Do Realtors In Illinois Or Iowa Have To Tell You If Someone Died In A House?

Gotta know if you'll pay extra for the hauntings.

I'm fairly sure my apartment is haunted. The building used to be a brothel back in the 1800's and I think there's still some ghosts lurking around, whether it be the workers or clients. It's spooky but if they stay in their line, I'll stay in mine and we can be roomies.

Think about the plotlines of 90% of scary movies. It's someone moving into a house that's haunted by it's previous owner that died in it or on the property. You'll probably even see the realtor with them at the beginning.

And have you noticed that even though the realtor knows the morbid history of the house, they don't snitch on it? We could've avoided a whole two-hour haunting if that realtor had just let the new owners know.

via GIPHY

It's Not That Far Off

If for no other reason, it helps to know the history of a house so you can get a feel for how much maintenance and work it will need going forward. But that's about where the need-to-know stops. Most states don't require realtors or home sellers to disclose that someone has died in a house.

In Illinois, realtors don't have to tell you someone died in a house unless you explicitly ask, according to Apartment Therapy. If you actually ask the home seller or realtor that question, they must tell you the truth. This is also the case in Iowa.

If there was a death in the house and it was caused by something like murder or suicide, your agent may want to let you know about it to save their own reputation in case you find out. Which you probably would at some point. Realtor Michele Messina told Apartment Therapy:

In this case, if you do not disclose, your reputation could be at stake because the buyer may not trust you to share important information, particularly if this is a highly publicized violent event...Often people walk in, and they feel the energy of the home.

I've definitely walked in a place and turned around and walked my happy self right the heck back out. Hopefully if you are dealing with ghosts, they're making themselves somewhat useful and helping you decorate for Halloween.