2005 West Campus Murder Question

[austin-steve]

Unit 88 sold in March 2007 according to Travis County tax records.

A death in a property by reason other than natural causes is something that is asked and must be disclosed on a seller's disclosure form when selling real estate. I assume the buyer knew the history.

I'd personally probably not want to own a stigmatized property, but I can see how some would not care.

Steve

[L3XVS]

You couldn't pay me to live in a property where someone had died, especially if it was a murder. That's just weird!

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by love roses

puking and fist fights of yrs. past wouldn't bother me. Murdered people would...

We had a buyer ready to write an offer on a house that had been rebuilt/remodeled after a fire. When she learned that the seller's wife had died in the fire, it freaked her out and she didn't want to write the offer anymore. We totally understood. Somebody did eventually buy the house though.

Steve

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

A death in a property by reason other than natural causes is something that is asked and must be disclosed on a seller's disclosure form when selling real estate.

The actual wording is:

"Any death on the Property except for those deaths caused by: natural causes, suicide, or accident unrelated to the condition of the Property."

The actual law, Texas Property Code 5.008, says:

(c) A seller or seller's agent shall have no duty to make a disclosure or release information related to whether a death by natural causes, suicide, or accident unrelated to the condition of the property occurred on the property or whether a previous occupant had, may have had, has, or may have AIDS, HIV related illnesses, or HIV infection.

Now, whether or not a murder would be considered an accident unrelated to the condition of the Property or not is not specifically stated, but I was taught in my real estate classes that the criteria is whether or not a condition of the property CAUSED the death (if someone fell downstairs, for example, that would be an accident related to the condition of the property; if someone was pushed downstairs, or got blind stinking drunk and fell down the stairs, that would not be related to the condition of the property because the property didn't cause the death).

As you can see, this quickly gets into the realm of arguments in court; my advice to clients is to disclose, disclose, disclose, but the law is not so clear.

I live in a house built in the early part of the 20th century. If I were squeamish about living in a house where someone has died, I would have to build a new home to be sure, and I would have to be very careful to research the history back as far as possible of the land on which the house was built. And I certainly wouldn't move to Europe!

[austin-steve]

Now, whether or not a murder would be considered an accident unrelated to the condition of the Property or not is not specifically stated

A murder, by definition, cannot be an accident, otherwise it would be manslaughter.

When in doubt, disclose. I think a high profile murder would be hard to withhold and say that it would not materially affect the decision of a buyer.

Steve

[love roses]

My mom lives pretty close to the house where Andrea Yates killed her kids. I think now someone owns it, but she said for years that thing stood empty. They couldn't even get renters for a long time.

[TexasHorseLady]

I'd think for many people, it would be, in a high profile case like that, not so much the death itself as the gawker factor.

[atxcio]

I guess the same feelings don't apply to commercial properties. I seem to recall that the Anderson Lane strip mall where the Yogurt Shop Murders happened was leased up again fairly quickly (well, after the fire damage was fixed). I can't recall which actual store is in that spot.. Does anyone know? I think it might be the play-it-again sports or a check cashing place.

Very interesting stuff turning up about that case. I'm sure we'll be hearing some of it when the new trial comes up.