Dear Quentin,
I’m considering selling my home. My question is this: Do l need to advise prospective buyers that my husband passed away in the living room? What am I obliged to tell people who are interested in buying my house?
Widow and Homeowner
Dear Widow,
The short answer to your short question is: It depends on what state you live in. Every state has different rules on disclosures by homeowners when selling a property and on the nature of those disclosures. Ultimately, a good real-estate attorney will answer any questions you may have. You don’t have to do this alone.
But before I go further: I’m sorry your husband passed away, and I do hope that he did so peacefully, and that you had many happy years together.
And now for the long answer. In California, a seller must disclose if a death has occurred in the house within the last three years, even if it was from natural causes. Cal. Civ. Code § 1710.2 states: “Nothing in this section shall be construed to immunize an owner or his or her agent from making an intentional misrepresentation in response to a direct inquiry from a transferee or a prospective transferee of real property, concerning deaths on the real property.”
Some states have laws about disclosures of events a criminal nature — for instance, if there was a murder in the house. Other states, such as Florida, explicitly say you do not have to disclose such details when selling a home. Case in point: Fla. Stat. Ann. § 689.25(b) states: “Failure to disclose to the transferee that the property was or was suspected to have been the site of a homicide, suicide, or death” is not a material fact that must be disclosed in a real-estate deal.
Sellers must answer questions truthfully, however. “Regardless of which state you live in, if the buyer asks whether a death has occurred in the home, you are legally required to tell them the truth or risk legal repercussions,” according to Realtor.com. “If you aren’t upfront with a buyer early on, you also run the risk that the buyers may pull out of the agreement because they mistrust you — and assume that you’re hiding other things about the property.”
It’s always good practice for any prospective buyer to research a property before buying it to see if there are any past or present situations that could affect the value of the property. That includes knocking on a neighbor’s door to ask about the street, house or neighborhood. Some 11% of people have moved because of their neighbors and nearly 75% dislike their neighbors, this survey found.
Good luck with your house sale. I hope you get a good price, and I wish you the best of everything in this new chapter of your life.
You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on Twitter.
Check out the Moneyist private Facebook group, where we look for answers to life’s thorniest money issues. Post your questions, tell me what you want to know more about, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.
The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.
‘My elderly uncle’s lady friend is very manipulative’: He loaned a lot of money to this girlfriend. How can we protect him? Will she be able to contest his will?
My girlfriend admitted to having ‘some’ student debt, but I just found out she owes $ 83,000. Should we still plan to buy a house together?
‘I feel like a sucker’: I bought stock for $ 18 after an IPO. The underwriter’s brokerage house had a $ 30 price target. It fell below $ 1. How could they get it so wrong?