PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Thinking about moving out but worried about your ghostly roommates? Speaking literally, of course.
According to Zillow, in two states it is required that supposed paranormal activity be disclosed when selling a house; however in the Pacific Northwest, namely Oregon and Washington, that disclosure isn’t necessary.
Even more so, if you’re selling your home in Oregon or Washington, you don’t even need to disclose if there was a death or murder in the building.
While the state laws vary in wording, the gist is that as long as there isn’t anything that has an effect on the physical condition of the home, it doesn’t need to be disclosed to a potential buyer.
In fact, nowhere in the laws is paranormal activity mentioned in any way, unlike New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Minnesota where ghastly specters do make an appearance in the real estate laws.
In Massachusetts and Minnesota, real estate laws specifically say that paranormal or supernatural activity doesn’t attribute to something that needs to be disclosed to a potential buyer.
In New Jersey, however, state laws say that a seller needs to tell buyers of any potential ghosts that may be haunting a house.
Things are a bit more complicated in New York, where if a home gains a public reputation for being haunted and a seller doesn’t disclose that during the buying process, the entire house transaction can be voided by a court.
Some states do require that deaths or murders be disclosed, in many cases only if real estate agents are specifically asked though.
