Use your imagination!

So would I, no matter how lovely the house.

margaret Never, ever buy a property previously occupied by heavy smokers.

DS's first flat was in his price range, because it had been occupied by a chain smoker. We stripped out all the carpets, replaced the kitchen, scrubbed it down from floor to ceiling and put three coats of paint on every surface, but the nicotine leached through and the hall and living room had to be redecorated every year. We also discovered, after the flat was bought, that the cigarette smoke had reacted with the plastic of all the light fittings and switches, and stained them irrecoverably so they had all to be replaced as well. We also had to replace the curtain rails and some of the electricity points, where they were visible

I have had experience of other properties with similar problems and now, despite DH and I being serial house renovators, and prepared to take on major structural work where required. The one type of property we would never ever contemplate buying is one occupied by heavy smokers

margaret the fact that when you viewed the property the current owners had clearly done a very good clean job of cleaning the house but still despite heavy duty air fresheners in every room the smell of smoke came through, tells you all you need to know. Personally I would view and walk away.

margaret we've lived in our present house for nearly 30 years and it wasn't till we moved in that I realised there was a problem with the cigarette smell.
I was replacing all the curtains anyway, but we couldn't afford to replace carpets and I cleaned them
myself with a machine I hired from the tool shop.
I think the vendors had recently decorated and cleaning the carpets got rid of the smell.
It might be worth negotiating the price down in the grounds that you'll have to spend money eliminating the smell.
Good luck.

I just don't understand these people who can't see beyond superficialities like a little bit of 'normal' clutter. As for having to 'dress' the place, with wretched cushions all over the beds, etc...

I suppose it's worth doing if you're hoping for the best price, though.

Must say if I were looking to buy, I'd love anywhere cluttered, and preferably with ancient swirly carpet, etc. too, since they would put so many other buyers off, and I'd be more likely to get a cheeky offer accepted!

Both dds have recently bought houses with extremly dated decor, and one of them was pretty cluttered, too. It didn't put either of them off at all, since both houses had a lovely warm feel - you could tell they'd been happy family homes.
I don't know why some houses have that feel and others just don't, but having looked at so many, there's definitely something that can't be explained.

P.S, I was so taken with that particular hous I viewed it three times. Loved the house, but still couldn't get round the smell and yellowing.

And yes the room freshener so everywhere! Yuk!

Cigarette smoke and nicotine ingrain themselves into the fabric of a house, as f77ms says. Floorboards, plaster etc.

I rejected a beautiful house and garden last year because everywhere was yellow with nicotine and stank. Even if you get rid of the evidence, as a non smoker I think you will always smell it and I'm not sure about the health implications.

I waited my time and eventually a better house came on the market, a few roads away.

Margaret You will have to the clean the walls with sugar soap before painting , remove any carpets . curtain etc which will hold the smell . The smell will go once you have done this .
A car is a different thing - the smell will be in the material covering the seats and any plastic in the car .

I know this from ridding a property of smoke /dog smell !

Good morning to you all and thank you for any advice I may be given on my first ever posting, regarding a problem that has kept me awake for most of last night, on a similar vein to earlier comments. I am downsizing to a bungalow now, with an eye to the future, whilst in my 60's and in good health. After viewing numerous properties I have found the one that feels absolutely right for me, as it is a perfect size both property and garden wise. It is immaculately clean and tidy, but has one big problem I have to deal with immediately and that is the overpowering smell of cigarette smoke in absolutely every corner of the property, worsened, I believe, by powerful air freshener sprays pumping out different fragrances regularly into every room. The owner was out for the day whilst I viewed the property so I could tell that the overpowering fumes were a permanent feature. I am not afraid of hard work, but it was a disappointment to realise that every room needs to be re-decorated immediately to rid the bungalow of stained ceilings and walls, plus all paintwork will need to be washed etc, but will that completely rid me of this problem, as I seem to remember owning a second hand car where I never completely got rid of cigarette smells. Any advice would be gratefully received, thank you.

