When Buying Real Estate, Follow Your Nose.
Posted By Cliff Tuttle | November 30, 2010
No. 533
If you are looking at homes to purchase, pay close attention during the first few seconds after you open the door.
You may be able to detect a whiff of something bad when first walking in the front door or when you enter a closed room. Then the smell may seem to go away.
An extreme example is featured in the Consumerist. A house that was formerly a meth factory was sold to an unsuspecting couple who became sick and had to move out. But there are other substances that have distinctive odors that can be best detected in the first few minutes after entering a house or a room. This may include the musty damp smell of mold. Or the acrid small of cigarette smoke.