This week, Q&A asks whether smokers' homes sell for less and why tracker mortgages are so popular.

Do smokers' homes sell for less?

I heard an item on the radio this week about houses belonging to smokers being less valuable than those of non-smokers. I didn't catch any other details but it sounds utter nonsense and yet more PC rubbish. Is there anything in it?

Touched a nerve did it? Our guess is that the item you heard on the radio is based on research carried out in January in the UK by ICM. It found that smokers could be reducing the value of their homes by £16,000.

The research arrived at that figure because people said that they would offer up to 10 per cent less for the home of a committed smoker. Some 28 per cent of the people polled (in the research carried on behalf of mortgage lenders the Woolwich) even said they wouldn't buy a property if the owners smoked.

Research isn't an exact science but houses that smell bad can be harder to sell - for obvious reasons. This column recently looked at a smart house in the €1 million-plus price bracket that quite frankly stank of stale smoke.

The ceiling in the livingroom was even a little brown looking, as though a coven of committed smokers spent days on end on the sofa puffing away.

The kitchen was the same and the main bedroom smelt like a nightclub on a Monday morning.

Other smokers mightn't even notice it but take a non-smoking prospective buyer through that house and it'd be a different story. All houses have their own particular smell but a stale smell - smoke, dogs and cats are the main offenders - can really put buyers off.

It's no use plugging in an air freshener or spraying one of those weird sprays - if you are a smoker you need to do some serious airing before anyone views your home. Soft furnishings, in particular, absorb smoky smells, so pay particular attention to heavy curtains and sofas.

As estate agents will rarely tell a seller that their house pongs a bit so, if you are selling, ask a friend to tell you if your house is in any way whiffy and prepare not to be offended by the response.

Why tracker mortgages are popular

What is a tracker mortgage and is it worth looking into for a first-time buyer?

Competition among lending institutions is intense and they're always developing new mortgage products. Tracker mortgages are relatively new to the Irish market and now nearly all lenders offer them.

Basically they "track" the ECB base rate of interest - the interest at which it costs the lender to borrow money - and add a fixed margin to the base rate.

Financial institutions can be a bit slow about passing on falling ECB rates - borrowers became acutely aware of this in 2003 - and that's why tracker mortgages are attractive.

With a tracker mortgage, the interest you pay will be tied to the cost of the funds and won't be dependent on whether or when your lender wants to pass on any ECB interest rates reductions. It's another thing to consider when you are shopping around for your mortgage.

Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.