Considering today’s market, it seems like there are few things that could deter home buyers from placing an offer on a reasonably priced house. But what about a recent history of violent crime?
This weekend, USA Today ran a feature about how events like murder and suicide affect the value of the home where they took place. While some consumers are excited by the notoriety, others are put off — that is, if they’re even told about the house’s history to begin with. Many states do not require realtors to disclose whether or not a violent crime occurred on the property, which is why — if this type of thing matters to you — you should always do your own research.
Does it matter to you? Would you buy a home where someone had recently (or not so recently) suffered a violent death? Or would you be too afraid of getting American Horror Story‘d to make an offer?
The reasonable part of my brain knows that a house is greater than the sum of its murders. As realtor Janis Chiapparo — who sold the home in Grosse Pointe, MI where Jane Bashara was murdered by her husband Bob Bashara — told USA Today, “the house was innocent.” Besides, as a resident of New York City, there’s little that would put me off of a good apartment deal because, honestly, what kind of idiot wouldn’t work around a chalk body outline when you’re talking about a place near the subway that costs you less than $1000 a month?
Jokes aside, the idea of living in a violent crime scene makes me decidedly squeamish, thanks largely to my overly active imagination and annoying habit of talking about “energies.” While the chances that you end up in a haunted house/crime beacon are unlikely (some might even say impossible, but remember — the non believers are always the first to go), I’d rather hedge my bets and live elsewhere.
Your turn! Would you live at the site of a horribly violent crime? Do you live at the site of a horribly violent crime? Considering that, at some point in history, someone has probably died everywhere aren’t we all just living on top of layers of death? All important questions.
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