Buying a house with a bad history

youth_leader

My husband died on our front lawn - and the new owner is removing it all.  Our house was 1847,  I'm sure a lot of people died in their beds there.

stevoh

Section62 said:

user1977 said:

goater78 said:

user1977 said:

Murders are, obviously, but how often are suicides newsworthy? You really don't get the circumstances reported in that sort of detail, especially if they happen at home.

People in the local road would know and I imagine gossip about it. Would be surprised if nobody mentioned to you that someone had killed themselves in the house. Also people google their own addresses and imagine something would come up for it. 

Where would a domestic suicide come up via Google? Assuming the deceased wasn't somebody notable.

These days suicide at home is unlikely to be reported (in any detail), but it wasn't that long ago (1960's?) that some local papers would report deaths of this type in some graphic detail.

A Google search would currently be hit-and-miss, but sites like newspapers.com have extensive collections of newspapers which have been OCR'd so can be searched once logged in. If that information ultimately crosses the paywall then no doubt Google etc will show all the detail.

One of the issues will be whether the news report can be linked to a specific property - which may be relatively easy in rural areas, but could require some detective work in urban areas.  With growing interest in family history and more people wanting to write and publish 'their story', facts like a person killing themselves in a specific house will become easier to find.

As an example, in searching one of my family lines I came across a news report where a couple had lost their only child (son) in WW1 and never got over it.  Some time later the wife threw herself down the well, and on coming home the husband found the body (it was assumed) and then hung himself from the bannister. The local paper reported this in quite horrible detail, and syndicated the report so it appeared in other local papers in the region (up to 100 miles away from the location). This happened (just) within living memory, so it is plausible that people local to this house would also still be aware of what happened there, and talk about it when it goes on the market.

On the other hand we as children knew that someone had killed themselves in one of the outbuildings at the family home.  As children it seemed like ancient history and didn't bother us.  Now as adults the time gap between this happening and my parents buying the property looks rather short.  The difference (perhaps) - and this could well apply in the OP's case too - is that being in an outbuilding it was slightly detached in significance compared to what it may have been if it happened inside the main house, and particularly in a bedroom.

This is a sensitive topic and different people are going to react differently to learning about the sad history of a house. In some respects it is the same as the "should I buy a house near a rail line/motorway" threads.- for some people it will be of no consequence, for others a dealbreaker. Ultimately it is only a choice the OP can make.

https://www.samaritans.org/

Thanks. Very thoughtful and balanced response.

Thank you for adding the link on the bottom too. I’m conscious that we’re talking about this subject in a very flippant way, but it’s something that can have a devastating affect on the lives of family and friends, including those of the person who previously owned this house. 

stevoh

youth_leader said:

My husband died on our front lawn - and the new owner is removing it all.  Our house was 1847,  I'm sure a lot of people died in their beds there.

I’m sorry to hear about your husband. 

youth_leader

Thanks stevoh.  I had no choice but to sell and still feel an emotional attachment to the house. 

FreeBear

Then there are the houses where an occupant has died, and the body not discovered for months. Or in one recent case, three years. Perhaps a damning inditement of the neighbourhood and society in general.

goater78

FreeBear said:

Then there are the houses where an occupant has died, and the body not discovered for months. Or in one recent case, three years. Perhaps a damning inditement of the neighbourhood and society in general.

Yes always sad when someone dies and nobody notices. 

dannim12345

The last two houses is have a chance somebody died there as they were both probate.  I think if it was a house had a crime / murder especially if it was in the news it might be different but I think in most older houses there is a chance somebody died there at some point and doesn’t bother me. 

Sunsaru

Ever seen the film When the Lights Went Out? I've spent the night in that house....

Each to their own...

stevoh

youth_leader said:

Thanks stevoh.  I had no choice but to sell and still feel an emotional attachment to the house. 

My father died suddenly in the house at quite a young age. We still live there but I understand how you feel. 

TBagpuss

Personally, it wouldn't bother me. I think that murder is different to suicide, as it's much more newsworthy and a much bigger risk of ghoulish sightseers, particularly if it was it was highly publicised. 

I think the longer ago it was, the less likely it is to worry people, so if you bought and then sold the property in 5 or 10 years time it would be much less of an issue, even for people for whom it would be an issue in the first place, than if  fit had happened very recently and was the reason for the house being sold.

(And any obligation on the agents to disclose would presumably be dependent on them knowing, so again, it might be the case if it were a high-profile murder but for many other types of death they wouldn't necessarily even be aware)

That said, it does depend very much whether that's something you personally would mind. I would be very happy to live next to a churchyard - quiet neighbours and minimal risk or redevelopment - sounds perfect!