NanaandGrampy neutral is out as far as the house doctor's advice goes she hates it. She would hate our very neutral house .
When we were house selling in Aberdeen many moons ago people just dropped in to view the house at will . We went out one day leaving my mother in charge of the children when two ladies came to the door asking to view. My mother explained that in fact the house was sold . " Well can we see it anyway ?" was their reply.
This same house we had moved into two years before . It was winter and we had a three month old baby. The couple selling asked if they could take the roses from the front garden as they had been a gift. We agreed but when we moved in they had removed every lightbulb , curtain, bathroom fitting including the toilet roll holder and a fixed heater . We were young and did not know better and did nothing but boy how I wish I could meet that couple now .

Hang on in there n&g. It will happen x

Well its certainly interesting to hear everyone's experiences.

We have been on the market since August last year and the first thing we did was take down all personal items only leaving limited artwork on the walls. Declutter everywhere. We had a new kitchen fitted just prior to going on the market , very neutral. Had everything decorated neutrally etc. We followed every rule !!

We've done our research and we're in the right price range so we'll give it one last go multi agency and if by Easter it hasn't sold then we'll take it off the market and try again in a year or so.

When we sold our 4 bed semi with large garden in 2011, estate agent did move a few things round to take better photos. Sold within first week after 2 second viewings. Sold & moved within 7 weeks & we opted for the highest valuation knowing we could afford to slash price

In 2014 I put my Park Home on the market (needed to downsize again after DH died), only had to move yellow rubber gloves off the sink. Photo in main bedroom had a very large Andrex dog on the bed, that was shown nationwide on Rightmove!!! I had a buyer within a few weeks although they couldn't sell their property. One Sunday I was in my front garden when a car pulled up & enquired which property was for sale. I showed them round & we agreed sale, I moved out 3 weeks later (Park Home so no Solicitor).

I have always let Estate Agent do viewings but been present to answer any questions on the spot.

Bought my new home on 1st viewing, another Park Home, took me 5 ins to make up my mind, loved the area, vacant possession, room sizes right for me

I think your agents are being somewhat zealous! Most people can see through 'stuff' and can visualise how a property would look once empty. Just do what you feel is enough! Good luck!
My property is now under offer after 5 months on the market firstly with my lawyer and latterly with a national agent. Oh, the relief. I can now leave the bed unmade, hang my clothes on the floor and leave the washing up until the next day and return to my normal slovenly ways! I was advised to clear the decks as much as possible so all cupboards were jam packed with stuff and I prayed that prospective purchasers wouldn't open doors and disappear under an avalanche of paperwork, boxes and old coats. I boxed up some things and put them in the garden shed and summerhouse and on occasion, in the boot of the car as a temporary measure. The floors had never been so clean and the carpets so vacuumed.
What amazed me was the behaviour of some viewers children. Rampaging round the house, touching everything, finger marks (still there) on the windows and doors and indiscriminate use of the facilities without a word of reprimand. One couple visited twice with their 'delightful' offspring and spent an hour and 30 minutes on the first visit and just over an hour on the second. After they had gone I found the curtains twisted round- obviously a child was hiding in them, shutters closed, beds rumpled, and my gc's toys scattered across the landing. It was a free for all. They made a final offer £100,000 under my offers over price (I live in Scotland) which didn't go down a bundle I can tell you .
Now the real work begins - decluttering and downsizing. I mean, how many air fresheners and pairs of Marigolds does one require? It's going to be a long slog.......

Amazed at how often some of u have moved! When my daughter was selling her flat recently we had to keep.moving all the 'junk' round from room to room so the photographer could do the shots.

We've just sold our house and had the same issue with the photographer insisting on us removing everything before he took photos. It was a pain, but we sold in 24 hours to our first viewer. It does seem over the top, and of course when the viewers came round we did have toilet paper in the bathroom etc. But it did make for lovely, if unrealistic, photos.

The house we're buying is a tiny cottage and in with a different agent so they did have belongings in the photos, but it didn't stop us loving the house!

I do think some people lack vision and imagination. Just watch some of the property programmes on tv and you'll see people unable to see past the current decor.

But we're very excited about our move, although we've got to get rid of a LOT of stuff. Good luck with your move Nanaandgrampy.

