Buying a Smoker's House in Austin: What to Ask For During the Option Period

Quick answer: Use the option period to find out how deep the smoke goes, then get quotes for the work it needs: washing, priming and painting, new carpet and pad, HVAC cleaning and a whole-home odor treatment. With those in hand, ask the sellers for a credit or price change, ask for specific work before closing, or walk away.

What should you ask for when buying a smoker's house in Texas?

Get quotes first, then ask. Many buyers prefer a credit, because it lets them control the work.

The layout works, the school is right, the backyard has shade. And the moment you walked in, you smelled it. The sellers smoked indoors, maybe for years.

A smoker's house can still be the right house. The key is knowing what you're getting into before the option period ends, so the cost and time to freshen it are part of your decision instead of a surprise after you've moved in.

What is the option period, and why does it matter here?

The option period is a short window set in your contract, often a week to ten days, when you can look the house over closely and back out for any reason. Most Texas home purchases use a contract with one, and you pay a small option fee for it. It's also when most buyers ask for repairs, a price change or a credit toward work they'll do themselves.

For a smoker's house, that window is when you need to figure out how deep the smoke goes. Once it closes, you're mostly on your own.

What does smoke leave behind?

Smoke leaves a film of fine particles and oily residue on almost everything, not just a smell. After years of indoor smoking, it's in more places than you'd think:

• Ceilings and walls, often with a yellow or brown tint
• Carpet, pad and window coverings
• Inside kitchen cabinets, closets and drawers
• Light fixtures, ceiling fans, blinds and outlet covers
• The HVAC filter, coil and ductwork, which spread it every time the system runs

Our guide to lingering smoke odors goes deeper on where smoke hides and why.

What should you look at while you have access?

Look at the house the way you'll live in it, not the way it shows. Showings and open houses often come with the windows open, the AC running and a candle lit.

1. Visit when the house has been closed up. Ask to come by after it has been shut for a few hours, with no candles or plug-in air fresheners running. Heavy fragrance can hide a lot.
2. Smell the first blast from the vents. Stand near a supply vent when the AC or heat kicks on. A strong smoke smell there means it's in the ductwork.
3. Look up. Compare ceiling color near light fixtures and in closets. Stains are often most obvious on white ceilings and around the edges of rooms.
4. Look behind things. Clean rectangles on the wall behind pictures, or a lighter color under switch plates and outlet covers, show how much residue is on the walls.
5. Open cabinets and closets. Closed spaces hold smell longer and show you what the rest of the house was like before it was cleaned.
6. Check the garage and back porch. If smoking moved outside at some point, the smell there tells you whether it moved back in.
7. Read the seller's disclosure and ask directly. How long did anyone smoke indoors, and in which rooms? Has anything been painted, replaced or cleaned since?

The general home inspector you hire will look at the systems and structure. Many don't comment on smoke residue, so raise it with them and keep your own notes.

What quotes should you get before the option period ends?

Line up rough quotes for the work a smoker's house usually needs, so you know what you're asking for and why. Typical items include:

• Wall and ceiling washing, a stain-blocking primer and paint for the whole interior, including closets and ceilings
• Carpet and pad replacement, which is often the only real fix for years of smoke in soft flooring
• New window coverings in rooms where blinds and curtains soaked up smoke
• HVAC work: a new filter, a coil cleaning, and a look at the ductwork. After heavy, long-term smoking, some ductwork may need to be cleaned or replaced. Our sister company, Gold Eagle Services, can look at the system and give you a quote.
• A whole-home odor treatment once the cleaning and painting are done

For the treatment, you don't need to fit a visit into a busy option week. A free phone consultation and a written quote based on the home's square footage can be turned around quickly, which fits a short deadline.

What can you ask the sellers for?

You have three common choices, and you and your agent can weigh them once the quotes are in:

• A credit or price change that covers the work, so you can choose your own painters, flooring company and treatment and do it your way before you move in.
• Specific work by the sellers before closing, like pulling out the carpet or painting. This can work, but you have less control over the quality, and cheap paint over unwashed walls can let the smell bleed back through.
• Walking away, if the smoke is heavier than you're willing to take on. That's what the option period is for.

A credit is often the cleanest option, because the order of the work matters so much, and with a credit you set that order.

What order should the work go in after closing?

Work from the dirtiest jobs to the cleanest, and finish before the furniture arrives. An empty house is much easier to clean and treat.

1. Pull the carpet and pad if you're replacing them.
2. Change the HVAC filter and have the coil and ducts looked at.
3. Wash walls, ceilings, cabinets and closets top to bottom with a degreasing cleaner.
4. Prime with a stain-blocking primer and paint, including ceilings and closets.
5. Install new flooring and window coverings.
6. Schedule the whole-home treatment last, then change the filter again.
7. Move in.

Our fresh start guide for new-to-you homes has a full move-in checklist.

Where does Pure Maintenance fit?

For a smoker's house, our Odor Treatment is usually the right fit, once the heavy work is done. Smoke residue can still hide where rags and rollers can't reach: inside ductwork, in wall corners, on the backs of shelves and inside cabinets. The treatment starts with the patented VaPURE dry fog, which settles into the backs of cabinets, the seams where walls meet ceilings and the HVAC ductwork without getting things wet, and on treated hard, non-porous surfaces helps control the growth of odor-causing microorganisms. Then an ozone shock treatment follows up on deep-set odors while the home sits empty for up to 48 hours.

That 48 hours is much easier to plan before you move in than after, which is one more reason to schedule it between closing and moving day.

Common questions

Can a smoker's house ever smell completely normal?

Many do, but we don't promise it. Results depend on how many years of smoking the house saw, how thorough the cleaning and painting are, and whether soaked materials get replaced. Homes where the work is done in the right order usually smell noticeably fresher.

Is paint alone enough?

Usually not. Paint over unwashed walls can let the smell come back through, especially on hot days. Wash first, then use a stain-blocking primer, then paint.

When should we book the treatment?

Call during the option period for a phone consultation and quote, then book the treatment for after closing, once the cleaning, painting and flooring are done and before your furniture arrives.

Get a free phone consultation

Book a free phone consultation. A Comfort Advisor will call you, learn what's going on in your home and send a written quote based on square footage. Pure Maintenance Austin, brought to you by Gold Eagle Services, serves all of Central Texas, including College Station, Round Rock, Georgetown, San Marcos, Bastrop and Marble Falls.

Call 512-904-4646 or email IAQ@goldeagleservices.com. We're open Monday through Saturday, 7am to 7pm.