When my mother's health was in a major decline, she did not want to go to a hospital or nursing home.  She knew (at least on some level) that she wasnt' going to be around much longer, and she wanted to be at home when the end came.  And we honored her wishes. 

A few months after she passed, we listed the house, and during the first week or so that the house was on the market, a prospective buyer wanted to make an offer.  When she learned that the sale was to settle an estate, she asked if the seller had died in the house.  I sent the listing agent an email to pass onto the buyer explaining that yes.  My mother died in the house, peacefully and surrounded by children and grandchildren who loved her.  I explained that she basically  died of very old age, and she had had a wonderful life in this house.  Alas, the buyer had a thing about this particular issue, and she decided against the house. 

And it reminded me of a transaction I had back in the '80s.  It was the stone house on the right.  And it had been owned by a lovely elderly gentleman who always wore (at least in the winter time), a cashmere coat and bowler hat, and every day he took a walk through the neighborhood into his 90's. For many decades, he served as the president of the neighborhood association.

Then one day, he didn't take his walk, and people noticed.  A neighbor had a key, and he went into the house and found that he had died peacefully in his sleep. 

One of my investor clients bought the house from the estate, and I worked with him to get it removated and back on the market.  And he gave me strict instructions to put on the fact sheet that this lovely old gentleman had passed in the house. 

At the first Open House (for neighbors only on Saturday), a bunch of the neighborhood little old ladies dropped by.  They all had had crushes on him and may have, um, dated him?  OK, and at the time they were probably the same age that I am now. 

And several of them said, "Honey, there's no ghost here!  He's moved on!" 

And at the second Open House for the public the next day, the couple who bought the place thought it was a very good sign that the previous owner had died in his sleep in his own home in his 90's. 

So what am I saying here?

If you have an elderly parent who is in failing health, and if they want to opt for home hospice, I think you owe it to them to honor their wishes.  But there are some people who come from cultures where it's not cool to live in a house where someone has died.  They don't care that the seller lived for 200 years old and had a wonderful life and won a Nobel Prize for Peace and a Pulitzer for a the novel of the century.  They don't notice that the house has a great vibe and that Elvis (or in this case, Alice) has left the building. 

But I gotta say, the people who eventually bought my mom's house didn't even ask.  If they had, I would have sent them the same email that I sent to the first buyer, and I doubt that it would have mattered.  Oh!  And I'm sure that my morther would have loved them. 

 

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Post is included in group: Bartender, Make it a Double
Post is included in group: Memoirs In The Rain
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51 Comments on When Someone Has Died In Your Listing, Do You Disclose It?

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MAR
18
499,137 Points 13 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Hi Patricia, in Florida that is not consider "materially affecting" value and so we don't have to disclose.
1:28pm • #32
197,051 Points 2 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Hit Router Called Shot Master

My daughter and I had the privilege of watching as my Dad died peacefully in his home of 30+ years, with my Mom holding his hand.  I can't imagine how that could possibly taint a home.

 
1:32pm • #33
Outside Blog

I bought a house from probate sale back in the late 80's, improved it, and lived in for a few years. I enjoyed every bit of that house just like its old owner did. No problem whatsoever, however it is required by law to disclose in CA, instead of disclose passively.
2:46pm • #34
1 Featured Post

If asked I do.   We don't have to disclose that in Texas BUT you know the first thing the "helpful" neighbors are going to say is ....it's just so sad_________ (fill in the blank).  Better to disclose than to have issues later. 
2:53pm • #35
156,608 Points 21 Featured Posts Outside Blog
My father died, as he wished, in our family home. It was a peaceful and calm experience and I wouldn't have had it any other way. The buyer of the house knew, the town is small, and it was never discussed. I'm sorry there are folks who cannot appreciate the idea that leaving this world surrounded by your loved ones and in your home is a valued way of life in many parts of America. Certainly I would answer the direct question as you did. In my market, I find it best to disclose (barring breaking a law) to buyers, anything the neighbors will tell them later. If they can't accept it they simply aren't our buyer.
3:11pm • #36
580,685 Points 37 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat, your post shows the importance of emotional considerations buyers have when looking for a home. I remember a few years ago at a Sunday open house, I looked at a charming vintage 1930's house ... this was in the San Francisco Bay area ... and the listing agent told me that the owner had not only died there, but had committed suicide .. in the bathroom's tiled shower. He added that a "cleansing ritual" had been performed, to encourage any spirits to move on peacefully.

I must admit that it kind of gave me the heebie-jeebies when I thought about it later.  In CA, disclosing a death in the home is law.  Somehow, the details about this home stayed with me for quite a while.
3:12pm • #37
1,913,946 Points 386 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Thnaks for all your comments! 

