Is it fraud to not tell the buyer the house is considered “haunted”?
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Is it fraud to not tell the buyer the house is considered “haunted”?
Asked on September 22, 2012 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
Cameron Norris, Esq. / Law Office of Gary W. Norris
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Well, yes. Sellers in CA have a duty to disclose something they know is material and the buyer doesn not have a good way of finding out from a cursory inspection. Things that are material are those that may impact the value or desirability of the Real Property.
There is no case law on point, but some other jurisdictions have addressed whether or not houses being haunted was something that needed to be disclosed. In the well known case of Stabovsky v. Ackley (NY) the court found that, "As a matter of law, the house is haunted," and that should have been disclosed to the buyer.
Best of luck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stambovsky_v._Ackley
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