Ha ! had to laugh Mamie ! We live in France, and before that in Spain ....had new build in Spain, so no problem ! When we started looking here we found dishes still in the sink, clothes over the back of a chair in the bathroom ..beds not made, sous sol like a tip ......not very clean ,large pot of stew cooking in the downstairs store room on a gas ring ! BUT the people were lovely ...and that was the house we bought ,,since we were going to rip it apart anyway nothing mattered except the large garden and all the space ! When we sold that one, it was to an unexpected viewer turning up when I was hanging out the washig ,,the agent with them said he had tried to phone before hand (didn't phone us, so don't know who was expecting him !) and it sold the same day ...we went into town to sign the initial Compromis at 19,30 that evening !

Having moved about 10 times in the UK ,,,always tidied up like mad ....6 year old's toys put away ,,she wasn't happy with evening viewings as she couldn't play with her toys or go to bed (not that she ever wanted to go to bed anyway !) but sold my last house in the UK in half a day ..in fact, as soon as the agents board went up ,,,someone was driving past who said he and his wife loved my house and always wished they lived there whenever they drove past !

Take a look at some of the French property websites and you will have a laugh at how the houses are sometimes 'presented' !

Last time we moved we were looking in France, Wales and Scotland (very similar!!). In France we heard one prospective buyer say that they couldn't buy a house with THAT wall paper (this was the house we would have bought if we had moved to France). One of the houses we looked at in Wales was occupied by students - you can imagine - but at least no-one was in the unmade beds.

I can recommend house hunting in Scotland - but only if you have the time. Always got tea and cake or shortbread, and the owners always had plenty of time to show us round.

I worked up until last year as a production manager for in Interior Design company, we were often bought in by people to help when properties didnt sell in the first few months , de-cluttering is often all it takes ... Younger buyers cant see past the personal bits and dont want to to look at other peoples lives . De-cluttered properties usually sell with in days of being put on the market.

We currently use our dining room as a study and I fully expect to be told to put a dining table etc in there when we sell .We are currently shedding quite a lot of furniture (to our DDs)and I have taken photos of e.g. the bedrooms with wardobes in them, as I think it can be difficult to visualise. I also have a lot of photos of our girls on our bedroom walls which I would certainly take down if selling .I think you do need to depersonalise a bit. .But our house has a lovely sunny aspect (most rooms have more than one window)and the bedrooms are bigger than you get in modern houses (1950s).We live on a quiet road but very near a bus route ,local shops and catchment area of best schools in the borough. Pretty, private garden .It's why we bought it 30years ago and I suspect what will sell it .

Don't be bullied by estate agents!

I put my house on the market last June, complete with craft room which looked like a hurricane had been through it, as usual. Sold it inside 5 hours, to the first people who came to view. I wasn't at all pleased with the photographs taken by the agent, could have done better myself, but that had to be the easiest commission he ever earned! And no, it wasn't underpriced for a quick sale ?

Think it comes down to "do you want to sell your house or not?" I'm an ex estate agent and quite frankly moving house is stressful enough - do whatever it takes to sell it - you have to present the buyer with a lifestyle- not your own comfortable clutter.

Somebody should tell this to French estate agents. In my experience the pictures are universally dreadful. Unmade or rumpled beds, clothes hanging up all over the place, bicycles in rooms, ironing boards left up, toys and mess everywhere and all too frequently an image of the photographer taking a picture in the mirror.
Always good for a laugh though.
?

The constant tidying up is a real pain. The Australian system seemed to be the norm in South Africa when family were selling out there. So much easier to have just one viewing or open house. I've seen that done here but it appears to be for houses that have been on the market for a while. The last house we sold attracted a lot of interest in the first few days and the agent made appointments for six viewings on one day. By the time I'd shown the last lot round I felt I was really repeating myself. As I ushered the couple to the front door they reminded me that I hadn't shown them upstairs yet! And after all that the house didn't sell for months.

I used to watch House Doctor when it started and people would walk around and say 'I don't like the pictures'. It seemed to me that it was the buyers that needed taking in hand not the sellers.
I did get put off a house that had gloss red paint on one ceiling because I didn't see how it could be removed without harming the ceiling plaster and it would have been virtually impossible to paint over, but people just seem to totally lack imagination.