Azaleah,
I’m sure that each state differs, but I typically choose to disclose when in doubt. The tenants or buyers will discover it soon enough anyway.
I like your “unnatural” description. I simply refer to mine as my murder house when not talking to prospects. I disclose the death upfront on the phone and my best guess is that it disturbs about 50% of the callers. Unfortunately, this house also has a layout issue which was not apparent to me at the time of purchase. It’s not that bad, but when combined with the death, this particular house is a challenge to move when it becomes vacant.
That said, I’d buy another murder house if I thought the numbers made it worthwhile. Hope that helps…
Hi,
I am starting out as a REal Estate Investor. And there
is this one property selling below market rate. We made
an offer and we were given a counter offer disclosing
that an unnatural death occurred in the house 2 years
ago.
My question, should we still take the property ? If
we buy it, and rent it out, should we disclose this
event to our tenants ? If we flip it and sell it, should
we disclose this event to the prospective buyers ?
Is there any site I can check out when disclosure of
this kind are mandatory ?
I am not sure if I should proceed with this and any
help is greatly appreciated.
Re: Q:disclose unnatural deaths to tenants ? - Posted by Lance (ID)
Posted by Lance (ID) on April 18, 2002 at 11:25:02:
Azaleah,
It is always agood policy to disclose everything including a death on the property. Such a fact may be very material to someone buying it as a personal residence and not important to someone buying it as investment property.
Also, check your state laws. Properties which have had unnatural deaths or even supposedly ghosts are called “stigmatized” or “psychologically impacted” properties. Because of buyer lawsuits over non-disclosure and questions about whether death from a terminal disease such as AIDS on a premises had to be disclosed, several states, and I believe California, adopted statutes regulating disclosure of such issues.
Did they take the body away? Good enough. People die everyday. Some die in houses. Some die in houses at the hand of someone else. Sometimes its suicide. To me, if the body is gone its over.
Then again, I don’t believe in ghosts.
I purchased a house at sheriff sale and the owner shot himself in the living room. I didn’t find this out until a neighbor told me. I said, “ok, thanks for the info.” A few days later I had someone that was interested inthe house. They said to me, “Did you know someone died in this house?” I said, “Yes, but they took the body away.”
So, I asked my attorney, “do I need to disclose this death to my buyer”. I was told no. It is not a defect with the house.
This is my take, hey but what do I know …
You do what you feel is right and always follow your state’s disclosure laws. But since I am not an attorney, I follow the advice of mine.