A Dark History – Would You Buy a House Where You Knew Someone Had Died?

It’s a question that might not come up in conversation right away when you are viewing a home in Freeport or surrounding areas. Would you feel comfortable buying a home where you knew that someone had passed away? What if the house was priced lower because of its death stigma and you could get a really cheap deal? Would the savings be enough to win you over?

It’s quite an interesting question to consider and many people will disagree on their answers. For the practical and un-superstitious types, the question is quite silly. What does it matter what happened in the home previously? However, some people simply can’t shake the thought of the previous owner’s death from their mind and will always feel slightly uncomfortable about it, even if they can’t explain it. Maybe they believe in ghosts, or perhaps they just feel a sad or heavy energy when they are in the home that they don’t like.

Stigmatized properties where people have died, especially if it was a result of a murder or suicide, are often very difficult to sell. According to HGTV, these types of properties can be on the market for at least 45 percent longer than other comparable houses.

Does the Seller Have to Tell You?
If these properties are so much more difficult to sell because of the deaths that occurred within them, why aren’t sellers simply pretending that the previous incident did not happen? The answer is that in many states there are laws that require real estate agents to disclose the facts to potential buyers. In some states, such as South Dakota and Alaska, realtors are obliged by law to tell the buyer about a homicide or suicide on the property in the last 12 months. In all other states, the realtor must answer questions truthfully if the buyer asks directly (however not everyone thinks to ask).

Also, keep this in mind when you are buying an older property – 100 years ago it was much more common for people to be born and to die in their own homes. There is always a better chance that an older home has seen at least a death or two.

How Did the Previous Owner Die?
Of course, this is something to consider when you are deciding whether to buy a house. Perhaps it was a very elderly man who passed away peacefully in his sleep, or maybe the home was broken into and the previous owner was shot by the burglar. The second scenario has a lot more implications when deciding to buy the home about the general safety of the neighborhood it is located in.

So what do you think? Would you be freaked out by owning a home where someone had died or would it not bother you? If you want to talk more about real estate and home buying, contact me at aubra@aubrarealtor.com or at 815-275-6610.