[Merged] House For Sale

[Brian Topp]

I was browsing google and stumbled apon this gold mine

Built in 1901, this Victorian home in the Hollywood section of Dunmore features 1850 sf of living space with an additional 1350 sf of partially finished space. Original hardwood floors throughout entire home. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms. Off-street parking. Freshly painted. New moulding throughout entire first floor. Slightly haunted. Nothing serious, though. e.g. The sounds of phantom footsteps. A strange knocking sound followed by a very quiet (hardly noticeable, even) scream at 3:13am, maybe once a week. Twice a week, tops. And the occasional ghastly visage lurking behind you in the bathroom mirror. Even still, this occurs very rarely and only in the second floor bathroom.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1217-Marion-St-Dunmore-PA-18509/9559446_zpid/

[tipotep]

Muhhaa it's only slightly haunted , perfect for the whole family

[coolguy]

Very cool I would buy it if I was rich

[DecoNoir]

Oh this made my day. Who wants to bet it gets burned down by some wannabe ghost hunter!?!

[Q-C]

Open House Day they better have lots of cookies and valet parking.

[Scandal]

I will take it.

[NiteMarcher]

It's best to disclose everything when selling a home. Termites, the gmo fields nearby where the down winds may carry pesticide particles right to your front door, and the ghosts that may be hanging around in the house and around the property.

[psyche101]

That is amusing.

Price seem cheap! If that was here, I'd buy that.

[CatFromHell]

You can clearly see a ghost in the mirror on the 5th photo. OMG!!!

[JGirl]

i was reading about this somewhere else and it was reported that the owners regretted the 'disclosure' because they've been getting nothing but lookie-loos and ghostbusters, no one wants to actually the buy the house.

too bad too, because although a few of the rooms could use a paint job, it's a really nice place for the money. (the average two bedroom home goes for over $300,000 here.)

[Sakari]

DUNMORE, Pa. — Between the mysteriously banging doors, the odd noises coming from the basement, and the persistent feeling that someone is standing behind them, homeowners Gregory and Sandi Leeson are thoroughly creeped out by their 113-year-old Victorian....................

story : http://news.msn.com/offbeat/pa-couple-advertises-home-as-slightly-haunted

[Dumpnuts]

It's always something Victorian.

[+OverSword]

Pretty sure this was on here about a month ago.

[BiffSplitkins]

Pretty sure this was on here about a month ago.

It must be back to haunt us then.

[rashore]

Yeah, Brian posted up the Zillow listing the other day: http://www.unexplain...howtopic=260769

I thought it a pretty silly maneuver at the time. Sakari's article only proves it.

[Stubbly_Dooright]

I love this house!! It's beautiful and the wood floors are always a plus. Does the piano and the guitar come with? (I know, strongly doubt that. But I was able to get the keep the curtains that came with the living room windows, when I asked for our house.)

It's best to disclose everything when selling a home. Termites, the gmo fields nearby where the down winds may carry pesticide particles right to your front door, and the ghosts that may be hanging around in the house and around the property.

I think in some states, it's illegal to disclose if a house is haunted. When my husband and I were looking at one particular house years ago, I asked our agent if the lady died in the house( when we were told the previous owner either died or went to a nursing home), he couldn't say anything. I just looked at me and shrugged. I figured he wasn't allowed to say.

You can clearly see a ghost in the mirror on the 5th photo. OMG!!!

Awwwww, ghost was a photographer in it's life.

[Sakari]

I think in some states, it's illegal to disclose if a house is haunted. When my husband and I were looking at one particular house years ago, I asked our agent if the lady died in the house( when we were told the previous owner either died or went to a nursing home), he couldn't say anything. I just looked at me and shrugged. I figured he wasn't allowed to say.

Huh?

First " haunted " is not a real thing. So, no law would be made about that.

Second, realtors do not know everything about past families living in the homes, especially their past. They know the structural, and upgrades of homes. They are selling homes, not doing history research on people.

[CatFromHell]

I love this house!! It's beautiful and the wood floors are always a plus. Does the piano and the guitar come with? (I know, strongly doubt that. But I was able to get the keep the curtains that came with the living room windows, when I asked for our house.)

I think in some states, it's illegal to disclose if a house is haunted. When my husband and I were looking at one particular house years ago, I asked our agent if the lady died in the house( when we were told the previous owner either died or went to a nursing home), he couldn't say anything. I just looked at me and shrugged. I figured he wasn't allowed to say.

Awwwww, ghost was a photographer in it's life.

Its amazing how you can tell that much about the spirit just from that one photo.

[acute]

I wouldn't live there anyway.

A bit too 'Amityville' for my liking.

[Stubbly_Dooright]

Huh?

