Are North Dakota Home Sellers Required to Disclose a Murder?

It's harder than ever to buy a home. Money is tight, and houses aren't cheap. If you're lucky enough to do this, you might want to keep reading.

Obviously, you want to know when the house was built, and whether there have been any fires or floods. Is the foundation good? Is the home near a good school? -- The list goes on and on.

Now, I know this is a little bit morbid, but I think if I were to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house, I would want to know if someone was murdered or died there.

Disclosing A Murder

Many states, such as New York, Michigan, and Kentucky, have no written laws on disclosing a death on a property.

North Dakota is known as a "Caveat emptor" state. This means the buyer is responsible for checking the goods' quality before purchase.

According to Okeefeattorneys.com, a buyer is unable to recover damages from a seller if the property/item has defects.

Because North Dakota is a caveat emptor state, any facts regarding a stigmatized event need not be disclosed. According to Spaulding Deacon, a crime scene/biohazard cleaning company, the agents can only disclose this information with permission from the seller.

According to the Grand Forks Herald, real estate agents are only required to disclose that information if they are specifically asked that question by the buyer.

(Also Read: Is North Dakota Home To The Least Accurate Weather Forecasts?)

Exceptions

There are some states that do require this information to be disclosed. In Alaska, California, and South Dakota, a death on the property (Peaceful or otherwise) must be disclosed if it occurred within the last three years. This, according to Realtor.com. 

There you have it. North Dakota does not require a seller to disclose a death on a property. I hope this has satisfied your curiosity. And hey, maybe it's better not to know.

If I found out someone died in my home, I would go from a peacefully ignorant existence to suddenly thinking the place is haunted. No, thank you.