3 Tips For Selling A Murder House
If you have a house that you are trying to sell where a murder has taken place, you may have a hard time trying to sell that house. There are a lot of people who don't want to buy a house that has the stigma of a murder house, while there are some people for whom that would actually add to the charm of the house. But, if you want to sell it, what are you supposed to do?
Be Upfront
When you are talking to a real estate agent about selling the house, make sure you tell them all about the history of the house. That's because they need to know the history in case a potential buyer asks about it. It's always better to be honest about the fact that a murder took place in the house than it is for the real estate agent to have to make something up. Your state may also have disclosure rules as to what the seller has to tell the buyer. If the disclosure rules are violated, you may be at risk of a suit.
Clean Everything Well
Even if it has been a while since the murder and the house may have already received a thorough crime scene cleanup, it's a good idea to have it gone over again. You can get a professional cleaning company to come in and do the job or hire another crime scene cleanup company to do the work. If you hire a crime scene cleanup company, you can be more sure that everything that's related to the murder has been cleaned up very well.
Spruce Everything Up
You may want to make sure that everything is spruced up. Depending on when the murder happened, there may be a lot of pictures of both the inside and the outside of the house. You don't potential buyers to come in and see the same kind of paint or look at the outside and have it look just like the pictures from all the news reports. So, change out flooring choices and wall treatments all throughout the house. You may also want to change out the siding or exterior paint. You just want the house to look different enough that people aren't immediately reminded that they are buying a murder house. You won't be able to change everything, but making an effort to change what you can will help.
If you are trying to sell a murder house, you can run into a lot of problems. It is possible to sell it, especially if you work with a real estate agent that sells stigmatized properties.