I figure many Realtors, investors, and others in the industry who have been in business for a bunch of years have come across a property that someone claimed was "haunted" or "possessed." I have actually come across several of these myself over the last 15 years or so. So I thought I would share a little bit from my experiences. In Florida, we have a specific law that was put on the books about 5 years ago that relieves sellers or Realtors of any obligation to disclose if someone died or was killed in a property. The law is Florida Statute 689.25 if you want to read it. The statute does not specifically mention haunted houses or paranormal activity, but a lot of that is associated with someone dying in a house.
A few years ago, I sold a large executive-type home, 4000+ square feet on several acres. The home was in a semi-rural area and a few years earlier was used as a Jewish temple. The current owner was having major upgrades done to the house in order to prepare it for a sale. He is a friend of mine and I was assisting him some in dealing with the contractors. Several of the contractors swore to me that the house was haunted. There were some saloon style doors that closed up a loft area upstairs, and they swore to me that every time they closed the doors that when they came back the next day the doors would be open. They also claimed mysterious drafts, doors slamming by themselves, and pounding sounds in the garage. I actually went to the house one evening when nobody was home and sort of taunted the ghosts to appear. Kind of scary, but nothing happened. I closed the saloon doors myself and came back 2 days later and they were still closed. I asked the owner (who had been living there on and off for about a year) about the supposed ghosts and he said that he never saw or heard anything.
I own a rental property that has a crawlspace (the house is up on blocks). Several years ago a tenant complained to me that they could hear an eerie knocking sound in the crawlspace at night sometimes. The entry to the crawlspace was boarded up, so nothing could easily get in there. I poked around some with a flashlight, but did not see anything. I asked the tenant to try and record the sound or contact me if they heard it again. They told me about the sound 3 different times over a 1 month period. The tenant has since moved, and I never found out what the sound was. I still own the house. The elderly man who sold me the house had an elderly wife who used a handicap ramp to enter the house. She died before he put the house up for sale. She may have died in there, but I don't know for sure.
About 10 years ago, I had someone call me about a house that his sister owned. She had apparently committed suicide in the house and now the heirs were trying to sell the house. It ended up not being a good deal, so I didn't buy it. I distinctly remember when walking through the house that I kept getting this creepy feeling that someone was watching me. I never saw or heard anything, but it made me feel uneasy. Of course I have been in many houses that have just plain given me the creeps, and it didn't have anything to do with ghosts.
Right in my office building about a year and a half ago there was an incident. In the office directly across the hall from mine, a woman employee committed suicide by putting a plastic bag over her head and suffocating. Ewww! The company that was in that space vacated shortly thereafter. I don't blame them. Many times I am working in my office all alone into the evening. My actual room shares a common wall with the room where the suicide took place. I haven't ever heard or seen anything out of the ordinary. The office space has been vacant ever since that company moved out.
With older houses and buildings, it is not uncommon for someone to pass away while in them. It is just a sad fact of life. I would love to see or hear some sort of ghost or paranormal activity. But I certainly wouldn't want one in a house that I live in though. And I don't want to get attacked like in some Amityville Horror or Poltergeist movie. I try to keep an open mind, but sadly I think I will continue to be disappointed by the ghouls and goblins.
If you have any interesting stories, feel free to share.
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(Copyright © 2008. Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Rob Arnold, ABR, CPL, CRB, GRI, Managing real estate broker, Licensed mortgage broker, Notary Public
407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com/ www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com/
Your full service and investor friendly Realtor in Orlando. Learn to invest in Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Investor mentoring and counseling available. I also provide flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Central & South Florida, the Space Coast, and the Treasure Coast including Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Sanford, Deltona, Debary, Deland, Mount Dora, Eustis, Clermont, Kissimmee, Winter Haven, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Miami-Dade, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Gainesville, Volusia, Brevard, and more.
We buy houses cash, sell properties, and list properties throughout Central Florida and the metro Orlando area.
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Rob Arnold - Your full service and investor friendly Realtor ® in Orlando and Central Florida.
407-389-7318 / 1-877-389-7318 www.SDRhouses.com www.WeBuyHousesFlorida.com
We sell foreclosure, short sale, and bank owned REO house home throughout Central Florida, metro Orlando, and the Space Coast. We sell and list Central Florida real estate and Orlando real estate. Free list of foreclosure and short sale houses available. Our firm also provides flat fee MLS listings, For Sale By Owner, and menu-based services in most parts of Florida including Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Kissimmee, Sanford, Lake Mary, and Deltona.