Name: How to Avoid Buying a Home That’s Haunted
Uploaded: 2023-10-31T20:46:00Z
Duration: 6 min 50 s
Description: Several states have rules that address paranormal activity in the context of a home sale. Wall Street Journal contributor Erika Mailman joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss what homebuyers can do to avoid living in haunted homes. Photo Illustration: Marcy Ayres/The Wall Street Journal, Mason Trinca for The Wall Street Journal

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Several states have rules that address paranormal activity in the context of a home sale. Wall Street Journal contributor Erika Mailman joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss what homebuyers can do to avoid living in haunted homes. Photo Illustration: Marcy Ayres/The Wall Street Journal, Mason Trinca for The Wall Street Journal

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How to Avoid Buying a Home That’s Haunted

JR: It's Halloween, Tuesday, October 31st, and this is "Your Money Briefing." I'm JR Whalen for "The Wall Street Journal." So picture this. You're all settled in. It's the first night in your new home. Wait, what was that? I guess it was nothing. Right? There it is again. I think this house might be haunted. Shouldn't the seller have to told me about that? It seems ghosts and spirits always seem to show up every year right around Halloween. But what if they pay regular visits to your home throughout the year? Should you tell a prospective buyer? "Wall Street Journal" contributor Erika Mailman joins me. So Erika, which states address the issue of homes possibly being haunted, and what do the rules say?

Erika: No states require any kind of disclosure about a possible haunting in the house, with the exception of New York, and we'll talk about that a little bit later. But Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Minnesota are all states that mention the possibility of a house being haunted, but only to reiterate that there's no need to disclose.

JR: Are those states sort of laying the groundwork for a situation where someone has identified the fact that their house could be haunted?

Erika: That would be the surmise. If you're purchasing a home and you're somebody who really doesn't wanna live in a haunted house, if that's important to you, you should definitely ask directly. And that's what the National Association of Realtors' Associate Counsel, Deanne Rymarowic, told me. You know, ask outright if that's important to you. Make sure that the house is clear of any paranormal activity before you purchase.

JR: How would someone clear out paranormal activity?

Erika: I talked to some people who have taken a few precautions before moving in, and a few examples were having cleansing ceremonies just to make sure that any lingering bad energy or spirits remaining could be cleared out before the new owners take ownership.

JR: What kind of paranormal activity have people claimed to exist?

Erika: There's been a ton of really interesting narratives that have arisen. Some of the really interesting ones were this couple in Oroville, California felt that there was somebody lying in bed between them. There were easygoing things, like French doors opening on their own, and then on the most extreme end and in that same Oroville California house, a woman returned home from a trip and felt like entities were attacking her, and she wasn't able to return to the house for two weeks.

JR: Now, you mentioned New York State's rules a moment ago. What is it about New York that stands apart from the other states in this category?

Erika: So in New York, there's a beautiful Victorian on the edge of the Hudson, but when the Ackley family purchased it in 1967, it was decrepit and it had stood vacant for seven years. And so that family moved in and did experience, as they say, a lot of paranormal activity. And in fact, Mrs. Ackley wrote it up in a "Reader's Digest" article titled "My Haunted Home on the Hudson." And that kind of started problems for her decades down the road, after their kids had grown and they were selling the home, because Jeffrey Stambovsky placed a down payment on the home in 1989. And when he learned that the house was said to be haunted based on this "Reader's Digest" article, articles in the local newspaper, and also the fact that the house had been featured on a haunted walking tour, he pulled out. And a year later, he asked for his down payment back, and they said no, and he filed suit and he lost. And then a year later, he appealed and then won. That is now known as the "Ghostbusters" case because Mr. Stambovsky said he would've never purchased the home or placed a down payment if he had known it was haunted. And because he didn't live locally, he had no way of learning the house's reputation.

JR: So he could have put a call into Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and the boys to come in and check it out.

Erika: Right? Who are you gonna call? I should point out that the lasting outcome of the "Ghostbusters" case is that if you're actively touting your house as being haunted and you live in New York State, you can't then say that you don't need to disclose it. It's a little bit of a subtle wrinkle, and it's only if you're broadcasting your home as being haunted. Otherwise, no need to disclose in New York or anywhere.

JR: Do buyers have any rights if a seller doesn't disclose that they think that their house is haunted,

Erika: They only have rights if they've asked directly and fraudulently they've been told, "Oh, no, there's no reputation for haunting here."

JR: How would someone make a convincing case that their home is haunted?

Erika: How do you prove that your house is haunted? I guess you have to bring in the paranormal investigators and get some proof, and then go after the sellers who failed to tell you.

JR: You know, Erika, we're in a pretty tight housing market, and some buyers might consider anything with a for sale sign out front, but where do prospective buyers come down on the possibility that a house could be haunted.

Erika: Well, there's a variety of responses to it. I think some people just don't care. They're not concerned about it, They're not worried about ghosts, and there are even like some people who might find it entertaining or amusing. And a lot of buyers are thinking to flip the house, and so for them it's less significant because they're going to completely remake the house, make it beautiful, refreshen it and dispel any bad energy or paranormal activity there.

JR: So what are the takeaways here? What can someone do just to be sure that there are or are not spirits in a house?

Erika: There are websites where if you're concerned that your home has some kind of history like that, you can enter in the address and see if the house is, as they say, stigmatized. You can Google your home address, but really the best tactic is just to ask outright, "Have you experienced anything in this house?" If it's important to you,

JR: That's "Wall Street Journal" contributor, Erika Mailman. And that's it for "Your Money Briefing." Today's show is produced by Ariana Aspuru, with supervising producer Melony Roy. I'm JR Whalen for "The Wall Street Journal." We'll be back tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

WSJ's Your Money Briefing podcast is your personal-finance and career checklist. Finance reporters and experts break down complicated money questions every weekday to help you make better decisions about managing your money. 