Morbid subject

[RRTom]

In California, if a death occurs in a home within the past 3 years, it must be disclosed to any buyers of that home. Does that same law apply to RV's?

[coolbreeze01]

JimK-NY wrote:
There are reasons that the rest of us often view Californians as flakes.

Are you on pot or in the kettle?

[murphysranch]

In our area, we have to disclose the whereabouts of old gold mines, of which this area is riddled.

[fla-gypsy]

Since I would never live in californy it's of no consequence to me

[Camorhino]

Sold our home last year in CA. Had to disclose if we had a meth lab, pets, ever smoked in it, if the neighbors partied all night, any dangerous buried pipelines nearby. Seemed a little over the top, but......

[Jack_Diane_Free]

In the Province of Ontario one must disclose if a violent death has occurred in the home or if it was ever used as a grow op.

[DownTheAvenue]

Gosh....
I went to the hospital's emergency room recently. I am sure many people have died while there, maybe in the same bed I was laying.

I was admitted to the hospital and assigned a private room. Over the years, I bet people have died in that room, again maybe in the same bed I was laying.

One of my co-workers fell over dead in the break room. Enjoyed many a cup of coffee there afterwards.

The home you buy could have been the site of horrible abuse, from physical abuse between spouses to child sexual abuse. The home's owners could have been prolific swingers with sex parties and wife swapping.

The creep factor is everywhere.

[JimK-NY]

There are reasons that the rest of us often view Californians as flakes.

[WyoTraveler]

Aliens had lived in my CA house before I sold it and moved to WY. I never disclosed it. They moved me to Wy in their space ship. :B

[rockhillmanor]

In California, if a death occurs in a home within the past 3 years, it must be disclosed to any buyers of that home.

I'd have to see a copy of the 'seller's disclosure form' before I would believe that.

I did have one real estate agent tell me I had to disclose I buried my horse on the property. I told her if it ain't on the sellers disclosure form I wasn't offering the info.

Same with the last house I sold last year. It had 3 HUGE bears 'living' on the property.....do you have bears on your property was not on the sellers disclosure. It's the new owners problem now not mine. :C

[2012Coleman]

Died of natural causes? Not an issue. Murdered? Well take 50K off the asking price, and maybe I'll reconsider.

Recently went to an estate sale in my neighborhood with my 8 year old - told him the man died in the house after he questioned me about it. We went into the bedroom and he runs out yelling it smells in there! - is that where he died?

Everyone in the room got out of there....

[Jbrowland]

I live in California, bought a home here recently, know for a fact that the man who lived here died here in this very room I am in now, and It was not disclosed to us. Doesn't really bother me. The funny thing is they have strangely become part of our lives and we never even met these folks.

His name was Larry and his wife Marcia was moved to a care facility when we purchased the home. I have been told that both Larry and Marcia are/were wonderful folks many times. Wish I could have met them.

My daughter, who was two when we moved in must have heard us talking about Larry with a neighbor and later decided that Larry still lived with us. She would wave hello to Larry, talk about him and ask about his life. Seriously creepy and also sweet. A few years later Marcia passed away and I asked my daughter about Larry and she said that Larry left to be with Marcia.

I just got Marcia's mail again the other day.

[toedtoes]

I don't believe that law applies to RVs. It might apply to mobile homes and park units.

When I bought my house, I was told that the son had barred himself in the garage and hung himself - it explained why there was no door on the garage and the door frame was messed up. I was also told that the husband had fallen asleep with a cigarette and died in the resulting fire (wife was able to get out safely). I still bought the house and have been very happy here.

Several years later, I was talking to a co-worker and he mentioned my home address asking which house I lived in on that street. When I told him, he said "oh, that was my brother's house. Do you know he died in the fire - he got drunk, passed out and dropped the cigarette? Oh, and his step son hung himself in your garage." I told him I had not experienced any signs or events that suggest either of them were still hanging around.

It's a small world out there sometimes.

Tatest - the woman's realtor informed me of the deaths. She did not speak with me at all about it - and I never would have expected her to do so. The realtor's comments were very basic, matter of fact, and non-dramatic. He simply said "so you know, the son hung himself in the garage; and the fire was caused by the husband when he fell asleep on the couch with a cigarette". That was it - no discussion, just a simple disclosure and on with the other stuff.

I will add that if I mentioned the disclosure to people I knew, it was enlightening to realize how many of them would have immediately walked away from the house - no matter how cute they thought it was. I know for some cultures, it's a serious issue; for some folks, it's the idea of ghosts lurking around; for some (like me), it really depends on the type of death - if it had been Dorothy Puentes' house, I most likely would have passed.

[tatest]

California has a lot of strange laws. So do other states.

There was a time when almost everybody died at home. This was before emergency rooms, and before auto accidents becoming the number one cause of unexpected deaths in the U.S. (vehicle safety improvements have since passed that honor in this country back to influenza).

As Jeff says, it's a car. Different rules. In the U.K., any motor vehicle in (or on) which a person has died gets a special tag which prevents it being sold to be used again on the road. I wonder how many states have a law like that.

When my dad was doing damage appraisal on automobiles, his company had special rules for handling those involving deaths in the collision or incident. Various state laws had different effects on the salvage value of the remaining hulk, e.g. if no parts can be resold, salvage value was zero, as in the U.K.

I has been four years since my wife died in my arms in the family room of the home where I still live, and this is not something I intend to discuss with prospective buyers.

[SCVJeff]

It's a car..

[Naio]

PS, I have never bought a house in CA, but in my home state/s I have mostly lived in old houses. I assume lots of people have died in them over the years.