10/31/2020
Is the house you want to buy haunted???
Written by Eliza Carter & published in Morning Brew
Haunted houses represent a mainstay of Halloween and the horror/mystery genre, from The Shining to Scooby, Velma, and Shaggy's exploits. But they also represent a horrific, and very real, headache for realtors.
Believe it or not, hauntedness is a legal designation in the real estate industry. If a structure is haunted, it's considered "stigmatized," which means that while there are no material defects, the home "elicits an emotional response," writes Curbed.
So how do you sell a haunted house? Depends on the state
In New York, if the seller has "claimed to the public at large" that the house is haunted, he or she must disclose the spooky status to buyers. But, if you keep the ghost in the attic to yourself, you don't have to say anything to a prospective buyer.
In California, sellers have to disclose to buyers if there's been a death on the property within three years. In Alaska, it's one year.
Every now and then, a creepy vibe can be a selling point. Spokane, WA, realtor Marianne Bornhoft told Curbed she thought chilling rumors about a place called the Polly Judd house helped her sell it.
In the '60s and '70s, Polly Judd took in veterans and troubled people. Several suicides and deaths took place in the house and later owners seemed bedeviled by bad luck, shrouding the place in mystery.
Bornhoft said "the house was so iconic that I think that's what attracted the people to [it]."
That seems to be the exception to rule, because haunted houses are typically not an easy sell. In fact, the presence of haunted houses has been shown to depress the value of homes in the surrounding neighborhood. One recent study of the Hong Kong housing market found that "prices drop on average 20% for units that become haunted, 10% for units on the same floor, 7% for units in the same block, and 1% for units in the same estate."
+ Are you looking for a spooky spot? You're in luck. Both Lynnewood Hall (dubbed the world's largest haunted house) in Elkins Park, PA, and the house from The Silence of the Lambs are on the market.
Happy Halloween!
