Someone Died in This Home…Would You Buy It?
More and more we are hearing about celebrities choosing to spend their final hours at home. Take for example the recent deaths of Patrick Swayze, who died of pancreatic cancer after a 20 month battle; the infomercial king Billy Mays who was found unconscious in his Florida home; Actress Beatrice Author who died in her Los Angeles home; New York DJ personality known as DJ AM found dead as a result of possible drug use; or the passing of Ted Kennedy who chose to die at his home in Massachusetts after his battle with brain cancer.
On one hand, this image can bring a sense of peace to the process of dying; however, for some people the thought of living in a house where someone has died makes them run the other way for personal reasons as well as spiritual reasons.
The California law states that death on a property need not be disclosed if it occurred more than 3 years prior to a sale. If the death occurred within 3 years, and the circumstances of that death are material, such as a gruesome or offensive death, or it affected the reputation of the property, it must be disclosed. Additionally, if a buyer inquires, the seller must disclose any known deaths that occurred in the property, regardless of the time.
But what is considered “material”? Would it make a difference if the death were a result of the natural progression of life or if it was the result of a murder?
What do you think? Would you live in a house that someone died in?
Uncategorized | admin September 28, 2009
