Spirit Inspection, Ghost Survey, Psychic Evaluation, Ulterior Energy Assessment- Regardless of what you call it, they come up.
I have a number of older listings and get the "Is this house haunted?" question a good deal. I even thought about buying a house that had a reputation for being haunted and got a psychic to walk through the house and see if she could identify what I felt as a cold draft and what the caretaker called a poltergeist.
The lady arrived on my inspection day while the home inspector, plumber, HVAC technician and surveyor were busy at work. She walked into the house and went straight upstairs. The home inspector asked me who the nice lady in the suit was, he thought she was the interior decorator. When I told him she was the psychic here to find the ghost, his face went pale blank and he ran from the house to his truck. The plumber came inside and said the the home inspector and the technician were going to wait outside until the lady left; he asked who she was and when I explained; he wanted to go upstairs with her. He asked me what I told her about the house and when I told him, only the address, he wanted to know how she knew where to go when she got here. As the mesmerized plumber, the scared inspector and the nervous technician all stood in the driveway waiting for the finial report, the caretaker arrived to check on the inspections. I told him that the psychic was inside and please not to say anything.
When she finished upstairs, she walked down the spiral staircase and stopped to tell me her findings. She described in detail the grandmother present in the house in the upper guest bedroom. She said that the spirit had moved on and I had no more need to worry. She thanked me and left. I never got a bill from her for her work and the caretaker says he has not seen the light on in the room at night like he used to and a year later our county museum had a display of weddings through the years and there in a photo of the family that had built the house, was the father's mother exactly as described by the psychic.
I did not buy the house, not because of the ghost, but because of asbestos. The moral for Real Estate Agents: you never know what will happen during a listing, showing, inspection or closing- we need to be open minded. Many people ask if a "Haunted House" needs to be disclosed and others ask how do you know if a house is haunted; I suggest getting ALL of the inspections and disclosing EVERYTHING your clients need and should, in order to make a sound decision or successful sale, even if it means thinking outside of the box.
Bravo TV has a show: "Flipping Out" where the house flipper uses a psychic to help sell houses and in Stambovsky v. Ackley, the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division ruled that a seller must disclose that a house has a reputation for being haunted when there is a fiduciary relationship or in cases of fraud or misrepresentation,[2] because such a reputation impairs the value of the house.
It may not be required in your state, but what is the best thing for all parties? Disclose, Inspect or Hide in the truck with the home inspector?
Hi Jane Page. This is a great post. I love stuff like this :)
Real Estate is like a box of chocolates, you never know what or who you're gonna get.
Jane, I had an honest to gosh ghost living in my house when I bought it. She even chased away some houseguests who overstayed their welcome! Then, some friends of mine did a little ceremony one Sunday when I was doing an Open House and helped her to "move on". I sort of miss her now!
Patricia- Sorry that you lost a "friend" But it is an interesting situation to be in. Thanks for the comment!
What a great post! I live in one of the older houses in Aiken, and not only have I heard, smelled, and "felt" them, but I have seen them! Two friends of mine have seen two different ones, and we frequently here the front door slam when it's just us in the house. We also get child size handprints in the carpet usually just after steam cleaning one particular room. (NOTE: The only children I have are of the four legged variety). When I first moved into this house it was very obvious that "something" did not appreciate the inconvienance of my precense. Upon first moving in I didn't really believe too much in the "haunted house" stuff that people would tell, but I got over it and quickly. Everything from blown breakers in a new breaker box to stereos blasting on in the middle of the night (volume slowly increasing until I could turn it off), strange (sometimes very pleasant, sometimes NOT) odors. Some smelled like flowers or old perfume, sometimes shrimp cooking, sometimes rotten trash. I was at my wits end and losing a good bit of sleep until a friend from out of state who has always claimed to me to have had many interactions like this suggested that I just sit down and lay down the law. So that's what I did. I must say it felt strange at first having this conversation in my living room, but I sat down and simply addressed whatever could hear me that I was staying in the house, and that they may not mean to, but they were frightening me. I then said that I respected that they were there first, but my only intentions were to make the house beautiful and happy and they were to stop trying to communicate with me. I then said "I surround myself with the white light of Christ. Whatever is in this house not of the white light is ordered to leave immediately." All was quiet here for some time. My rest and my sanity returned. I'm not saying that all activity stopped in the house, but the things that I considered annoying stopped. IE: strange odors, electronic issues, blown breakers. I still hear doors slamming every now and again, and while rare, the occasional "siting" by myself and others, but all in all, I love this house, and have made it my home. Thanks again for this post. I am hoping others will share their stories here as well.
Christy & Robyn-
Thanks for sharing your story, I hope things stay happy in your home! If your unwanted friends return there is a spirit inspector in Aiken. Take care & I hope others will share. Kara wrote a whole blog on her ghost roommate, check-it out! thanks for commenting.