unit smells like weed

Lender · Tampa, FL · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

1y

Just charge more for that unit. The current tenants might not notice. lol

Real Estate Broker · Cape Coral, FL · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

1y

Slow down... Just use an ozone machine to remove the odors. These machines are little miracle workers. We have used ours at least 100 times and we have never failed to remove an odor. Some odors take a little longer, but it has always worked.

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Denise SuppleeBusiness Member
Realtor · Willow Grove, PA · Member since 2017 · 974 posts · 641 votes
1y
Quote from @Adam Bartomeo:

Slow down... Just use an ozone machine to remove the odors. These machines are little miracle workers. We have used ours at least 100 times and we have never failed to remove an odor. Some odors take a little longer, but it has always worked.

This is good advice as well!
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Mike Dymski
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Adam Bartomeo:

Slow down... Just use an ozone machine to remove the odors. These machines are little miracle workers. We have used ours at least 100 times and we have never failed to remove an odor. Some odors take a little longer, but it has always worked.

Are you using them in multiunit properties next to occupied units? The OP has a triplex. Ozone is toxic even at low levels.
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Denise SuppleeBusiness Member

Realtor · Willow Grove, PA · Member since 2017 · 974 posts · 641 votes

1y

Hi @Henry Le nice to meet you here on BP! The marijuana smell can definitely be a challenge, but it’s usually manageable, not necessarily a deal-breaker. Removing the smell often involves deep cleaning, sealing and repainting walls, replacing carpets and possibly air filters or duct cleaning. Full duct replacement is rarely needed unless it’s really extreme. You might budget anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 depending on severity and what materials need replacing.

Your idea to either raise rent to offset cleanup or non-renew the lease is smart, especially if you want to reposition the unit. If the numbers still work after accounting for those turnover costs, this could actually be an opportunity to add value where others might pass.

Tenants can be tricky during transitions, but if you stay professional and honor the lease, you’ll be in a good legal and ethical position. It's not necessarily a red flag- it’s a factor to weigh in your value-add strategy. The price per unit and location sound promising, so it may be worth moving forward if you’re prepared for the cleanup and tenant management.

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Bruce WoodruffPro Member

Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes

1y

Ozone may be enough. In a worst-case scenario, you might need to re-prime the walls and then re-paint....

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Chris Grenzig

Property Manager · Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 479 posts · 277 votes

1y

Quote from @Henry Le:

So my wife and I are looking to purchase a triplex. When we went to view the property, one of the units has a strong marijuana smoke smell. This has us worried about the cost of cleaning this smell up. It is likely has baked into the walls and HVAC ducts. We are wondering how much will it cost to fix this? will we need to scrub the walls and replace the HVAC ducts which sounds expensive? I am sure someone on here has dealt with this issue before.

The property is currently all rented out and we are certain that the current tenants in that unit are smoking weed. The current property owner's property management company seems to be ignoring this issue. If we do move forward with this, i am planning to either increase rent on this unit to help offset cost of cleaning up the weed smoke damage when their current contract expires in October. Or i can just not renew their lease and get them out of the unit by October. How do you approach this kind of issue? i am worry about dealing with existing tenants that will give me a hard time while i honor their current contract.

Is this a red flag to pass on this deal? So it is three units of 2b/1b. Each unit is around 1200sqft. Built in 1980's. The seller is asking 334k. It seems like a decent deal for 110k per unit. There's room to increase value. Good location as there are new developments near by.

The property is currently net zero cashflow but has potential to increase cash flow up to $500 a month after some cosmetic updating. My plan is force appreciate each unit as the current tenants leave one unit at a time and slowly increase rent.

I would appreciate any pieces of wisdom!

I agree with @Adam Bartomeo, these things are usually manageable and their are steps to take. Start with ozone machine or something similar which should work. There are also devices for HVAC equipment to help eliminate smells (at least in FL there are), painters can add smells to new paint as well which can help, and then just do a thorough deep clean which it sounds like it will need regardless.

A very manageable issue that shouldn't kill the deal if you plan for it. I would not keep them around though if you can non-renew. Smell can affect the other residents and cause other problems for you, and good chance their lease says no smoking already so they might be violating the lease and not caring. But in FL it's incredibly difficult to evict someone for this type of reason so it's usually better to just move on and find someone new.

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Michael K GallagherBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Columbus OH · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

1y

furnish it and put it on air bnb as a 420 friendly unit. but to echo others here, not a big deal just rent an ozone and/or have the seller credit you the cost to have it cleaned exceptionally well including the ducts. If you are looking to buy it just use it as leverage to get some closing costs off.

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Alan F.

Flipper/Rehabber · CA · Member since 2023 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

1y

Ozone generators are great for smoke damage, cigs, fire & pot.

Their dangerous if not used properly though

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Matthew CrivelliBusiness Member

Lender · MA · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

1y

Typically marijuana smoke is not as difficult to get out as cigarette smoke. That being said, it doesn't mean it won't be a challenge. I bought a primary residence that was smoked in for about 6 years prior to my wife and I purchasing the property. We had blinders on going in, I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. Well, I ended up using an ozone machine, painting every inch of the 3k sq ft house, cleaning the ducts, tore 50% of the original flooring out and refinished the remaining hardwood. Every window had to be scrubbed vigorously, light fixtures, baseboard trim, even plumbing fixtures had residue. It took about 4 months and 25k in reno before we could move in. Luckily it doesn't sound like your unit is 3k sq ft but still proceed with caution.

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Heath M.

Rental Property Investor · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2017 · 203 posts · 188 votes

1y

I am a believer in an ozone machine, wish I'd have bought mine sooner. I've used it a ton this year, every vacancy we have gets a dose of the ozone machine. It's helped with cat urine, cig smoke, pot, etc. The cat urine I'm ripping everything out, even some sub flooring but that's because of some soft spots but the ozone machine helped a ton to make it tolerable being inside. The worst it smells the better the deal!

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Henry LePro Member

OP

Homeowner · Member since 2024 · 9 posts · 9 votes

1y

thank you for the great advice everyone!

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unit smells like weed

unit smells like weed

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