Your disclosure form and home inspection reveal plenty about the house you’re buying. Oops, there is lead paint. Darn, termites have indeed been gnawing at the cedar siding. Yes, that is a hairline crack you see in the foundation.
But there’s one thing you may not glean: whether or not someone passed away in your home. California law requires owners to disclose if a death occurred on the premises—but only if it was within the previous three years.
Luckily, there’s a website that can tell you.
DiedinHouse.com “is the first of its kind, web-based service that helps you find out if anyone has died at any valid U.S. address,” the site claims.
DiedinHouse.com’s founder, Roy Condrey, told Forbes that the site was inspired by one of his own tenants claiming his property was haunted. “I went online to find a ‘Carfax’ of sorts for deaths in homes and I didn’t find anything, but I did find pages and pages of people asking if there’s a way to find out if their house is haunted,” he said. In fact, deaths have been documented in some 4.5 million homes in the U.S., but there was never a clearinghouse for that information. Until now.
Simply type in your location, pay the fee ($11.99 for a single search), and voilà: The site combs through millions of digital records to get the skinny. Wait, there’s more: The site is running a special! Your report will also reveal if the home has hosted meth labs or suffered a fire for no extra charge!
Will a death in the house really influence your decision? After all, for centuries people did die at home, and we’re starting to return to that tradition.
But whether a death in the house will make or break your decision to buy depends on how superstitious you are. Actually, believing in the paranormal might make you more open to solutions, as well. As we’ve learned, you can always hire a psychic to give your home a spiritual cleanse.
