Advertisement
Selling a Haunted House: Do You Need to Disclose That It’s Haunted?
Home » Blog » Paranormal Headlines, Halloween Headlines, Real Haunted Places
November 7, 2019 By Wendy
When selling a haunted house there may be disclosure laws that apply
Photo by: William Alexander via Pixabay
When selling or buying a house, is it necessary for information to be disclose on whether it’s haunted or has paranormal activity? That is a question Zillow recently investigated.
In its analysis, it found that most states don’t require home sellers to disclose that information, but there are such real estate disclosure laws in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Minnesota.
So, if you have a haunted house and fail to inform the buyer or if you are a buyer of a haunted house, but that information wasn't disclosed to you in advance of the purchase, under some courts the home sale can be rescinded. This is possible in New York state. In New Jersey state, it would apply if the buyer asked.
What About a Death on the Property?
Someone dying on the property may not necessarily mean the house is haunted, but there are in fact laws around the disclosure of a death on the property.
According to Zillow’s analysis, there are nine states with disclosure of a death on the property laws. “In California, sellers must disclose a death on the property within 3 years. In Alaska, a death within one year must be disclosed. In South Dakota, sellers must disclose a homicide on the property.”
Other states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, New Jersey and South Carolina require sellers to disclose a death on the property only if asked.
For a full break-down, Zillow offered this table below for review:
|
State |
Direct Mention |
Court Decisions |
Statutory Language |
|
Alabama |
No |
A court ruled that a seller must disclose any material (important) defect or condition that (1) affects health or safety and (2) is unknown to the buyer |
N/A |
|
Alaska |
No |
N/A |
Seller must disclose, if knows, murder or suicide on property w/in last year. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
Arizona |
No |
A court ruled that a seller must disclose important facts that might negatively affect the value of the property. |
N/A |
|
Arkansas |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property (Homicide/suicide). Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
California |
No |
A court ruled that a death on property may be material if the death has a major effect on the value of the property |
Seller must disclose death on property w/in last 3 years |
|
Colorado |
No |
N/A |
Facts that could cause psychological impact or stigma, such as death, are NOT required to be disclosed. Paranormal activity likely not required to be disclosed |
|
Connecticut |
No |
N/A |
Unimportant facts, such as death (and although no caselaw, likely paranormal activity) don't need to be disclosed. Seller must tell buyer about murder or suicide if buyer asks. |
|
Delaware |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property. Seller must answer truthfully if buyer asks about psychological impacts. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
District of Columbia |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Florida |
No |
N/A |
Unimportant facts, such as deaths, don't need to be disclosed |
|
Georgia |
No |
N/A |
Seller not required to disclose deaths but should respond truthfully if asked |
|
Hawaii |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose any occurrence that had no effect on the physical structure or the physical environment of the property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
Idaho |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
Illinois |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Indiana |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
Iowa |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Kansas |
No |
N/A |
Seller only needs to disclose important physical facts about property. Paranormal, Stigma, or psychologic impacts NOT mentioned |
|
Kentucky |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Louisiana |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
Maine |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Maryland |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Massachusetts |
Yes |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property, including an alleged parapsychological or supernatural phenomenon. |
|
Michigan |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose any fact that had no important effect on condition of property. |
|
Minnesota |
Yes |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose any fact that doesn't affect buyer's use or enjoyment of the property, including "perceived paranormal activity ..." |
|
Mississippi |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose fact that a death occurred on property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
Missouri |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
Montana |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose any fact that had no important effect on condition of property. |
|
Nebraska |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Nevada |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose fact that a death occurred on property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
New Hampshire |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose fact that a homicide or suicide occurred on property. Seller must disclose if buyer asks. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
New Jersey |
Yes |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose "psychological impairments" (murder, suicide, or "a property purportedly being haunted"). Seller should disclose known info if buyer asks |
|
New Mexico |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose fact that a homicide or suicide occurred on property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
New York |
Yes |
Referring to paranormal activity at a home, courts will rescind the sale if the seller (1) takes unfair advantage of buyer's ignorance as to the house's reputation [of paranormal activity] and (2) the seller herself creates and perpetuates that reputation. |
Excluding case law, a seller doesn't need to disclose that the house was site of homicide, suicide, or accident. |
|
North Carolina |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose fact that a death occurred on property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
North Dakota |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Ohio |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Oklahoma |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property. Seller must disclose if buyer asks and a suicide or homicide on property is important to decision. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
Oregon |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose any fact that had no important effect on condition of property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
Pennsylvania |
No |
A court ruled that purely psychological stigmas are not important defects of property that sellers must disclose to buyers. |
N/A |
|
Rhode Island |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
South Carolina |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose psychologically affected property (death or manner of death). Seller must disclose if buyer asks about psychological impacts. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
South Dakota |
No |
N/A |
Seller must disclose if homicide occurred on property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
Tennessee |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose any act/occurrence that had no effect on physical structure of property, or that there was a homicide or suicide on property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned. |
|
Texas |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose fact that a death occurred on property. Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
Utah |
No |
N/A |
Seller doesn't need to disclose fact that property is "stigmatized." Paranormal activity NOT mentioned |
|
Vermont |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Virginia |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Washington |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
West Virginia |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Wisconsin |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Wyoming |
No |
N/A |
N/A |
Happy Haunted House Selling and Buying!
Comments
There are no comments for this article.
Get the conversation started below!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Log In / Create Account