Web Watch was talking with a real estate agent the other day about new home construction, and we thought we’d ask, “has anyone every inquired whether the new home was built on an ancient Indian burial ground?”.
They looked at us blankly, and said “yes”. It’s a quite common question for them, it seems, whether it be new home construction or even trying to find out a bit more about existing home sales.
So whether it be that a home is next to a cemetery (we know one home that has been on the market for over a year, we believe partially due to it sharing a property line with some gravestones), or a home that may have had a natural or tragic death inside its walls — people generally don’t want to live someplace that may or may not have some additional supernatural tendencies.
Especially if they can know about them in advance.
That’s where the website DIED IN HOUSE can help.
Just pop in the address of your future home and see if someone died in your house before you buy it. Deaths are not always included in home disclosures… and according to the FAQ posted on the site, have a house that the court recognizes as “legally haunted” can allow you to back out of a purchase. Other situations have shown that deaths in a home can drop the asking price of the house considerably.
Sure, bargains could be had if you know where to look. Which brings up the question for the comments below: WOULD YOU BUY A HOUSE THAT SOMEONE DIED IN? Would it matter how they died, or how long ago the death happened? Or does it always just come down to price?