question for realtors - houses with violent pasts (Austin: for sale, foreclosure)

[orngkat]

I have lived in Austin a long time and have always wondered about this. About 15 years ago, we managed a rental property for an elderly out-of-town friend. It was a small old house in Central Austin. The last renters were brutally murdered in the house and it eventually went up for sale and the structure (which should have been deemed historic; but that's another post) was demolished. Yesterday, I drove by it and saw that a large luxury home is being constructed on the site. My question then is ...is a house or lot's history explained to each subsequent owner? Or is there a period after which it just disappears and no one knows? Or do buyers not care about a house's history?

[Trainwreck20]

Who would explain it? The 'period' is the lenght of one's memory. And, if this is a new luxury house, the house has no 'history', anyway......

[atxcio]

I've seen a couple of threads on this forum about this subject... it's a little strange to me, being originally from the east coast.. where the houses are much older. No one really asks or cares. I can understand the curiosity, I guess, but...

If you were staying at a hotel, would you want them to notify you of a murder that occurred in the same room? What about a hospital stay, would you want to know how many people died in your hospital bed?

I think the only rule regarding disclosure is if the house somehow caused death. Like, if someone fell down the stairs or got hit by a beam that fell. Houses that possess evil demons causing voices in your head that may or may not trigger a killing spree, well, no disclosure of that condition is required

Besides that, disclosure will come from the spooky neighbor down the street that has lived in the neighborhood forever, and tells you the tale of the man/woman who was murdered or committed suicide in your house.

For recent events, you can always google the address or check the crime databases.

[cabolissa]

What a grim topic!

[achtungpv]

The seller's disclosure form has a section to list any deaths that occurred on the property.

So, if you have to use the Castle Domain Law, make sure you drag that body out to the Right-of-Way while it's still warm. Last thing you want is for that criminal to drop your property value.

[cabolissa]

Do you remember the story last year about the UK realtor who was showing a home to a potential buyer and came upon the dead homeowner hanging in the closet?

Estate agent finds owner's body hanging in wardrobe as he shows house to buyer | Mail Online

[HappyTexan]

Usually a house is haunted, not a lot

I'd want to know if a ghost roamed the house at midnight !

The Tavern anyone ??

[austin-steve]

The seller's disclosure form has a section to list any deaths that occurred on the property.

The Texas Association of Realtors Seller Disclosure forms asks if the seller is aware of any death on the property, "except for those caused by: natural causes, suicide, or accident unrelated to the condition of the property".

So, a seller would have to disclose murder, but not a death from old age or, interestingly, suicide. Subsequent owners would theoretically be aware of a listed death via the Seller's Disclosure, and an unbroken chain of disclosure would result, until such time as an omission of the past event would occur, perhaps as a result of foreclosure, or an estate sale, or seller living there so long they forget.

Steve

[TexasGirl@Heart]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

The Texas Association of Realtors Seller Disclosure forms asks if the seller is aware of any death on the property, "except for those caused by: natural causes, suicide, or accident unrelated to the condition of the property".

So, a seller would have to disclose murder, but not a death from old age or, interestingly, suicide. Subsequent owners would theoretically be aware of a listed death via the Seller's Disclosure, and an unbroken chain of disclosure would result, until such time as an omission of the past event would occur, perhaps as a result of foreclosure, or an estate sale, or seller living there so long they forget.

Steve

I'm wondering how many states require this type of disclosure. I'm looking at my disclosure for the house I'm selling. There is nothing on it pertaining to any type of death having occurred in the house or on the property. I live in Pennsylvania.

[traceyr13]

Interesting. My Dad died of cancer in our family home, and my Mom was told that when it comes time to sell, she will have to disclose that he passed away in the house. We're from Rhode Island.