Blackcap Blog

Published at 13:50 on 30 May 2014

Apropos this, the unit that’s $31K more expensive isn’t even nice. In fact, it’s in worse shape than its neighbor, because it’s been smoked in, so quite literally it stinks. It’s going to need to have all the carpeting removed and a thorough deep cleaning (every surface from the ceiling down will need to be scrubbed) and repainting. The other unit only really needed some de-carpeting.

Even for someone who doesn’t hate carpeting like I do, the fact that it has carpet which was installed in the past few years is irrelevant. Virtually nobody wants to live with carpet that reeks of cigarette smoke, and such an odor is virtually impossible to remove without removing the carpeting itself.

The seller probably thinks s/he is entitled to be compensated for the cost of installing the carpet. That’s not how markets work. If you invest your money unwisely, you can and probably will suffer financial loss. And spending a lot of money on expensive carpet and then smoking inside is an unwise investment: two-year-old carpet that’s been ruined by the stench of cigarette smoke is every bit as much dumpster fodder as dated, twenty-year-old, threadbare carpet.

So it’s almost certainly not going to sell anytime soon, because the seller is sufficiently detached from reality to believe she can get a price anywhere near what she is asking. It’s going to linger on the market for months, either selling when the seller finally accepts reality, or not selling and being withdrawn from the market.

Either way, I won’t be moving into it any time soon.