First " haunted " is not a real thing. So, no law would be made about that.

Well, I can see the logic in that. Makes a good point.But I do remember hearing and reading various things about this in the past. And I found this page interesting. And the fact they would call it stigmatized property, maybe as a way to go around that.

http://hauntedrealestateblog.com/haunted-re-for-sale/

But it's the fact if the previous owner died on the property or not, that I feel our realtor couldn't disclose, when I asked. It's interesting that it's something considered or written in writing in some states,

http://www.legalzoom.com/everyday-law/home-leisure/ghoul-disclosure-must-home-sellers

In California, the Association of Realtors addressed the issue of death disclosure requirements. Civil Code ¤1710.2 states death on a property need not be disclosed if it occurred more than three years prior to the sale. The statute does require disclosure of a death more than three years old if the buyer asks. Many brokerage firms have supplemental disclosure forms that specifically inquire about death. To avoid liability, it is recommended the seller disclose a death if it occurred within the last three years and let the buyer decide. Some states have even gone further requiring home sellers to disclose "stigmas" attached to a property, which can include proximity to homeless shelters and if it was the scene of a violent crime.

Second, realtors do not know everything about past families living in the homes, especially their past. They know the structural, and upgrades of homes. They are selling homes, not doing history research on people.

Well, if our realtor knew that the previous owner either went to a nursing home or died, meaning some knowledge was given to him, I figured he knew the answer to the question I asked him. And it's not that he told me he didn't know, he just visually clamped up.

[freetoroam]

A strange knocking

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1217-Marion-St-Dunmore-PA-18509/9559446_zpid/

hmm, neighbours need investigating.

Edited January 19, 2014 by freetoroam

[freetoroam]

You can clearly see a ghost in the mirror on the 5th photo. OMG!!!

OMG, its bin laden!

[Stubbly_Dooright]

I still love that house. I don't know, maybe it's because I lived a various housing that I had experiences that made me feel that it's haunted. Maybe more so, than the house I live in now. But I guess sometimes, it's probably something you can add in as part of life. There is a part skeptic in me that thinks the real big stuff, I don't believe in, and don't think it's dangerous. I could be wrong. I don't think you can get away from it, mostly so I have read there are so many different haunting situations. Person died in the house and never left, residual haunting, someone died somewhere else, but comes to your house, or some experiences that didn't last. It depends. Maybe the owner can update the listing to take out the 'slightly haunted' line and then see. Sometimes readers have short memories. I don't think you can run away from ghostly experiences or weird situations. *shrugs*

[Sakari]

Well, if our realtor knew that the previous owner either went to a nursing home or died, meaning some knowledge was given to him, I figured he knew the answer to the question I asked him. And it's not that he told me he didn't know, he just visually clamped up.

Some instances a realtor may know about the previous owner, or seller. Maybe from the other realtor telling them, or by the disclosure paperwork. Typically, realtors only know what is on the disclosure, and are not private detectives looking into personal lives. They are only interested in the property itself.

This may interest you. ( steer away from paranormal sites as sources for things like this. Look in legal sites, or science sites )

If you're in the home buying market and have your eye on a certain house, you probably want to know whether plates tend to fly around the kitchen, a bloodstain reappears nightly on the staircase, or houseguests have been know to flee the back bedroom screaming, right? But you aren't likely to see the word "haunted" in any home-listing advertisements. (A few people might be fascinated by the prospect of buying a haunted house, but real estate marketers don't yet consider spectral activity to be as big a crowd-pleaser as, say, granite countertops or a remodeled master bathroom.)

No matter what you believe about ghosts and the afterlife, it seems like some houses just have a lot more odd, unexplained activity than others. And such activity seems to ramp up at night, just when you're trying to get some shut-eye. So how would you find out about any such propensities in a house you'd like to buy?

Step one is to check the seller's disclosures. Most U.S. states require sellers to fill out a standard form, revealing what they know about the property's physical condition. No, you're not likely to see a "haunted" box ready to be checked off on any state's disclosure form. Nevertheless, sellers are, in many states, obligated to disclose things that affect a house's marketability, which the oddities described above certainly could. Smart sellers would describe exactly what they've observed, without drawing conclusions.

Another useful step is to ask the neighbors what they know about the house. It's best to start generally, of course, with open-ended questions like, "Do you think that house would be a desirable place to live?" or "What can you tell me about the house's history?"

A Google or other Internet search may also turn up relevant information. Too bad Jeffrey Stambovsky didn't do a little Web-surfing before he bought a turreted turn-of-the-century Victorian in Nyack, New York in 1990. Being from New York City, Stambovsky wasn't familiar with local legends, and the seller hadn't disclosed to him that the lovely riverfront home came with its own family of Caspers. According to reports by the previous owner, Mrs. Helen Ackley:

• The ghosts periodically left gifts of baby rings for the owner's grandchildren (and then took them back).
  
