REGINA – Some of history is hidden and some is public.
That’s part of the fun part of buying a house: just like people, they all have a history.
For home buyers, it’s a matter of deciding what history they’re comfortable investing in. However, would you live in a house that was once the scene of a major crime?
“That’s part of the fun part of buying a house: just like people, they all have a history,” said Loretta Sernowski, broker and owner with Porchlight Realty. “It’s very personal. It doesn’t bother some people at all. In fact, they feel like they might be able to get establish a better purchase price.”
What if the house is said to be the site of paranormal activity?
“You said, ‘I want to live in an old neighbourhood, but I’m so terrified of a house being haunted.’ It can be something that I write into our offer as a condition,” said Sernowski.
If a house for sale has been the scene of a violent crime, a buyer likely wouldn’t know it by looking. Restoration companies are often called in after a death to restore a home to pre-loss condition.
Get breaking National news
“If we’re hired, you wouldn’t know that there was something like that that occurred in a home,” said Mike Payne, with Restorex Disaster Restoration. “As flesh decomposes, it does create an odor and the longer it’s decomposing, the stronger the odor and it gives it more of an opportunity to get into the structure material and the walls.”
Although discovering the history of a home is difficult, realtors in Saskatchewan are required to disclose whether a home is a stigmatized property, but the rules and regulations are not black-and-white.
“It’s virtually impossible to include everything in a bit of legislation or even an interpretation,” said Bill Madder, CEO of the Association of Saskatchewan Realtors. “Some of the questions that you asked, about ‘how long ago something happened, when does it go away?’ Those are difficult and I don’t know whether those have even been determined in law.”
The realtors’ association has a disclosure statement available for sellers asking whether the property has been the site of any criminal activity but completing the form isn’t mandatory. It states: “To the best of your knowledge, have any criminal activities that may have affected the physical condition of the property (e.g., grow op, meth lab, etc.) been carried out on the property?”
“We always recommend that it’s better to over disclose than under disclose,” said Madder.
Bottom line: buyers need to be upfront with what they want or don’t want.
Comments