Would this put you off buying a house? (And what can I do about it)

[Cucucachu]

We are trying to sell our house. I think it has a lot going for it, we’ve worked really hard on it and it’s marketed as “immaculately presented”. There’s new extension, new boiler, new bathroom, new kitchen, in a desirable location. End of terrace.

Our neighbour is nice enough but smokes weed pretty constantly. Its stinks. He smokes mostly on his terrace behind so if any of the back windows are open, or being in the garden/on the street you can smell it a lot of the time.

if you came to a viewing and the neighbour was obviously smoking weed would it put you off in this case?

and WIBU for us to give him a heads up about when viewings are , maybe ask if he would mind not smoking it outside during that time?

he is generally very nice and we have no issues apart from this - I don’t want to piss him off by insinuating he stinks and might hold us back selling our house

I smoke weed, (medical reasons) and I'm actually really worried about how the smell will affect the house when I sell. Also cigarettes have been smoked here indoors for 40 years. I luckily have outdoor space which doesn't encroach the neighbours but i mostly smoke indoors.
Seems he smokes outside only? Maybe his landlord doesn't allow smoking in the house? I think if he's nice you should ask him lightheartedly but firmly when you are having a viewing and say please don't smoke out there for the duration. No need to mention 'what' he's smoking. It is technically illegal isn't it... so surely he will comply else risk police or fines?

@Scarletttulips- absolutely! And if someone moved in next door who did- I'd put up with it, and not say anything- because really no one cares anymore- it's barely illegal and I get that. However if it was my choice to move in next door to it, as opposed to someone who does moving in next door to me- I'd take the house off the list.

I live next door to weed smokers. I hate the smell. It was a serious problem during the pandemic when the neighbours were all wfh at their customer service jobs and seemed to spend the time constantly smoking outdoors. It's been a lot better since they've had to go back to the office. (I was also working from home and the smell was horrible - even keeping the windows closed didn't make a difference.)

It gets into the baby's room, even when the windows aren't open.

There's a lot of concern about second hand cigarette smoke these days, but nobody seems to care about second hand cannabis smoke.

I am aware many weed smokers are lovely people but that's not really the point. Sorry OP, but I would never knowingly buy a house next door to a frequent weed smoker ever again.

I wouldn't mind the smell, would mind more if neighbour looked "dodgy". Would be more put off by evidence of children living next door as am sensitive to high pitched sounds

Causing learning difficulties may sound like a stretch but then who would have thought that secondhand tobacco smoke would cause SIDS and stunt growth in kids until the connection was made?

Recent research shows cannabis looks like it may hinder memory, motivation and executive function and lower IQ in youth and young adults and that people around cannabis smokers get cannabinoids in their system from secondhand smoke. So it’s not much of a stretch to consider there may be a more significant impact on very young children. I wouldn’t let my kids grow up somewhere they were breathing in cannabis smoke regularly.

It would put me off yes - it's a foul smell.

It wouldn't put me off but I live next door to stoners/dealers.
I used to live next door to coke heads.
They were a nightmare. Apart from the smell which I can take or leave I'm just happy they are nice people who aren't loud & take care of their house.

I would put me off too. That stuff is getting really strong and stinky. I don't mind the smell, it's how it travels and lingers. I drove past another car with car windows shut and just the waft that sacked in my engine was insane. I don't want to smell of weed. I smell it on people's clothing and sorry to say I do make assumptions. The odd joint I can't smell. Daily smoking of it multiple times? It sticks to you. I'm not even that anti it's use.

No way would I buy it. I wouldn't even rent a house next to a druggie, never mind buy it! Who wants to bring their children up in a house that stinks of weed.

@User1789 That wasnt what i meant - this was a colleague who had moved into rental accommodation which was above a flat where there were heavy weed users/growers and the police were regularly called yet did nothing. My colleague's child never really spoke and the doctors/experts couldnt figure out why. He was telling me about this and i said i wondered if there was something in the fumes that was constantly feeding into their flat from when she was born that may have impacted their child. It wasnt a case of just the odd smoke, this was constant weed growing fumes. They ended up moving further out of London.

I would not want a drug addict next door to my kids. I assume he also doesn’t work and just bums around? It would be a hard no.

I wouldn't be looking to buy in a rough area anyway so assuming it's a pleasant area then it wouldn't put me off at all.

You can be respectable and smoke weed.

yes it would 100% put me off. Onward sale could be tough and it's unpleasant to live with.

Rtft and you’ll realise that’s not the case

Thanks for your feedback. DH is going to speak to him today.

We have our first viewing coming up and if anyone asks I’m not going to lie but I will tell them he is also a generally good neighbour and we’ve not had an issues, which is true.

I think you need to reframe it.

It will clearly put people off as this thread shows. Asking hom stop temporarily so that you can sell your house is deceptive and quite unfair to the new buyer, never mind crossing a boundary on how he lives in his own home. Imagine you were treated the way you intend to treat him and the buyer and think about how you'd feel.

Can you think of ways to deal with the smell? Planting taller trees as a buffer, adding a trellis and scented flowers, moving the seating area, putting in an external fan unit, outdoor citronella candles, putting up fencing ina way that the wind moves the smell away from the house.

Imagine you hate the smell and how you would manage it yourself and put yourself in the buyers position.

At least then of someone views it then they can see how the smell can be managed.

Why on earth would you assume that? And not even bother reading the thread. As much as I personally am really no fan of weed, I do have friends who smoke it recreationally and can absolutely guarantee they are in senior positions in their line of work, and this man is a professional.

If he’s a nice guy as you say, then a simple and polite, can you not smoke weed whilst we habe viewings I suspect will be fine.

I do feel sorry for anyone buying though, most people don’t like the smell and wouldn’t be happy finding this out. And I suspect you know full well no one is going to ask if the neighbours smoke weed.

I also have a very nice neighbour who is a keen weed smoker... maybe you live next door but one to me!

I think it probably would put me off if I could smell someone smoking weed when I came to look at a property. I have no problem with my current neighbour's weed smoking, but I would say that he is not a 'typical' habitual weed smoker for this area. He's a really nice man with a job, a lovely wife and a lovely dog and actually shares quite a few of my interests!

However, if I came to view a property and smelt weed coming from the neighbours' garden, I would probably not assume those neighbours were like mine, if that makes sense? Obviously lots of people smoke weed in their own homes and are absolutely fine and not a problem, but apart from my current neighbour, my general experience (admittedly taken from previously living in a much rougher area than I do now) is that habitual weed smokers are usually loud, unstable, antisocial arseholes, and I'd be wary of them living next door.

DH spoke to NDN - he was totally fine with it.

He didn’t realise it was wafting into our house/garden so much.

not sure exactly what he’s going to do but his terrace is only the width of an average pavement so it’s not like he can just go down the garden BUT he did say he’ll avoid viewing times and just be more considerate in general.

sadly, edibles are not readily available in this country--unlike much of the US where excellent and professional dispensaries are common in many states. Here the 'edibles' only have CBD and no THC.

Wouldn’t bother me but I come from Bristol and the entire city stinks of weed morning, noon, and night…

Would absolutely put me off, just cigerrete smoke would also put me off. I grew up with a chain smoking mother. It permanently fucked up my lungs. It’s disgusting. I wouldn’t want this, it’s important to be able to open my windows and doors without being subjected to someone’s drug habit

Yes, I’d hate this and it would definitely put me off. My former neighbour used to smoke it and it seemed to find its way into my house by osmosis. The smell is horrible and very distinctive.

Oh great, going down the deception route then 😑