And you're right.  The laws vary from state to state.  And it really doesn't matter to many of us, but in some cultures it's important.  I guess that's why we have new construction!
3:49pm • #38

There's a pretty good chance that, in an older home someone died in the house of an illness or old age.  In TN, we are required to disclose anytihng that has to do with the condition of the house but not whether anyone died in it.  This is information that the buyers can get from the neighbors.  Gossip is not part of my job description unless the seller specifically instructed me to disclose.  I'd want to know why before I moved forward with it.  

It just occurred to me that I just sold a listing a few weeks ago in which the seller recently passed and while the buyers were told that the owner passed and the home was left to his children, it never crossed my mind to mention that he passed in the home nor was I asked by the buyers or anyone else if he had. 
3:58pm • #39
664,629 Points 17 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat - beautiful story - I think folks are silly to avoid a house where someone has died peacefully.  That house has great vibes in it.
6:23pm • #40
587,499 Points 106 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Paatricia - Some people are just strange. Maybe they're afraid of death? I can see being put off by a violent death - such as suicide or murder. Energy does stay within a house. But a peaceful death, surrounded by loved ones, is simply a part of a good life.
6:35pm • #41
292,525 Points 20 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Hi Pat,  CA law is very explicit.  It's the result of a lawsuit in San Francisco about 20 years ago that ruled a death is a "material fact" that must be disclosed if it occurred within 3 years of the sale.  Then the activist LGBT community got it modified to exclude death from HIV/AIDS.  In that case it's deemed confidential and it's NOT a material fact.  UNLESS, the listing agent or seller is asked directly if the death resulted from HIV AIDS.  So the dark joke is to wheel grandma into the backyard just before she passes.  Most listing agents disclose a death even if it's more than 3 years and especially if it was a suicide or homicide.

To avoid deals falling through we disclose it prior to ratification of the contract and let the buyer decide if it's "material" or not.
9:24pm • #42
196,337 Points Outside Blog

People have been dying since birth, so if the death has recently occurred, of course you want to disclose it and should that be a major issue for the buyers, another buyer will come along, they have and will continue to buy homes even if the sellers died there. 
11:37pm • #43
MAR
19
879,136 Points 48 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

We are to disclose murder, or death due to a material defect, but other than that, we do not have to disclose.  When asked my opinion, I always say that it is best to disclose. If it is going to freak them out, I would rather they find out about it BEFORE they purchase it, rather than after. The ultimate decision on disclosing death by natural causes or suicide is made by the seller.
8:27pm • #44
MAR
20
1,024,215 Points 15 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

I think the law here is that if it happenned in the last 3 years I have to disclose - unless it was AIDS related.  But if I ran into the situation I would doulbe check the law.
11:08am • #45
MAR
22
205,531 Points 26 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

I think it is better to get this information disclosed as quickly as possible. when the buyers find out later from the neighbors a certain percentage will be mad.
2:36pm • #46
1 Featured Post

Actually, I say yes and no.  If a person dies in a home where a crime is involved, then I think it is a must to disclose it.  If they died from a disease, it would depend on the disease and if it is contagious or not.  If it was from natural causes, it should not be necessary unless asked.
6:57pm • #47
111,551 Points 8 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

As several fellow Californians have pointed out, it is the law that we must disclose if someone has died in the home within the last 3 years.  It's interesting, but in that siutation, I've never had anyone question the manner of death, which to me would be my first question!  As a buyer, I don't think i could buy a home where someone was murdered...just way too much negative energy to overcome!
10:15pm • #48
MAR
23
1 Featured Post

I think Marti (#48) is thinking the same way I am.  I am okay with natural causes or even certain diseases, but not some diseases, a suicide or a murder.  To me, that would make all the difference.  I live in a condo association of 100 units that is mainly a 55+ community.  We have 1-2 people a year that die of old age, these are people in their 90's, who will die in their home.  If people didn't buy here just because someone died in the home, we would be half empty.
5:15am • #49
MAR
25
564,572 Points 17 Featured Posts Called Shot Master

We don't have to disclose, in our area, HOWEVER, I have heard situations where the buyers did not know, and find out post- sale, which can create some major headaches.
4:38am • #50
MAY
20
237,916 Points 5 Featured Posts Called Shot Master

What a great story! I would take the same approach as you did.
7:11am • #51

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Patricia Kennedy

Washington, DC

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Evers & Company Realtors

Address: 4400 Jenifer Street NW, Washington, DC , 20015

Office Phone: (202) 364-1700

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Pat Kennedy -- author of The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate -- gives you a look at life on the streets as a real estate broker in our nation's capital. And her blog is peppered with great advice combined with humor!


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