As part of the house hunt, I visited a house recently.

I was able to cover most of the vital requirements except one big concern. The house has very very strong Agarbathi / Some sort of sandal and other pooja material mixed smell. Its not pleasant. It appears they did not maintain the property well in the last 4-5 years hence the smell has seeped in through all the drapes, carpets and rugs.

I could get rid of the carpet, rugs etc., then do a professional duct cleaning, change the vents, rinse the kitchen cabinets, walls etc., also use vinegar / baking soda bowl along all the possible corners, finally O3 treatment (24 hours + 12 hours recovery period). I see the black dirt piled around vents of the carpet. The odor is intense around the vents, furnace area. I see the filters of furnace, HEPA and Exchange are pretty dirty. Changing the filters, duct cleaning should also help.

As such this is the plan, if any one has any such experience, please share your experiences. There is always an exit strategy not to pick this house and move on but I like to discuss the scenario to handle the situation.

Thanks in advance.

Incidentally, I have a pretty strong nose, could detect smell much more than any one among my friends and family. In this case, my family also confirmed that it is not just me who smell the odor but everyone.

This is likely to act as a great bargaining point to tip of the price, I am very positive about it. Also there isn't really any upgrade (though the structure, layout is great), I could patch in for the upgrade of my choice but battling the odor is little concerning.


Please share your experiences...

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The cowards never started,
The weak died on the way,
Only the strong arrived.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yK1i9cLAMM

If someone smoke in a non-smoking room of hotel, the maintenance staff go through a process of 'Deodorizing' the room. Google it to find out 'how do they do it' - may be helpful.

IMO, replacing carpet, good duct cleaning, treating washable surfaces with vinegar and replacing filters should be enough. Lay the new carpet at the end.

You can also test out by spraying the Febreze in one room first and let it settle down for 10 minutes. Smell coffee beans to reset your olfactics and see the difference. I believe the carpets and rugs hold the smell.

Make sure the house was not a grow house and seller is not trying to mask the weed smell with something else.

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A Delhite in Toronto

You can paint a few of the rooms or get them painted prior to entry.

Remove the carpets and install Hard Wood floors. For the current costs, it will work out to be the same. Also you have the choice of wood and everything will be A100 before you get in. The registers at each vent could be changed to suit your taste.

All the ducts and filters are the next choice. There are good and efficient cleaners who will provide you with videos to back up their work.

Everyone will provide you with a very good suggestion. But your views are well taken as you have these points to chop down the initial price, before purchase.

There are professional appraisers who will give you an estimate and a cost, prior to you picking up this property. All of this only applies if you feel the location is suitable to your liking and meets all of your requirements.

My views are based upon total renewal. No sparing of any expenses and based upon the renewal of all of the materials at the current owner's expense or reduction in price based upon you incrring those renewal costs, plus you shouldering the supervision.

The rest is just cosmetics. Include the family in this dicussion, prior to posting a bid on it.

FH.

Thanks for the input.

The place is finalized as it is very preferred from family standpoint, I could tip off the cost to some extent compared to the other houses in the area but can't get a big reward as the owners are generally confident nowadays with their sale, it also depends whether the owners have needs to move quick.

All the points you mentioned are in the plan, will be executing soon as the closing finishes....

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The cowards never started,
The weak died on the way,
Only the strong arrived.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yK1i9cLAMM