Effect of a tragic event on value of a home

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How much if any do you feel a house is devalued if a murder or other tragic event took place in it? There is a house that came up for sale that is in a good location on a nice piece of land. The house itself needs updates but is in average livable condition.

There was a domestic situation there where a person murdered thier spouse inside the house.

Not my first pick of homes due to the situation but it would not neccesarily turn me away completely, depending on price.

The thing that suprised me is the price is around the price of comparables, maybe 10 percent less if that. I do not know if they have disclosed what happened there but the locals know, it's no secret.

I was just kind of surprised of the price, I know it is about to go into foreclosure so maybe they owe enough on it they have to ask that price. I don't know. I just expected it would have had at least a 20 to 25 percent hit on the price. Houses here are selling well, and the area is growing but it's not a trendy or hip place to live.
 
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put in an offer that is 20 to 25% below market and see where it goes. thats a bit much since 5 to 10 years from then no one would remember the incident if it is a suburb. if they do its unlikely that a future buyer would meet them.
 
One thing to consider is if the Murderer was caught or not.
This should be disclosed by the Realtor.
They always return to the scene of the crime.

Me personally, it would turn me off some / I'd always be thinking of it.

There is a house several miles from mine where the Husband was killed in the house by some teenagers from another City.
I don't remember it ever being sold, but I do see a For-Sale-Sigh at the corner (off & on) for several years.
I always felt sorry the Wife who I assumed was still living in the house (I may be wrong if she is)
 
Originally Posted by 5AcresAndAFool
How much if any do you feel a house is devalued if a murder or other tragic event took place in it? There is a house that came up for sale that is in a good location on a nice piece of land. The house itself needs updates but is in average livable condition.

There was a domestic situation there where a person murdered thier spouse inside the house.

Not my first pick of homes due to the situation but it would not neccesarily turn me away completely, depending on price.

The thing that suprised me is the price is around the price of comparables, maybe 10 percent less if that. I do not know if they have disclosed what happened there but the locals know, it's no secret.

I was just kind of surprised of the price, I know it is about to go into foreclosure so maybe they owe enough on it they have to ask that price. I don't know. I just expected it would have had at least a 20 to 25 percent hit on the price. Houses here are selling well, and the area is growing but it's not a trendy or hip place to live.



If I'm buying it 50% plus if I'm selling it not a cent.
 
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Originally Posted by 5AcresAndAFool
How much if any do you feel a house is devalued if a murder or other tragic event took place in it? There is a house that came up for sale that is in a good location on a nice piece of land. The house itself needs updates but is in average livable condition.

There was a domestic situation there where a person murdered thier spouse inside the house.

Not my first pick of homes due to the situation but it would not neccesarily turn me away completely, depending on price.

The thing that suprised me is the price is around the price of comparables, maybe 10 percent less if that. I do not know if they have disclosed what happened there but the locals know, it's no secret.

I was just kind of surprised of the price, I know it is about to go into foreclosure so maybe they owe enough on it they have to ask that price. I don't know. I just expected it would have had at least a 20 to 25 percent hit on the price. Houses here are selling well, and the area is growing but it's not a trendy or hip place to live.

In what city is this house?
 
Probably hurts a little, but the market determines the price.
If it is s strong seller's market, it hurts less and vice versa.
 
If you buy an older home in an over 55 community, chances are someone died in it. Perhaps several. Of course someone dying of old age in their bed is preferred to a shotgun blast to the head. Messy and expensive to clean up. I'd be more concerned if it ever housed a meth lab, or some other kind of drug factory. 7 digit homes in affluent areas have been the victim of that.
 
Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
One thing to consider is if the Murderer was caught or not.
This should be disclosed by the Realtor.
They always return to the scene of the crime.

Me personally, it would turn me off some / I'd always be thinking of it.

There is a house several miles from mine where the Husband was killed in the house by some teenagers from another City.
I don't remember it ever being sold, but I do see a For-Sale-Sigh at the corner (off & on) for several years.
I always felt sorry the Wife who I assumed was still living in the house (I may be wrong if she is)



I totally agree. If it was unsolved or a home invasion situation, no way

In this particular case the murderer was the spouse and they are in custody. They never tried to hide it and never ran.
 
Originally Posted by billt460
If you buy an older home in an over 55 community, chances are someone died in it. Perhaps several. Of course someone dying of old age in their bed is preferred to a shotgun blast to the head. Messy and expensive to clean up. I'd be more concerned if it ever housed a meth lab, or some other kind of drug factory. 7 digit homes in affluent areas have been the victim of that.



I will never buy another home without a test for meth. We live in a methed up area and there have been very nice homes were the drug has been used in and manufactured in....

I'm pretty sure were ok in our 1978 house as we bought it from the original owners whom didnt as much allow anyone to smoke in it, but going foward definitely need to check for possible drug use in house.
 
I won't consider buying my parents place, my mom needs to downsize and I thought about it but my dad died in his room after a fast and furious battle with cancer. Theres just too many sad memories there of his sickness and such. If it was someone else's It probably wouldn't bother me.

Now the murder house I just dont know yet....
 
In my younger years I was landscaping a spec house in a new construction subdivision. We were sodding a mostly complete home while a crew was pouring a slab two doors down. A cement finisher supposedly got to feeling bad in the south Louisiana heat and went inside the home between the one where they were working and where we were working to get out of the sun. His co-workers went to check on him and found him deceased on a stack of sheet rock. There was a sweat outline on the sheetrock later that day when we wrapped up.
I often wonder if the buyers of the home were notified or if that piece of sheet rock got used.
 
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Make an offer if you want the house. In Florida there is no requirement to disclose a murder when selling a house.
 
Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
One thing to consider is if the Murderer was caught or not.

They always return to the scene of the crime.



And do what, kill more people?
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If it bothers you it will bother you at any price and you'll regret it. If it doesn't bother you then so what? You can try to steal it from the owners for their misfortune or you can buy it on market.

You could sure freak out visitors.... "yep, he got his head blown clean off sitting right there where you are."
 
On a side note - people die or get drugged/assaulted in hotels all the time, but we pay good money to sleep on those beds. LOL.

But I can see how a home would carry a deeper concern since your place needs to be your sanctuary. Needs to have good vibes.
 
Originally Posted by 5AcresAndAFool
The thing that suprised me is the price is around the price of comparables, maybe 10 percent less if that. I do not know if they have disclosed what happened there but the locals know, it's no secret.

The asking price should tell you almost everything and take away any "surprise" aspect of it. In this case, yeah, some potential buyers might not like it or be uncomfortable but why cater to them ? The realtor knows that there are far more many potential buyers who won't blink an eye at this so the realtor is pricing it for those. The 10% lower amount could be for any number of reasons (and probably not because there was a murder there).

FWIW, in Indiana, the seller does not have to disclose that a murder happened in the home. Why ? I'd guess that disclosures only apply to physical "issues".
 
Bull, nobody list "murders, and deaths" in house for sale descriptions.

The only way you are going to find out, is asking the neighbors. Realtors will not disclose this, as it would hurt their cut!

Usually bad places get dozed. Legends die. or you find out after the final papers are signed.

I would live in a "haunted house" no problem! Great Grandma has a antique cookie jar from a haunted house, I am the only one with balls to eat cookies from that jar.
 
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