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

Yes, totally. I wouldn’t even want to view.

It would put me off, so a definite no from me, I have a neighbour who smokes cannabis by his backdoor, We are a semi and it wafts into the conservatory and our back bedroom. In the height of summer, you can't have the windows open.

I suppose it depends how long the garden is.

Or how windy {to blow the smoke away} But perhaps in an enclosed garden it will be 'trapped'.

It shouldn't be smelling that badly, unless the bloke is smoking masses of it.

Some varieties smell more than others.

Hot weather seems to intensify the reek.

I wouldn't do a 2nd viewing I'm afraid

It wouldn’t -

We had an elderly neighbour she’s now in a home, house rented out and in moves a weed smoker.

A weed smoker could move into your property - your new neighbours could be weed smokers.

Rather weed than drinkers and loud parties - at least they are generally quiet.

That's really bad.

I do remember hot weather intensifying the smell for some reason.

Maybe though as more people are out and about smoking it..

The local park is reeky on summer evenings- but for months in the winter you nary catch a whiff of the Devil's Lettuce.

I too would far rather live next door to quiet weed smokers than rowdy drinkers
Alcohol ups volume levels like nothing else.

That's a hard no for me. I hate the smell of weed; it's foul.

Great that's he a nice man, and things could be far worse, I know, but I absolutely hate the smell 🤮

Sorry OP, what a nightmare.

Definitely a deal breaker for me, same for heavy cigarette smoking neighbours. Sorry OP.

Yes sorry it would be a hard no from me as the smell makes me feel sick.

It would put me off, I’ve nothing against drug taking but the smell of weed just gets everywhere. My siblings neighbour smokes weed and it gets in the kids rooms and I’d be worried about the smell getting into my clothes, I’m a teacher so it wouldn’t be ideal for me to smell of weed! I’d be put off by the smell of regular cigarette smoke getting into the house too and potentially by some strong cooking smells (eg: fish) as well. I think generally most people don’t want to move into a house which smells bad because of the neighbours.

That would definitely put me off. I've got a son and daughter with epilepsy. Non of our family smokes. But if anyone smokes or vapes near them like at a bus stop it triggers a seizure. Scented candles do as well so wacky backy definitely would.

Would defo put me off, I wouldn't be able to live there as I absolutely despise the smell of it.

wealthy enough to leave traces behind. {edit: a poor user would not do that}

really?

I have bipolar so I'm very anti it, as I know the mental health effects it can have on people.

And even passively smoking it can make me ill.

@Scarletttulips- for me it's not the smoking itself so much, but how all pervading the smell is when it wafts into your house. The smell hangs around- much more than cigarette smoke (IMO) and juts sort of lingers on everything. It's not the person I'd necessarily have any objection to, but depending on frequency, that would irritate me greatly.

Sorry @Cucucachu that would put me off too. Wouldn't it be great if they could grow it so it's odourless?!

SD1978

I get that, bit anyone could move in next door and you don’t have the choice unless you want to sepnd ££££ on moving costs and then you don’t know what you’re getting.

YABU

Yes, I'd definitely not buy it. Inhaling this makes my nose bleed and makes me feel sick. There's no way I could live next door to this. You are absolutely unreasonable to mislead your potential buyers by asking him not to do it during viewings. Imagine a pregnant woman bought this house after you mislead her? She's then passively inhaling this shit and putting her baby at risk. Shame on you for even considering it.

Agreed. It's all a bit NIMBY or rather, NMBYA (Not My Backyard Anymore).

My neighbor does this and it really hurts me. I've had post men, visitors and strangers mention it and I have to try to explain it's his filthy arse not mine. It's not like smoke which drifts, it's a uniquely foul fog that weighs around and doesn't shift. My first 1 wursts in this house were lovely. When he moved in he seemed, no he is, very friendly and nice. But he pollutes my home, my world and life. I HATE him. Can barely look at him and fail to sneer. It's foul

I voted YABU for suggesting a person who openly smokes an illegal substance would be so kind and willing to not do so during your various house viewings. But yes, of course it would be offputting. Sorry you find yourself in this situation.

I'm in Canada so not much help, but no it wouldn't bother me. It's legal here though so not a big deal.

I will say to those who think it's selfish to smoke outside that smoking inside destroys the house and let's be honest we all pollute the air in some way.

There are lots of reasons people smoke pot, many health reasons as well. My ex neighbor had MS and smoked outside. She had kids so didn't smoke in the house.

Honestly, we got a whiff from our neighbours when we were viewing our house and we bought it anyway. Although our house was half the price of yours!

The only downside is now the smell of weed smells like home...

Ouch! Coming to this late, but to add my voice to the throng that no matter how much I liked a house I would never buy it if I could smell pot from the garden/street.

It may be unfair on your neighbour, but I would have serious concerns about late night parties, stoned friends hanging around the street, or even deals going on next door which could turn violent. I would also worry that there could be other illegal activity alongside the drug use.

And putting all that aside it just doesn't smell very nice. I don't want to buy a house on a stinky street.

And asking your neighbour to hold his breath and close his windows while potential buyers visit won't work. Every place I ever bought I walked past multiple times without telling the owner, so I could get a feel for the street, judge walking distance to the shops/station/schools, imagine walking to work/returning home. They will pick it up at some point.