Four Ways to Avoid Buying a Haunted House
| October 28, 2014
Your buyers have just started settling into their new home. Then the lights start flickering off and on by themselves. The buyers shrug it off as a minor electrical issue. Then they begin to hear weird noises in the middle of the night. No big deal, it’s probably the house settling. Then things start flying off shelves and crashing to the floor. If all of these things happen, it may mean that they’ve purchased a haunted house.
Keeping with the spirit of the Halloween season, here are four ways to help your buyers avoid buying a haunted house.
1. Do Your Research
Everybody loves an older house with character, but what if that character comes at a cost? Haunted houses are usually haunted as the result of a horrible act taking place in them. A quick Google search of an address will often pull up any noteworthy event that has taken place there.
2. Ask the Seller’s Real Estate Professional
If an internet search does pull something up, ask the seller’s agent about it. Some buyers may feel a haunted house is a stigmatized property. You can ask the seller’s agent about the house, and they’re required to answer honestly or refuse to answer the question. Their refusal to answer your questions may lead you to look for answers elsewhere – or may lead your buyer to a different property altogether.
3. Ask the Neighbours
People who live close to a haunted house are often eager to share details. In most scary movies you don’t see the family that is being haunted turn to their neighbors until well after they’ve completed the purchase and have started experiencing ghostly encounters. Don’t let your buyers make the same mistake.
4. Trust Your Gut
Have you ever walked in to a place and had a feeling something just wasn’t right? Maybe you had a chill crawl up your spine or felt like you were being watched? Your first instinct is often the right one. If your buyer feels like something isn’t right when visiting a house for sale, don’t scoff at them – move on and help them find their dream home.
Now, on the off-chance your buyer has already bought and moved into a haunted house – what can you do to help them? Perhaps as a small token of your appreciation for their business – you can hire a professional ghost-removal service. May we suggest Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis?
