Would You Buy a Haunted House if it was Cheap?

When I was 10 years old, I was a staunch believer in ghosts, UFOs, and all sorts of other stuff that I’d scoff at today. Because of that, I was very concerned when I found out we were moving to a new house. My first question: “Has anybody died in the house?”

The answer was, fortunately for my dreams and my parents’ sanity, a no. Have my thoughts on the matter changed 20 years later?

The pro case

Personally, I wouldn’t have much of a problem living in a house that somebody died in, even if that death was gruesome.

I look at it this way. A house is just an object. Sure, it’s an object we end up feeling pretty attached to, but ultimately it’s just a bunch of wood and metal arranged in a pleasing way. Therefore, I don’t really care what happened before I move in, as long as I don’t have to deal with it.

Plus, there’s the potential of getting a deal. I remember a house coming up for sale near me that had been the scene of a very famous crime -- one you likely remember. After all the evidence had been cleared out, the next of kin completely cleaned out everything and did some substantial home renos. It was practically a brand new house by the time it hit the market, and it was a very reasonable price. It was easily the best deal at the time, and was presumably gobbled up in a hurry.

The con case

It doesn’t matter whether someone believes in ghosts or not, I can still see how it’s creepy to share a house with somebody who passed away.

Imagine getting really involved in a scary movie or book. You finish and your heart is still pumping, adrenaline flowing. What a relief that’s over! Suddenly, you remember that the previous owner was killed...right over there, in the shadows. Even I’m not getting any sleep if that happens, and I think ghosts are about as real as the tooth fairy.

There are more than a few documented cases over the years where somebody moves into a house where a violent crime has been committed, and just cannot continue to live there once they find out. We can scoff all we want, but for some people, this is a really big deal. They’ll literally get so scared it affects them physically.

You’d think this is something that would be disclosed to potential buyers. I’m not sure about the other provinces, but in Ontario and Alberta, a seller doesn’t have to disclose anything about previous violent crimes. All a seller needs to disclose is any physical defects, there’s nothing in the rules about psychological ones.

Imagine finding out about a violent crime after you buy your first home, especially if you’re a little nervous about that stuff to begin with. Most people would probably just get over it, but something like that is a little thing that could tip the house buying decision in another direction.

What do you think?

Would you live in a haunted house, especially if you got a deal? Or do you want nothing to do with anything close to that? Hit us up on Twitter at @LowestRates_ca and let us know. We’ll retweet some of the best answers we get!