disclosure, death in home, paranormal, are you kidding me?

Question

I always thought this was a joke until I got the disclosure statement from my agent.

It asks if their is any paranomral activity in my home such as alien sightings or ghosts,etc.?

It also asks if anyone has ever died in the home?

If anyone ever has to answer yes to these questions, won't it likely kills any likley sale?

And who would answer yes andhow the hell would they ever know?

Suppose your great Aunt Martha died at age 96, you mean you have to report this??????

Or that night your came in late a swore you saw felt someone looking at you? You have to report this?

How would a potential home buyer ever know anyhow?

Answer 1

Just answer the questions and don't worry about it. It doesn't sound to me like you have seen any aliens or ghosts. If you do not have the personal experience of someone dying in your home say no. Don't worry about what may have happened before you owned it. It is not required to know the complete history of the house. As far as killing sales, maybe it would kill one sale that the realtor has but more potential buyers will come. Just be honest and don't claim things you cannot prove. You do not report "sightings" that you are not sure of. Only the ones you KNOW. Do not use your imagination to answer questions, use logic only. The only way a potential home buyer would know is if he/she was either supersensative to the paranormal and has had bad experiences, OR the person's imagination is so overdeveloped that he/she can't have a normal life. That is not your problem. So, fill out the papers logically and don't worry about it. I am sure this statement is at the request of one looney person and will not kill any sales from anyone other than her. If I'm wrong and it is your realtor that is causing the problem, get rid of him/her. You don't need to have your house sale with some weird nut.

Good luck to you in selling your home. It can be quite stressful even when there are no oddities you have to deal with.

~Cheryl

Answer 2

I understand your situation. Over the past several decades, this country has attracted a substantial number of immigrants from ethic backgrounds where such situations are of extreme importance to them. If someone dies in a home, they believe the spirit will lurk around there, if it has not been 'properly escorted elsewhere' at the time of death.

At this time, my state laws do not require disclosure of such occurrences, but it is not unusual to be asked about them. Just last year, a young couple from this ethnic background was offering to purchase a home and we suddenly got a call asking if the seller could guarantee that no one had died in the home. The sellers had only lived there three years and had no idea if someone had died in the home prior to their purchase.

This young couple walked up and down the streets until they found a homeowner who had lived there since the home in question was built, and that elderly owner indicated that no one had died there. They were then satisfied and went through with the purchase.

Answer 3

I had to disclose the fact that the original owner's wife had died in the home when I sold a property in TX last year. That fact had been disclosed to me when I purchased it. Didn't bother me especially since she had loved the place and died peacefully. And it didn't seem to bother the potential buyers or the ultimate buyer.

I don't believe in the paranormal, so the answer to that bit of mumbo-jumbo would always be "No!"

Answer 4

Some religions believe that if you enter a home where someone has passed away it may cause harm to that person. California law states that you must disclose a death, murder or anything that has caused someone to pass.

I sold my dad's house and had disclosed the fact he passed away inside the home to everyone who wanted to see inside and to the buyer who bought.

The Buyer complained of a smell and tried to charge me a cleaning fee. Because it was natural and not chemically made he had lost that argument.

Answer 5

If something odd has manifested itself and you are aware of it you are morally responsible to let someone that may also have to live with it aware. But chances are nothing untoward has been brought to your attention and it may make you feel like a fool to discuss such things. so you should not be under any obligation to disclose what does not even exist!