The Lloyds wanted a house with character.
The old Victorian had character, all right, but to keep her real estate license, Evelyn was required to disclose the “paranormal occurrences” the previous owners had reported. The Lloyds exchanged a glance and asked for a night to think it over… in the residence.
The next morning, Evelyn met them at the door. “Find anything?”
Mrs. Lloyd was disheveled; her husband groggy. “We stayed up all night, but didn’t see a thing.”
“Great! You’ll sign the papers then?”
“Hardly!” Mrs. Lloyd huffed. “We wanted a house with character; this one’s not even haunted!”
Author’s Note: I read an article recently about what exactly realtors are required to disclose about a property’s history and found it so interesting that I just had to fit it into a story. In case you’re wondering: the laws vary by state.
This drabble reminds me of something I found out recently; haunted real estate is actually a ‘thing.’ There exist real property brokerage companies who will help interested buyers track down haunted houses. I can’t picture *wanting* to live in a haunted house, but apparently, some people do.
I wonder if unscrupulous realtors borrow ghosts from their other listings? Great story!
Stambovsky v. Ackley discusses a situation where “as a matter of law, the house is haunted”. (The seller had permitted local news stories to be published regarding the house in question and thus was estopped from claiming that it was not haunted.)