Have You Ever Lived in a Haunted House? Would You Be Willing to Purchase One?

Although you may think it's a silly question, a lot of people believe in haunted houses and say that they have seen evidence of other beings living with them. Whether you're a believer or not, this may be something to take into consideration when you're selling a home. If you do believe that a house can be haunted, it's something you may have to take into account if you find the home of your dreams! There may be other types of beings inhabiting the property that aren't in human form!

Realtor.com has just released the results of their 2013 Haunted House Report and the results were very interesting. It turns out that approximately 35% of the respondents have lived in a house that they believe was haunted.

How Many People Would Buy A Haunted House

When it came down to purchasing a home that was haunted, 34% said that they would buy it at a discounted rate of 1% to 30%. At the same time, 22% said that they would only buy one if it was discounted anywhere from 31% up to 50%. Surprisingly, 19% would only purchase a spooky house if it was discounted more than 50%.

Buyers want to know everything they can about a home before buying it and that includes whether it is haunted or not. There are even some people that will go as far as to research the history of the property to make sure that there aren't any haunting features attached to it.

Some of the signs that could lead to a respondent believing that a home was haunted included the following:

• Close to a battlefield
• Home priced low for no explainable reason
• House is more than 100 years old
• The property is on a cemetery
• Fast turnover by owners

In 2012 another survey was conducted by realtor.com and it showed that 32% of potential property buyers would purchase a home if it was haunted but would expect a discount on it. As well, most potential buyers also said that if they saw ghosts acting up when they were on a house tour they wouldn't go ahead with the purchase. On the other hand, 41% of the respondents said that it would be okay with them if ghosts remained in the home if the they stayed invisible and didn't bother them.

Are Sellers Required to Disclose That Their House May Be Haunted?

While some people may be actively intrigued by the possibility of living in a haunted house, for others, the prospect is less attractive. They would rather know if a house is suspected to be haunted so that they could make a decision based on this factor. However, is a haunting something the seller is required to disclose?

Laws Regarding Real Estate and Haunted Houses

Readers may be surprised to learn that Canadian law has, in fact, covered whether a potential haunting must be disclosed by a buyer. 

The answer is based on the obligations that a seller has to a buyer during a sale. When a home is being sold, certain defects, known as patent defects, must be disclosed. These can include things like a leak in a basement or a problem with the foundation.

Latent defects, on the other hand, are defects that are not immediately apparent and may or may not eventually have an effect. Under case law in Calgary, a potential haunting is considered a latent defect. In one decision, the judge said that a haunting must not only be proven, but that it must be proven to render a building uninhabitable. Since it is hard to prove the invisible, especially when previous owners have had no problems, a haunting is latent defect that doesn't need to be disclosed before a sale.

Would you live in a haunted house? If you're not too worried about sharing your home with ghosts you may be able to pick up quite a bargain by searching for homes that come with a haunted history!