![\"Cemetery](\"http:\/\/www.amybergquist.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Cemetery.jpg\" "\\"Cemetery")
Would you want to know if someone was previously murdered in a house you were thinking about buying? Would it matter to you? Kind of a gruesome question, yes, I know. But sometimes a worthwhile one to ask, particularly if it would matter to you.<\/p>\n
Did you know that Connecticut does not<\/strong> require real estate agents or sellers to disclose if a property is “psychologically impacted” unless the buyer puts forward a request in writing? The law defines a psychological impact as the effects of certain circumstances- such as the fact that the property was the site of a homicide, other felony, suicide or ghost haunting. The law does not see these issues as “material facts” and therefore they do not affect the physical property itself. So, by law, such information is not considered relevant to a purchaser’s decision to buy a property according to the state.<\/p>\n I would guess that some buyers wish this wasn’t the case. I know that some people would not consider buying, or sometimes even seeing, a property if they knew a violent crime occurred there. It just skeeves people out. They are afraid of bad energy or karma or ghosts. So if I am representing a buyer and I know that someone was murdered in the house, do you think I’m going to tell them? Heck yes! Would I ever want a neighbor running over to a new buyer moving in saying “So, you bought the house where the family was murdered!” and have my buyer calling me saying “What the heck!” Heck no!<\/p>\n Now, this isn’t a widely common problem, but it has been on my mind recently. There is a home for sale in my neighborhood where a multiple murder-suicide took place a little over 20 years ago. Many people in the neighborhood know about it and most could tell you which home it is. Because I often help buyers in the neighborhood, I’ve had several people ask me about the home which is at a low price now because it’s bank owned. I always tell them specifics about the property which is a lovely place but does need quite a bit of cosmetic work. I then also bring up that there was a tragedy that occurred there awhile back. Several buyers have passed on seeing it just because of that, while others have gone to see it because it doesn’t matter to them.<\/p>\n While it’s my goal to sell houses, my role as a buyer’s agent is to be an honest advisor. The state doesn’t feel that psychological impacts affect a purchaser’s decision, but I tend to disagree based on my experience.<\/p>\n Readers, what are your thoughts on this? Would you prefer to know if something “bad” happened in a property? Or does it not matter to you? A house is a house is a house?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Would you want to know if someone was previously murdered in a house you were thinking about buying? Would it matter to you? Kind of a gruesome question, yes, I know. But sometimes a worthwhile one to ask, particularly if it would matter to you. Did you know that Connecticut does not require real estate agents or sellers to disclose if a property is “psychologically impacted” unless the buyer puts forward a request in writing?<\/p>\n