Stigmatized Property
Stigmatized Property
Now that the horrors of Halloween are over, what if you inherited a real haunted house? What if you owned a psychologically impacted home, a haunted house, and wanted to sell. Or what if you inherited a house in which a murder or suicide occurred. Are you required as the seller to report this as a material fact?
I did some checking and found that houses in which a murder or suicide happened or where there are rumors of haunts or poltergeists fall under the subject of stigmatized property. “Stigmatized properties are homes where a real or rumored event occurred that didn’t physically affect the property but could adversely impact its desirability.”
The Erika Lewis Blog says, “Georgia Stigmatized Property Act states that a Real Estate Agent, seller or landlord is not required to disclose the following:
- Property was the site of a homicide, felony, suicide, or death by accidental or natural causes.
- Property is or was occupied by a person who was infected with a virus or any other disease which has been determined by medical evidence to be a disability.”
The Georgia Real Estate Commission states that under Georgia’s Stigmatized Property Law, the owner or agent must answer truthfully to the best of their knowledge when questioned directly about whether a property was the site of a homicide, suicide, or felony. In this case, the Real Estate Agent, seller or landlord must answer the question truthfully and to the best of their knowledge.
“The common law has for decades imposed duties on sellers of real estate, particularly residential real estate such as homes, to disclose to the buyer any material facts known to the seller affecting the value or desirability of the real estate being sold.”
The laws are more lenient in the case of “as is” sales, but one still could not willfully cover up a problem that would adversely affect the value of the home to be purchased.
Now with stigmatized properties, the waters are a little murkier. The seller may not want a gruesome murder disclosed and if you are representing the seller, you have a fiduciary duty to the seller. If the seller is adamant that the information not be disclosed, you may not want to represent the seller.
A haunted house may be considered a latent defect that is not visible and may not need to be disclosed. A murder-suicide is a material fact. If you are representing the buyer, this could be a material fact that requires sharing this news. Without telling your buyer, you could be misrepresenting the property and lose the buyer’s trust.
Some realtors like to ask, half in jest if there have been any murders or suicides on the property. If it is material and recent, the realtor should disclose the facts. The farther back in history the event happened, the better for the seller. Hauntings and superstitions are of the kind that you had to be there to believe.
Sometimes financial stress leads to stigmatized houses. People can snap under the pressure of foreclosure and possible eviction. Homeowners face financial stress every day. There is always maintenance, large unexpected expenses, a death in a family, divorce, downsizing and too much debt. When things get so bad financially that losing one’s house is a real possibility we suggest you call us.
At Val Buys Houses LLC, we specialize in helping homeowners out of just about any situation, no matter what! There are no fees, upfront costs, commissions, or anything else. Just the simple honest truth about your home, we buy cash, therefore we can help you sell it fast to resolve any situation, or give you as much time as you need.
We care about our community in Cobb county and Atlanta. At Val Buys Houses LLC we take a lot of pride in providing excellent customer service. We have come across all scenarios, we are not here to judge; only to help.
Give us a call today at 404-844-8845 and let us see if we can help YOU!