Is it possible to check if a house is a "murded house"

[Anonymous]

I thought they were required to report any deaths at the time of closing. I know this is the law in other states, is it not here?

[Anonymous]

I grew up down the road from a murder house. It was on the market for years. They finally had to tear it down.

[Anonymous]

My neighbor committed suicide in his house almost a year ago. The house went into subsequent foreclosure and I wonder if the new buyer knows what happened. The new owner seems to be an investor looking to resale the property, so it is still uninhabited.

[Anonymous]

If the house has a crawl space with an earthen floor, you might want to poke around (before buying).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But, if you ask, is the realtor supposed to answer truthfully? I mean, she can't actually LIE, can she?

Realtor here. I wouldn't lie, but I would tell you that if that information was important to you that you would need to do that research for yourself. Just like when people ask me if there is a lot of crime in a neighborhood, or whether the schools are good.

You sound like a lazy realtor. If I want to know about good schools, I understand that my realtor ethically can't tell me yes or no, but I sure would expect her to pull up reports and scores for me. I would also expect her to find crime reports regarding a certain property if I asked her to. She can't "interpret" them for me, sure, but her job is to get information about a house for me so that I can decide whether or not to buy. Earn your commission, please.

[Anonymous]

But, if you ask, is the realtor supposed to answer truthfully? I mean, she can't actually LIE, can she?

Realtor here. I wouldn't lie, but I would tell you that if that information was important to you that you would need to do that research for yourself. Just like when people ask me if there is a lot of crime in a neighborhood, or whether the schools are good.

You sound like a lazy realtor. If I want to know about good schools, I understand that my realtor ethically can't tell me yes or no, but I sure would expect her to pull up reports and scores for me. I would also expect her to find crime reports regarding a certain property if I asked her to. She can't "interpret" them for me, sure, but her job is to get information about a house for me so that I can decide whether or not to buy. Earn your commission, please.

Did I say that I didn't do those things? Yes, I do point my clients to sites with raw data, other information and advice on schools and crime. But my clients are the ones who have to read, digest, compare, contrast and yes, "interpret" that information. People on this site have such a low opinion of realtors, I can't imagine anyone wanting their realtor to pick their child's school for them, or personally guarantee their family's safety by calling a neighborhood "safe." Everyone needs to make those decisions themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But, if you ask, is the realtor supposed to answer truthfully? I mean, she can't actually LIE, can she?

Realtor here. I wouldn't lie, but I would tell you that if that information was important to you that you would need to do that research for yourself. Just like when people ask me if there is a lot of crime in a neighborhood, or whether the schools are good.

You sound like a lazy realtor. If I want to know about good schools, I understand that my realtor ethically can't tell me yes or no, but I sure would expect her to pull up reports and scores for me. I would also expect her to find crime reports regarding a certain property if I asked her to. She can't "interpret" them for me, sure, but her job is to get information about a house for me so that I can decide whether or not to buy. Earn your commission, please.

can you not read?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But, if you ask, is the realtor supposed to answer truthfully? I mean, she can't actually LIE, can she?

Realtor here. I wouldn't lie, but I would tell you that if that information was important to you that you would need to do that research for yourself. Just like when people ask me if there is a lot of crime in a neighborhood, or whether the schools are good.

You sound like a lazy realtor. If I want to know about good schools, I understand that my realtor ethically can't tell me yes or no, but I sure would expect her to pull up reports and scores for me. I would also expect her to find crime reports regarding a certain property if I asked her to. She can't "interpret" them for me, sure, but her job is to get information about a house for me so that I can decide whether or not to buy. Earn your commission, please.

Did I say that I didn't do those things? Yes, I do point my clients to sites with raw data, other information and advice on schools and crime. But my clients are the ones who have to read, digest, compare, contrast and yes, "interpret" that information. People on this site have such a low opinion of realtors, I can't imagine anyone wanting their realtor to pick their child's school for them, or personally guarantee their family's safety by calling a neighborhood "safe." Everyone needs to make those decisions themselves.

Pointing to websites is NOT enough. That is not research. I think a realtor should pull up the reports for clients, especially because sometimes they aren't on the web. Yes, I expect my realtor to do that for me, but I'm not asking her to make a decision for me. I want her to to give me a report. A list of websites is not sufficent! If I'm buying a $800K house, my realtor is grossing $24K. IMO, a few hours pulling reports is definitely reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But, if you ask, is the realtor supposed to answer truthfully? I mean, she can't actually LIE, can she?

Realtor here. I wouldn't lie, but I would tell you that if that information was important to you that you would need to do that research for yourself. Just like when people ask me if there is a lot of crime in a neighborhood, or whether the schools are good.

You sound like a lazy realtor. If I want to know about good schools, I understand that my realtor ethically can't tell me yes or no, but I sure would expect her to pull up reports and scores for me. I would also expect her to find crime reports regarding a certain property if I asked her to. She can't "interpret" them for me, sure, but her job is to get information about a house for me so that I can decide whether or not to buy. Earn your commission, please.

can you not read?

What I read is that the realtor is asking the client to "do that research FOR YOURSELF." In my book, yes, that's a lazy realtor. She should be providing me with data.

[Anonymous]

The neighbors would tell you. A house in my neighborhood sold this fall shortly after it's owner was murdered in the house. No one has been convicted, but it sounds like a boyfriend/male acquaintance was responsible. I thought that the house might be listed for a long time -- but it sold in a week or two, I think.

[Anonymous]

But, if the realtor is not allowed to tell clients that kind of info, how is the realtor lazy???

[Anonymous]

Good question, PP. I'm wondering what information she wants from her realtor. Should the realtor tour the schools instead of the buyer doing it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good question, PP. I'm wondering what information she wants from her realtor. Should the realtor tour the schools instead of the buyer doing it?

The realtor can provide data about the schools, can she not? She can pull up test scores for various schools. She's just restricted from telling the client which ones are "good." I hate it when realtors are too lazy to even list the schools into which the home feeds. IMO there are just too many realtors who aren't true professionals, but just lazy.

If you can't tell the difference between providing a client with a portfolio of information and touring the school, well....