April 11th, 2016 at 6:59 pm
Answer: Yes, you should disclose. As you said, we are not legally required to disclose a death on the property that occurred over 3 years ago. However, to be safe, we should disclose the notoriety of the home, which a judge or arbitrator could potentially decide is a separate material fact affecting the value or desirability of the property. As for your second question of how to disclose, there are many possible answers. You are not obligated to take your eye off the fact that we are still trying to professionally advertise and market the property for sale. One possibility is to say: “Property has been stigmatized by a murder-suicide that occurred on the premises over 50 years ago. Buyer to investigate into this matter as Buyer deems appropriate.”
–Thank you to Nancy Sanborn for suggesting this week’s legal tip.
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