Don’t Let a Haunted House Slow Your Hustle
There is an awesomely creepy looking house in Sacramento that went on the market in 2002. According to rumors floating around town, the Hart Mansion is haunted. I would have totally bought that house if circumstances were different. It’s beautiful, it’s historical and it’s in a great location. BUT, my buddy who was going to purchase the house with me was completely freaked out by the rumors and backed out.
According to the haunted house report that Realtor.com put out a couple of years ago, I am part of the 62% of people who wouldn’t be deterred from purchasing a haunted house. The report has a bunch of statistics on consumer sentiments regarding buying and living in a haunted house. If you do a quick Google search you can find plenty of articles geared towards realtors about haunted houses (here, here, here and here).
I Ain’t Afraid of no Ghost
Here’s my take: the whole haunted house thing is a bunch of crap. Not only would I live in a rumored haunted house, but a haunted house also wouldn’t inhibit my hustle. Go ahead and add “haunted house” to the list of challenges that you, as a Realtor, are going to encounter as an agent.
Listing A Haunted House
For example, you list a haunted house. But no one makes an offer. Are you just going to let it sit there or are you going to figure out the best way to get offers on the house? (Hint: maybe lower the price of the house).
Of course you have some other options. You could wait until an uninhibited buyer comes along, although you might be waiting for awhile. You could hire a spirit-sweeper to cleanse the home or the buyer could gut and remodel the house. These are potential fixes but let’s be honest, smudging won’t erase the rumors.
Buyer Concerns
Likewise, of you have a scared client who feels unsafe, are you going to persuade them to make an offer anyway? Or are you going to show them other houses that don’t freak them out?
If everything about the house is perfect except for the fact that a family was murdered in it then it’s not the perfect house. Just like a house that is located next to train tracks. You can’t move train tracks and you can’t erase rumors.
A house is a house. Regardless if the home is inhabited by spirits. It’s real simple. You have to do everything you can to give your client your very best. You need to figure out what is most important to them. Don’t let a stigmatized house slow you down.
Realtor.com did a survey and made this awesome infographic that has some pretty fun stats on Haunted Houses.
The best takeaways
- 62% of respondents would buy a haunted home
- 25% of respondents have looked for haunted history of a home
- Most people would not pay market value for a haunted house – they would offer less
- Most people consider haunted homes to be over 100 years old or have cemeteries on the property (obviously)
- If prospective buyers saw levitating/moving objects or ghosts in a home, they wouldn’t buy it
Comments