Haunted house question

[SNOWBALL]

Hypothetical:

You are trying to decide between two places to live. They are both equally desirable. House A is $X more expensive than B, but B is supposedly haunted. What is the lowest value of X that would allow you to choose house A over B?

Assume that it's either haunted or not haunted. The stories don't affect the probability that the house is creaky or the neighborhood is bad or anything like that.

edit: assume that IF the house is haunted, then they are poltergeist type ghosts

[Bill Haywood]

Are they Casper type ghosts, or Poltergeist type ghosts?

I don't think we have enough information to draw a conclusion.

[arahant]

Depends on the original prices, but X is definitely negative.

[SNOWBALL]

[ QUOTE ]

Depends on the original prices, but X is definitely negative.



[/ QUOTE ]

you prefer a haunted house?

[Woolygimp]

Well based on my poll I think most SMP'ers do not believe in ghosts by 8:1. I know in most states you need to state that your house is possibly haunted, just like you would have to state any other defect such as plumbing or rodent problems.

[yukoncpa]

[ QUOTE ]
I know in most states you need to state that your house is possibly haunted, just like you would have to state any other defect such as plumbing or rodent problems.



[/ QUOTE ]

What a corny law. Who makes the determination of if the house is possibly haunted; the state committee on poltergeists or the local Catholic church?

[Philo]

[ QUOTE ]
I know in most states you need to state that your house is possibly haunted, just like you would have to state any other defect such as plumbing or rodent problems.

[/ QUOTE ]

Isn't every house possibly haunted (if any house is)?

[PairTheBoard]

Can I collect rent from the poltergeists?

PairTheBoard

[yukoncpa]

[ QUOTE ]
Can I collect rent from the poltergeists?

PairTheBoard



[/ QUOTE ] If it really had a reputation for being haunted, you could turn it into a haunted bed and breakfast and promote on the internet and make a mint.

[dvsfun1]

[ QUOTE ]
Can I collect rent from the poltergeists?

PairTheBoard

[/ QUOTE ]

If you default on the mortgage does the house get re-possessed?

[yukoncpa]

[ QUOTE ]
If you default on the mortgage does the house get re-possessed?



[/ QUOTE ] Lol. Good one.

[SBR]

If they were the same price I'd probably chose the house that is "haunted", but I wouldn't pay more to live in a "haunted" house.

[Eihli]

In Stambovsky v. Ackley, the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division ruled that a seller does not need to disclose that a house has a reputation for being haunted unless there is a fiduciary relationship or in cases of fraud or misrepresentation,[6] because such a reputation impairs the value of the house:

In the case at bar, defendant seller deliberately fostered the public belief that her home was possessed. Having undertaken to inform the public at large, to whom she has no legal relationship, about the supernatural occurrences on her property, she may be said to owe no less a duty to her contract vendee.[7]

[yukoncpa]

[ QUOTE ]
In Stambovsky v. Ackley, the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division ruled that a seller does not need to disclose that a house has a reputation for being haunted unless there is a fiduciary relationship or in cases of fraud or misrepresentation,[6] because such a reputation impairs the value of the house:

In the case at bar, defendant seller deliberately fostered the public belief that her home was possessed. Having undertaken to inform the public at large, to whom she has no legal relationship, about the supernatural occurrences on her property, she may be said to owe no less a duty to her contract vendee.[7]


[/ QUOTE ]

This just keeps getting funnier and funnier. Now the Supreme court is weighing in on how to properly handle the sale of a haunted house. A fiduciary relationship is a legal obligation meaning someone has placed assets in your trust and you are to handle them responsibly. So only in such a relationship, where you have a duty to handle the matter with care, must you now disclose that the house is haunted.

[Siegmund]

I can imagine there are states that require you disclose factual matters such as whether a death has occurred on the property. Hard for me to imagine making people say "this house may be haunted" in their disclosures though...

[PairTheBoard]

It looks like the legal point made in the court case cited above, was that the Owners had already disclosed to the general public the claim that the house was haunted. The Court asserted that once they made that claim to the general public they should disclose the same information to the Buyers.

It doesn't say this in the Court's Opinion that was provided above, but it makes sense that if the Owners had created a Reputation for the House amongst the general public that might adversly affect the resale value of the House, the Owners were certainly obligated to provide that information to the Buyers.

PairTheBoard

[Woolygimp]

If disclosure is necessary, say in writing and as part of the sale agreement that it has been reported that the property is haunted (occupied?) by one or more ghosts. You need to assure that neither the seller nor you guarantees the presence or absence of ghosts -- each would be a difficult reality to prove. Please see what the American Bar Association says about stigmatized properties and see a local attorney for specific advice and language.

The laws are different in each state. In Louisiana you have to disclose whether or not you believe your house to be haunted, hence "if" disclosure is necessary.

[HiiroYuy]

Every old house is haunted. Fact of life.

FYI, a '- X' means that he would need to be given money in order to live in the haunted house.