samnavy

iTrader: (7)

We're talking about cigarettes, not ****.

Quality Control Bot

iTrader: (3)

lol

soviet

iTrader: (10)

It depends on the type of cigarettes. Light ones barely leave a smell. My girlfriend smokes in my car and you can't smell it.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

BS. Ask 10 random non-smokers and I bet 9 of them will smell it.

soviet

iTrader: (10)

I'm not saying the light cigarettes are odorless. I'm saying they smell a lot less than regular cigarettes. Let some guy smoke regular marlboros once in my jeep, smelled that **** for 2 days.

In comparison, in my miata with fixed-back seats, the smell of sweat after a couple of days of autocross is much stronger than after 1-2 light cigarettes.

chpmnsws6

iTrader: (12)

You should alter your diet and talk to your physician about your odor if its that strong.

Noted for truth. I can smell someone smoking 3 cars up at an intersection. Smoking is a thing of the past.... and none too soon!

Asx

iTrader: (1)

it's only immoral if he had the expectation that you did not want someone smoking in the house. The odor isn't permanent. Almost every house made before the 90s had someone smoking indoors.

Let the occupant know that pervasive lingering odors, like smoke, effect the rentability of the property and therefore will be considered as damage. If they were smart they'd take reasonable action to eliminate the odor prior to moving out. Washing the walls, not smoking inside the month before the term ends, and leaving the windows open with fans to circulate air will work wonders.

Edit: Soviet, that's bullshit. There is no difference in the tobacco between light and full flavor cigarettes. The difference is the amount of air allowed to mix with the smoke while drawing. This can come from more porous wrapping paper or perforations in the paper or filter.

samnavy

iTrader: (7)

This is bullshit logic. He knew damned ******* well that I wouldn't want people smoking in the house because NOBODY wants people smoking in their house. They knew we weren't smokers and a lot of our discussions centered around how well they would take care of the house because we'd probably be moving back in after them. We didn't want "renters" and they didn't want to move into a "rental". They wanted to move into someones "home", and we wanted somebody who would take care of our home like they would their own.

They INTENTIONALLY did not mention that they smoked because they knew that 99% of people who own their home and rent it do not want it smoked in, so the ******* just kept their mouths shut. The fact that we forgot to put it in the application/lease because we're new to land-lording legally relieves them of the responsibility of telling us, and you can argue legal **** as far as you can throw a gavel, but this guy is a 30+ year military officer renting a home from another officer... and we do eachother better than that.

And even if this was just 2 regular civilian dudes with nothing in common, it's a ******* scumbag thing to do.

And no, a lite cleaning will not remove the stench of long-term smoking. If not done properly and thoroughly it takes years for the odor to "dissipate" on it's own. And to a family with children looking to rent a house, even the slightest little hint of cigarette smoke constitutes "stench". It will drive away 95% of our target demographic of renters. Even if there was ZERO smell at all, some people would choose not to bring their children into a home that they knew the previous renters smoked in. It's a big ******* deal.

Carpets cleaned or outright replaced.
Every single painted surface in the place washed, sanded, and repainted, walls/ceilings/doors/etc.
HVAC system sanitized.
Windows and window frames washed.
Insides of all cabinetry, closets, drawers, and other areas.
Applicances cleaned.
Etc...
Then you open the place up for a week or so and pray it works.

To do this 100% right the first time and be done with it, I'm looking at about $6k depending on whether or not I need to replace the carpets.

jeff_man

iTrader: (7)

tl:dr Burn the house down with them in it

ThatGuy85

iTrader: (4)

If they've still got a year or so left on the lease, have you asked them to immediately stop smoking inside? If they stop now, you may not have to spend all that money to get the smell out. You could probably get away with a carpet cleaner, duct cleaning, and washing the walls.

pusha

iTrader: (5)

bitch

r808

iTrader: (7)

Watch out for water damage. That will **** **** up. Check every single pipe connection into the house. Do it yourself if you need to.

samnavy

iTrader: (7)

Therein lies the problem.

