the health concern behind most of the bans.
Now, consumers are worried about thirdhand smoke that lingers long after the smoke has cleared. “Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California recently published a study in a medical journal that claims that they’ve shown thirdhand smoke can damage human cells and is a carcinogen that can affect people’s health. The study says it found thirdhand smoke in dust and on surfaces of rooms more than two months after the former home owners had moved out.” Daily Real Estate News
Real estate professionals may soon be facing more disclosures. We may need to disclose that the home has been occupied by smokers. Home owners may find that smoking can greatly reduce the value of their property.
Are you finding that home buyers are more concerned about homes that have been occupied by smokers?
Butterfly, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden IMG_8775
Photograph by Roy Kelley using a Canon PowerShot G11 camera.
Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs
We represent home buyers and sellers as their exclusive agents in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC.
Roy Kelley
Roy Kelley & Associates
Associate Broker, RE/MAX Realty GroupClient Assistance: 301-670-8996
Recipient of the RE/MAX International Lifetime Achievement Award - 2008
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Thanks, Cheryl, for the re-blog. The health hazards of smoking will make this a continuing topic of discussion in the real estate industry.
The smoke lingers on, but smokers are oblivious to this!!!
Anyone that thinks smoking doesn't kill is lying through the hole in their Trachea!