Disclosure Laws

[susieq192]

What is the name of your state? Minnesota

Does a seller have to disclose to the buyer whether a homicide occurred in the house? What about a suicide? Please help

[BradleyS]

RE BROKER IN KANSAS;

DEPENDS ON YOUR STATE LAW.

This type of disclosure is called "Stigmatism" or "Stigmatic."

If Jeffrey Dommer lived there, I would hope that it was disclosed.

If the death was suicide or murder, it could make a difference. At least in the purchase price.

But if a 90 year old Grandfather died of natural causes, it wouldn't bother me as much.

Meth labs, Drug dealers, etc., should be disclosed as well.

Check you state law.....some states do not have to disclose stigmatic properties.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by BradleyS

RE BROKER IN KANSAS;

DEPENDS ON YOUR STATE LAW.

This type of disclosure is called "Stigmatism" or "Stigmatic."

If Jeffrey Dommer lived there, I would hope that it was disclosed.

If the death was suicide or murder, it could make a difference. At least in the purchase price.

But if a 90 year old Grandfather died of natural causes, it wouldn't bother me as much.

Meth labs, Drug dealers, etc., should be disclosed as well.

Check you state law.....some states do not have to disclose stigmatic properties.

**A: search stigmatized property. I thought stigmatism was an eye problem?

[BradleyS]

Originally Posted by HomeGuru

**A: search stigmatized property. I thought stigmatism was an eye problem?

I stand corrected**************thanks...

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by BradleyS

I stand corrected**************thanks...

**A: no problem. What is stigmatic?

[BradleyS]

Originally Posted by HomeGuru

**A: no problem. What is stigmatic?

stig·mat·ic ( P )
adj.
1. Relating to, resembling, or having stigmata or a stigma.
2. Anastigmatic.

n.
1. A person marked with religious stigmata

[HomeGuru]

Thanks for the real estate lesson.

[PghREA]

Originally Posted by susieq192

What is the name of your state? Minnesota

Does a seller have to disclose to the buyer whether a homicide occurred in the house? What about a suicide? Please help

The buyer is going to find out sooner or later. Neighbors love to discuss neighborhood news. It would be better if the information came from the seller up front.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by PghREA

The buyer is going to find out sooner or later. Neighbors love to discuss neighborhood news. It would be better if the information came from the seller up front.

**A: or the information may come later (from the deceased) after the buyer moves in.

Originally Posted by susieq192

What is the name of your state? Minnesota

Does a seller have to disclose to the buyer whether a homicide occurred in the house? What about a suicide? Please help

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States that require formal disclosure by sellers
By Jay MacDonald • Bankrate.com

At least 32 states require some type of formal seller disclosure, according to the National Association of Realtors.

They are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

All disclosure forms generally cover in great detail the legal, structural and environmental condition of a property prior to sale. But often, regional concerns pop up in state-to-state required disclosures.

For instance, earthquake hazard disclosure is required in California, but not in New York or in most of the Midwest.

Many western states require wildfire hazard disclosure; eastern states typically do not.

Alaska wants to know if you've ever sustained avalanche or permafrost damage, while Hawaii is interested in erosion from mudslides or volcanic activity.

Some states, South Carolina and Tennessee, for example, ask about nuisances (noise, smoke, odors) associated with living in the house that the buyer may not discover until it's too late. This should tip off the prospective buyer about the dog that barks all night and the garage band across the street.

In Alaska, they're even more specific. Possible nuisances spelled out for sellers to reveal include "airplanes, trains, dogs, traffic, racetracks and neighbors."

Sometimes fashionable building materials find their way into disclosures. Tennessee, for instance, wants you to come clean if you fell for the "synthetic stucco" craze a few years back.

States have generally been reticent to get too specific on the touchy subject of "stigmatized" houses, that is, haunted properties or scenes of murders or suicides. But in California, which has seen its share of ghostly listings, scandal has an expiration date: Sellers don't have to disclose a murder or other stigmatizing occurrence if it took place more than three years ago.

Few expect seller disclosure requirements to ever apply nationally. Real estate has traditionally been regulated at the state level where its licensing fees contribute to the general fund.
Ready to find a mortgage? Check rates in your area.

But because the industry is very good at sharing best practices across state lines, Craig Cheatham, executive vice president of the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials, says a de facto national standard for seller disclosure is probably inevitable.

"You used to have two or three states that were basically still caveat emptor, but New York just recently abandoned that. Now Alabama and Minnesota are the two that are left. The trend is toward more uniformity.

"The crux of it is, in which of these states are the courts going to say, 'You should have known.'"

Read the whole article:

[url]http://origin.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/20031023b1.asp[/url]

I think basically the rule is: "Disclose."

[HomeGuru]

[quote=seniorjudge]
I think basically the rule is: "Disclose."

**A: I totally agree.

[Oso99]

Hello...

I bought a townhouse about 1.5 yrs. ago. At the time, I suspected
there had been water damage in the basement, given the fact that the
carpet was not orginial down there, although the house was inly 9 yrs
old. As a result of this suspicion, we requested seller sign a "pre
settlement inspection addedndum", in which they specifically described
what had occured.

In that document, they wrote a description which indicated that 3 yrs
earlier, a clamp came off washing machine and wet basement. In
addition, that since they pulled carpet, insurance did not cover the
claim, so they did this repair solo.

Now to the present... the closet in the basement bedroom has had a
musty, humid odor since we bought the place. With recent torrential
rain, the carpet in that closet has become very wet, and damaged
carpet in the closet and into the bedroom.

I have reason to suspect that this leak in the closet, which I suspect
may possibly require extensive work to waterproof the basement, was
known problem with the house at the time we closed. I say this because
the room in the basement and the closet were the only rooms painted in
the entire house... specifically, the closet was painted with some
extra latex, anti moisture type finish, which to me indicates that
humidity down there had been a problem.

I also have evidence, as a result of calls to my insurance agent, that
the previous owner did file a claim with their insurance and did get
paid a claim, at the same exact time (3yrs before we bought the
house). The claim was for nearly $4,000. This fact is in direct
contradiction to the disclosure they made in the pre-setlement
inspection addendum.

What action can I take, under the laws of Virginia, against the
sellers given that it appears this was a known problem which they did
not disclose, not to mention that it appears insurance fraud may have
occured too, if they indeed filed a claim, got paid, and did not fix
the problem.

Please help!!!