Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes and I still don't see why it would matter. It is still a house and the house itself had nothing to do with what was done by those who lived there. If someone is so scared their potential home is tainted in some way they should just build a brand new shiny pretty and be done with it. I can guess though, that property they build on will at some point have had someone buried on it.
It matters because in some states if one were to buy it, then put it on the market again a year later, one would have to disclose the house's history to potential buyers. In that situation, it doesn't matter what one believes, it matters what the potential buyers might believe.
And since such houses have a harder time selling, even at a lower price, one might potentially take a loss.
The Cleveland house was demolished to keep sickos from taking pieces of it as souvenirs. The place that did the demo REALLY demolished it, destroying everything that was in it to the point of being unrecognizable to prevent the ghouls from descending.
When we were looking for a house several years ago, I happened to ask real estate agents if they have to disclose anything like paranormal activities, murders etc. They said yes, it should be in the disclosure.
BTW, I grew up in a "haunted house" and know sometimes weird stuff can go on. And I don't believe in spirits or demons or whatever. All I can tell is that something, under certain conditions can occur for which we do not as yet have an explanation.
I sure would want to know if a murder or suicide occurred in a house I was considering. People dying from old age, etc., in a house would not be a concern. But highly emotional goings on--well, it would give me pause.
When we were looking for a house several years ago, I happened to ask real estate agents if they have to disclose anything like paranormal activities, murders etc. They said yes, it should be in the disclosure.
It depends on the state. Here in MA, we do not have to disclose such things. All agents have a duty to be honest though. So, if it's important to you to know you can ask and you should get an honest answer. In the last 50 years, there's only been one murder in my town. While I know exactly which house it happened in (the father of a friend was the victim), I would doubt most other residents in the town would know which house it was or even remember it happening too well and the crime just happened a few years ago.
I was born and raised in Europe and lived in many homes which were hundreds of years old. I'm sure their walls saw many a death and even heinous crimes committed within them. I can see the point of a house being "stigmatized" in some cases but, on previous threads along the same lines, some have expressed the opinion that they would never, ever, live in any house in which someone had died even of natural causes. Each to his own but obviously a line has to be drawn somewhere.
Death is a natural occurrence. Anyone living in a house that has some age to it probably has a history of a death occurring in it. The problem isn't the death, but the negative emotions that accompany some deaths, or traumatic events. A lot of highly charged negative emotions, like constant fighting and arguing will leave a trace of itself behind, IMO. I believe there are "bad luck houses", where nothing goes right for its occupants, and it is often a case of the negative energy that is present.
Not everyone is sensitive to this, but I believe it exists. Disclosure of extremely negative events that happened in the house is important, so the potential buyers can determine for themselves if it is something they can live with or not.
In Idaho, not only is disclosure not necessary, but if asked directly, the seller is allowed to refuse to answer. Of course if you say "I'm not going to respond to that question", that sort of answers the question by itself. But still. There is absolutely no obligation for the seller or the agent to disclose this, and in fact the agent can get in trouble for disclosing it without seller permission.
I once sold a new house to a lovely couple, from a dirt start. The house next door was also under construction. We were at "our" for an electrical inspection when their was an accident at the other house. A framer lost his footing and fell to his death.
After both houses closed the new neighbor came over and told my client they always buy new houses - so it couldn't be haunted.
My clients told me they didn't have the heart to tell him.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