• One ghost woke the owner's daughter every morning by shaking her bed (until the girl loudly informed the poltergeists that she wanted to sleep in because it was spring break).
  
• While she was painting the home, Mrs. Ackley (according to what she told The New York Times) saw a ghost, sitting in midair, rocking and back forth. "I was on an 8-foot stepladder. I asked if he approved of what we were doing to the house, if the colors were to his liking. He smiled and he nodded his head."
  
• Another ghost was a Navy lieutenant during the American Revolution who confronted the owner's son "eyeball to eyeball outside the basement door."
  

Once Stambovsky got wind of all this, he wanted out of the purchase. He took the seller and real estate agent to court, claiming fraudulent misrepresentation. The lower court was not sympathetic and ruled that the seller and agent had no obligation to disclose ghostly presences. But a New York appellate court made the astonishing ruling that the house was haunted:

"Whether the source of the spectral apparitions seen by defendant seller are parapsychic or psychogenic, having reported their presence in both a national publication (Readers' Digest) and the local press (in 1977 and 1982, respectively), defendant is estopped to deny their existence and, as a matter of law, the house is haunted."

Apparently the seller had sold her story to Reader's Digest for $3,000 and made a "verified" claim to the magazine that the house was haunted. As one contract lawyer pointed out, "If the seller now claimed in the litigation that the house wasn't haunted, the seller would have been caught in a $3,000 lie to Reader's Digest."

Stambovsky was allowed to back out of the $650,000 purchase. But don't feel too bad for the sellers. Once word got out that the house was legally haunted, a new group of buyers were attracted to the property, including the well-known mentalist, The Amazing Kreskin.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/buying-haunted-house-36139.html

[Stubbly_Dooright]

Some instances a realtor may know about the previous owner, or seller. Maybe from the other realtor telling them, or by the disclosure paperwork. Typically, realtors only know what is on the disclosure, and are not private detectives looking into personal lives. They are only interested in the property itself.

True, and that is what you would want from your buying agent. I found it interesting that our agent couldn't flat out answer me, even with a 'I can't tell you that', just a zip up shrug. I just made assumptions. Plus, although where I found out years ago, I remember reading and hearing hear and there, that there is a debate about not disclosing a house is haunted.

This may interest you. ( steer away from paranormal sites as sources for things like this. Look in legal sites, or science sites )

You're right, it does. I maybe be a paranormal enthusiast, I am also into houses, including real estate, to a point, and I enjoyed your info.

If you're in the home buying market and have your eye on a certain house, you probably want to know whether plates tend to fly around the kitchen, a bloodstain reappears nightly on the staircase, or houseguests have been know to flee the back bedroom screaming, right? But you aren't likely to see the word "haunted" in any home-listing advertisements. (A few people might be fascinated by the prospect of buying a haunted house, but real estate marketers don't yet consider spectral activity to be as big a crowd-pleaser as, say, granite countertops or a remodeled master bathroom.)

I also love the way they word things to make it more pleasing too.

No matter what you believe about ghosts and the afterlife, it seems like some houses just have a lot more odd, unexplained activity than others. And such activity seems to ramp up at night, just when you're trying to get some shut-eye. So how would you find out about any such propensities in a house you'd like to buy?

Step one is to check the seller's disclosures. Most U.S. states require sellers to fill out a standard form, revealing what they know about the property's physical condition. No, you're not likely to see a "haunted" box ready to be checked off on any state's disclosure form. Nevertheless, sellers are, in many states, obligated to disclose things that affect a house's marketability, which the oddities described above certainly could. Smart sellers would describe exactly what they've observed, without drawing conclusions.

Another useful step is to ask the neighbors what they know about the house. It's best to start generally, of course, with open-ended questions like, "Do you think that house would be a desirable place to live?" or "What can you tell me about the house's history?"

A Google or other Internet search may also turn up relevant information.

Yes, helpful information, mostly the internet when one, like us, were looking at houses out of state where it's harder to periodically talk to the neighbors about the house. Although, I have found out quite a lot from our neighbors to make the previous owners of our house, seem really odd.

One I would believe, would have to look at house hunting and houses with a practicality. Houses settle, and houses have noises that eventually can be explained. Plus, like I mentioned in my last post, when does it get to a point you have to make sure you don't move into a house that has ghost experiences? You probably can't hide from it. I like this house and I would move into it even with the slight haunted appeal. I rather have that then termites. And we had the termites, a pain to get rid of. I think our ghosts, if I think we have them, are not that much trouble.