Cleaning up after smokers

[Drew Zoller]

We are in the last days of the due diligence period for a great house where, unfortunately, the owners smoked inside for about 12 years. The smell is apparent, at least to non-smokers like us. We really want the deal to go through, but we’re worried about the smell and possible health consequences. Also, we plan to use part of the house as an Airbnb, so we want to make sure it’s clean before we start renting it out. We’ve found a lot of different options—everything from scrubbing the walls and ceilings, cleaning the ducts, to using an ozone machine. Companies offering those services are quoting from $3-6K. Others say simply priming and painting will clear it up. Has anyone purchased a property with these issues? What did you do to resolve the smoke smell/residue? We got a very good price and agreed to an as-is contract- is this a big enough problem to back out over?

Thanks!