NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — When looking for a new home, nearly 70% of home buyers would consider buying a “haunted” house if it “checked all their boxes,” a new Zillow survey has found.
Further, the survey noted that four in 10 prospective buyers said they could be convinced to buy a haunted house if it “had the right features.” Buyers said if a haunted house was in the right location or more affordable, they could see themselves living with a few ghosts in the attic.
Other desirable features buyers said they would compromise for included a big backyard, a pool or a two-car garage, with 40% of respondents saying so. More than a third of buyers say they could purchase a haunted home if it were priced lower than the rest of the market (35%), as home values remain near record highs after the pandemic-era run-up in prices.
“The combination of high prices, limited inventory, and rising interest rates is creating a witches’ brew of trouble for would-be homeowners,” said Manny Garcia, a senior population scientist at Zillow. “Despite these chilling conditions, life events like job changes, coupling up and having children still drive households to buy. These shoppers have to square their budgets with important home characteristics like bedrooms, bathrooms and floor plans. When balancing so many priorities in an inventory-starved market, avoiding ghosts and ghouls doesn’t always make the cut.”
And, a new Zillow analysis of state laws found that Tennessee homeowners are not required to disclose anything about any paranormal activity that may have been reported in the home prior to the sale. Tennessee sellers are not required to disclose any act or occurrence that “had no effect on physical structure of property” or if there was a homicide or death by suicide on the property, according to the analysis.
There is no specific mention of paranormal activity, according to Zillow, meaning you may end up with a haunted house and not know it until you encounter something from beyond the grave.
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Neighboring state Georgia does not have specific requirements for such disclosures for deaths on the property, but says sellers should respond “truthfully if asked.” To the north, Kentucky also says you have “no duty to disclose” but if a seller is asked a “direct question about a haunting, a death, murder, suicide, or another stigmatizing factor,” the agent and/or seller “must answer honestly.”
Tennessee’s other bordering states Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia, also have no requirement for disclosure for any deaths or paranormal activity, according to the report.