If I mention it, then I open up the whole bag. Other than the smoking, they've been awesome renters. They fix the little things, do touch-up paint, minor plumbing, have rebuilt part of the deck, etc... they really are awesome.

If I mention the smoking, they could just say no, and then we're not on such great terms anymore. They wouldn't have rented the house if they couldn't smoke in it I'm sure.

Just to make sure things keep going as smoothly as they have been, I'm not going to bring it up. It's a good lesson for the future.

Preluding

iTrader: (10)

Unfortunately...that is the best solution...
Happy tenants are good tenants

Slayer

iTrader: (6)

Couldn’t be truer. And what you’re saying is even more applicable when it comes to selling the property. Stinky houses do not sell easily, which, depending on the value of the home, can end up meaning a lot of dough. Offensive odors **** with buyers’ and renters’ emotions - especially women - and they just shut down and move on with their search. I’ve been sideline selling homes as an agent for a brief six years and I’ve seen this happen many, many times. Another one I’ve seen queer a home’s value (or rentability) is heavy curry smell or other smells from folks who do a lot of wok cookery. Also, as mentioned, a happy tenant usually means a happy landlord, but I would never do a lease for more than 6 months. Some of these scumbags are very good at gaming the rental laws. So the best bet is to stay informed about the laws and your rights, interview the **** out of them, do extensive background checks on all parties, and get ready to sue if **** goes sideways. Or avoid the headache and just cough up the ~10% to farm it out to a property manager.

ScottFW

iTrader: (4)

We bought our house in short sale, seller was a nice lady with a gaggle of extended illegal family/ies in her house. There was enough delay on the bank's part to agree to the terms (actually two banks, because they also took out a loan for the 10% down in addition to their 3/1 ARM) but then the seller kept trying to push back the closing date. Then a week before we are due to sign papers, my agent tells me the seller is requesting that we rent the house back to them for a couple weeks until they find a place to live. The ****?!? You've known for months that this was coming and have had more than ample time to make arrangements. And now you think I'll be dumb enough to establish a landlord-tenant relationship with someone who couldn't pay their mortgage, so you can game the legal system and live there a few more months on my dime? **** that noise.

Anyway, more to the point of this thread, the house had 1980s vintage wallpaper that we spent days stripping off, pulled all the carpet, bought all new kitchen appliances, etc. We could handle all of that crap so we had a high tolerance for a house needing some work, but my wife would absolutely have walked away if there was any cigarette aroma. It's a non-starter for a whole lot of people. Our house had no objectionable aromas, and the previous occupants were even nice enough to leave us a midget **** DVD.

Preluding

iTrader: (10)

Any room that was white, will have a hint of yellow.
any light switch/plug etc, will be yellow and have unreacheable gunk inside it.

The house WILL need paint on everything (mouldings/walls/ceiling...) due to smoking.

1000's will be spent.

Been there.....it sucks....damage deposit doesn't even start to cover it and small claims court is worthless.

bluemax

iTrader: (3)

I probably shouldn't say this but I'm sorry. It sounds to me like you're more interested in bitching about the problem than actually doing anything about it. Why don't you just ask them nicely if they wouldn't mind smoking outside? Calm down before you go talk to them though. Some people really are not as smart as you'd think. Also, people were raised in different ways and have different opinions as to what is respectable and disrespectable. If they're taking the time and $ to fix little stuff then they're obviously trying to do you right.

tobimaru

That's honestly pretty bad. I'm a smoker and I still sympathize with you about your house. I smoke outside on my patio, wouldn't ever dream of smoking in a house even if the owner was OK with it. You might as well jsut pour mustard and ketchup all over the carpets and sharpie all the walls if you're OK with smoking in a house.
It's just common courtesy to let your landlord know you smoke even if it's only done outside. I let my apartments know and they just asked me to use an ash tray on the patio; which is more than sensible because I hate picking up other people's butts.

Opti

I think some of yall are a little to sensitive. Ive had to clean a few of my friends houses that where big party houses and all of which were smoked in. I dont smoke and after a good cleaning and washing couldnt smell a thing.