Question: I have been looking at homes for a few weeks
now with my Realtor. Many have been vacant. Some of these homes are really
creepy. That got me thinking. Does the seller have to disclose a fact that the
home is haunted or has had a murder inside of it?
Answer: An owner
of a psychologically affected property is not required to disclose that the
property is in this classification. A so called, “haunted house,” as you
described it, is not a psychologically affected property since there is no
formal verification or substantiation that such an entity exists. We know this
is correct for Illinois & Indiana. However, an owner of or agent may not
intentionally misrepresent a fact concerning a psychologically affected
property in response to a direct inquiry from a prospective person who may be
involved in the transaction.
Real estate professionals call homes tainted by murder, sex
scandals or messy divorces as “stigmatized properties.” While they make up a
sliver of the market, they have been a subject of much research and pose a
challenge for brokers.
When purchasing a large, long term investment like a home,
no question to the owner or listing broker is stupid. In fact, a quick google
of the address isn’t a bad idea either.
