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While I wish no harm on anyone, even self inflicted, I wish my house had been cheaper because of something like that!!! Wouldn't bother me a bit. People die everyday.
You don't even know why it was suicide. Maybe they just found out they had an incurable condition and did the suicide to save the family the trouble of watching them die, or something else like that. Just my .02
Mike, if the information is not disclosed to ALL potential buyers then it is not actually priced in. In the case where the disclosure is made, then I agree, but in this case it is similar to someone trading on "inside info." When someone buys a stock, and had inside info, there is some poor seller that is getting ripped off (because they most likely would have demanded a higher price if they had the info as well.) Same deal here, the unlucky buyers that do not have this information will most likely bid higher than they otherwise would. The Seller is rewarded for the omission of disclosing this info. (But if it isn't against the law...)
From the OP:
"...for the money, the home was big and had very very nice upgrades."
Technically, I agree with you.
OTOH...
"Priced in" being a negotiable and subjective term and status, "...for the money..." seems to indicate, and I edit myself, that the sucide was "...to some degree priced in."
The woman in the house next door to me died in the house (heart attack, 56 yrs old) about 6 months after I moved in to my house. Her best friend purchased the house to use as a rental property. One couple came to look at the house to rent and the wife came over to my front yard to chat w/me after they looked inside and did a tour. She asked me if someone had died in that house because she 'got a weird vibe' while walking through. I didn't lie to her; I told her the previous owner had passed away in the house. She shivered and said, "yeah, I felt something like that had happened."
Well, just to clarify: not afraid of a ghost there or any of that. But the following thoughts DID occur to us:
1. We may never be able to sell the house if we buy it. Case in point. Years ago there was a suicide in my neighborhood. That house was never, ever able to sold or rented till this day. That was about 10 yrs ago .
2. I have children. What if there friends don't want to come over or sleep over?
3. When asked, the seller's agent stated that a cleaning crew cleaned up. Only part of the carpet was replaced. In my husbands profession, and mine, no matter how you think of it, there would be a lot to clean up. I'm not being insensitive, just realistic here.
4. If someone died of natural causes in the house, that would be fine. When we bought this house, the seller told us 4 yrs prior her husband had a heart attack in the home and passed on here in conversation. Didn't bother any of us one lil bit.
It's just an unfortunate experience and has us feeling upset at the moment. We would however, consider another house in that subdivision.
While it doesn't have to be disclosed, if asked, the listing agent must answer truthfully.
Thanks Mike. I didn't mean to imply that the listing agent was somehow being deceptive. I jsut find it interesting that people feel the need to appraoch stangers looking at homes for sale and say "Hey, did you knw xyz happened in that house?"
If asked I would tell the truth too. I am glad to hear that one should expect the listing agent to answer truthfully as well.
I'm in the "ignorance is bliss" camp.. I've lived in two 30 year old houses, and my current house is 22 years old. Honestly I don't want to know what might have happened in my house - as long as it wasn't a meth lab (thankfully atrocious wallpaper isn't toxic, and can be safely removed!).
Thanks Mike. I didn't mean to imply that the listing agent was somehow being deceptive. I jsut find it interesting that people feel the need to appraoch stangers looking at homes for sale and say "Hey, did you knw xyz happened in that house?"
If asked I would tell the truth too. I am glad to hear that one should expect the listing agent to answer truthfully as well.
NRG,
I had the chance to list a home where a murder happened. In conversation with my BIC, she told me to disclose it. The point being, people DO talk to neighbors, and neighbors just love to talk.
So, while the buyers are falling in love with the floor plan, the kids are talking to the kids next door, bust in and wail, "Ma! Pa! Didja know...?" and that is how they discover the situation?
I'd never buy a house where a suicide or murder took place. Natural causes are fine with me.
Sometimes I wonder why some homes are so cheap, or why my current apartment, which has the same layout of my last apartment and is in the same complex, was $200 cheaper.
At this point I don't want to know since I'm already here, but would want to know if I were looking to buy...
That wouldn't affect my decsion to buy a house or not. Cripes, where I live (on Long Island) most of the homes pre-date WW2. God only knows what all went on in these houses. If the walls could talk.....
if it bothers you , then you did the right thing to walk away. BUt I wouldn't think this is something that needs to be "gotten out there". My neighbors bought their house not knowing that the previous owner died in the house and no one is really sure how long she was dead. The could not care less. They got a good deal on it because it had never been upgraded
I'd never buy a house where a suicide or murder took place. Natural causes are fine with me.
Why the difference? Some "natural causes" deaths are worse than suicides or murders. Ever seen a cancer patient die in pain? Ever seen anybody with a cracked skull from falling down the stairs or in the tub? Does intent matter? If so, why? I'm genuinely curious, because I just don't see why it matters. People die all the time, and many of them die in residences. It's just ... the circle of life.
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