Let me preface this post by reminding everyone that I have a very active imagination (hence the love of conspiracy theories).
Last Sunday we looked at several homes. One of them, and REO on 5 acres in Shingle Springs, had a very odd room (labeled “photo room” in the breaker box). So of course my imagination got the better of me, and I got a little creeped out by the potential activities that took place there (out of earshot of even the closest neighbors). While the price was very good for the location and condition of the house…..I was a bit leary due to the potential bad vibes of the house.
This isn’t the first time bad vibes have made me rule out a home. Last spring we had driven by a house listed for sale on Tam O’Shanter in EDH, and I got the willies just driving by it. Something was amiss. Can’t say what it was.....it felt haunted...in a bad way. And was certainly enough for me to cross it off my list (and it was a much shorter list back then).
Another mom I know was considering purchasing a home in Stonbriar a while back. Apparently a man had killed his wife there, but she was okay with it. Personally, I’m not sure I could live in a house where I knew something like that happened.
So for everyone who is purchasing a house to actually live in…..does bad juju influence your purchase decision? I am not sure if there is a price point at which I would consider a home with bad juju, assuming we planned to actually live there.
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12 comments:
Buying Time, I am surprised a little, you being a data person.
I haven't felt bad vibes anywhere yet. I have felt saddened by some of the homes homes that have been abused, neglected and are in various states of disrepair. Then again I think, I could use this as leverage.
Although a reportable tragic event in a home would probably not bother me, I have to think that it may bother the next potential buyer. That I would definitely take into account.
I use the data as a crutch to keep me from doing anything too stupid.
I'm actually rather touchy feely when it comes to my personal life (hence the bleeding heart tendancies when it comes to social welfare issues like health care).
Data is only a place to start.
JuJu is the final decision maker, you can call it "setting" or "location" or Feng Shui but only a minority of people are looking at pure data. Your potential buyers pool(when you sell) would be a lot smaller (less demand = less price)
Obviously, you have missed some important data your gut is telling you!
Buying a home should be a sound business decision for everyone. But it must also be a "home" (not just a "house). A place for sanctuary, raising a family, a place that gives you comfort. If one accepts that a house is merely a business decision, the juju isn't important, but a home is too important to me to say "I can live with that." And as Husmanen points out, you have to think about that "next buyer" when you try to sell. And no matter how many of us say we are going to live somewhere forever ... few of us really do.
I definitely consider this when looking at houses. As the others pointed out, if the incident in question is something that was known or can be found out publically, it must be disclosed and can affect your resale value.
But most of what goes on in a house probably is not known to anyone but the prior occupants and can only be guessed by future occupants. I'll take an older home with a history in an established neighborhood over a new home any day. Most of what has gone on in older homes is good stuff, the kind of stuff we all want in our lives: conceptions, maybe births, kids growing up, birthdays, holiday parties, engagements, heart-to-heart discussions, graduations, couples growing older, maybe peaceful deaths, etc. These things give character to a home. I usually figure that if a home has been occupied by the same family for a long period of time, rather than being bought and sold many times, it probably has pretty good karma.
Anon - Agreed, buying from the original owner is certainly a plus.....we bought our first place from the original owner.
One of the other places we visited was being sold by the original owner....while I really liked the location and the home....I don't think she is that serious about selling, since her home has been on the market for quite some time. All this to say, I doubt she would accept an offer in our price range....sigh
OK now that we've all agreed, what is the premium for good Ju Ju or discount for Badd Ju Ju???
How about 13%.... :-)
sippn: "Obviously, you have missed some important data your gut is telling you!"
Damn, he's right on this one. We collect all sorts of data, and some of it is difficult to define objectively. That doesn't mean it is irrelevant. Good call, man. You surprise me at times.
Sig and I have both lived in haunted houses, and we'd both rather avoid that again. We both also have degrees in sciences. (His is doctoral, so he's no "psuedo" scientist.) Sig can be really harsh with people who theorize about what color dinosaurs were, or the probability of cosmic events, etc. based on very little hard evidence. As far as he's concerned, though, juju is real and to be avoided at all costs.
OTOH, the house the ex-hub and I shared and that he still lives in has wonderful vibes. He had looked at it before taking me to see it, and he was very truthful about the negatives but insistent that I look at it because despite those negatives he really liked the house. I went to see it with my mind made up that I'd hate it. It smelled like stale cigarette smoke and animals, had totally messy and tweaked out owners, the yard was out of control and there was a built-in bar in the main living area and a built-in TV stand above the Jacuzzi that just screamed "party house", and I mean that in the most negative way possible. But the ex was correct; the house had a very undefinable aura and "flow" that shone through all the abuse. I always felt that we didn't do the house justice; that it had so much more potential. The ex's new wife has actually done a lot to make the place really shine, and I have to give her kudos for that. I hear the ex had to be dragged kicking and screaming all the way on the renovations, but I have to hand it to her for not backing down (which was always my problem).
sippn: "Obviously, you have missed some important data your gut is telling you!"
Damn, he's right on this one. We collect all sorts of data, and some of it is difficult to define objectively. That doesn't mean it is irrelevant. Good call, man. You surprise me at times.
Sig and I have both lived in haunted houses, and we'd both rather avoid that again. We both also have degrees in sciences. (His is doctoral, so he's no "psuedo" scientist.) Sig can be really harsh with people who theorize about what color dinosaurs were, or the probability of cosmic events, etc. based on very little hard evidence. As far as he's concerned, though, juju is real and to be avoided at all costs.
OTOH, the house the ex-hub and I shared and that he still lives in has wonderful vibes. He had looked at it before taking me to see it, and he was very truthful about the negatives but insistent that I look at it because despite those negatives he really liked the house. I went to see it with my mind made up that I'd hate it. It smelled like stale cigarette smoke and animals, had totally messy and tweaked out owners, the yard was out of control and there was a built-in bar in the main living area and a built-in TV stand above the Jacuzzi that just screamed "party house", and I mean that in the most negative way possible. But the ex was correct; the house had a very undefinable aura and "flow" that shone through all the abuse. I always felt that we didn't do the house justice; that it had so much more potential. The ex's new wife has actually done a lot to make the place really shine, and I have to give her kudos for that. I hear the ex had to be dragged kicking and screaming all the way on the renovations, but I have to hand it to her for not backing down (which was always my problem).
BT, you may have been "Dead-On" for the house on Tam O'Shanter.
Locals (At least Pre-1990 Boom) remember the nationalized story of the teen killing his girlfriend/video clerk and then himself in a house on Tam O'Shanter that backed up to NY Creek. EDH was very small then as was ORHS. They found dead goats, and temples in the backyard of this deranged teenager.
I want to say this happened around 1986/1987 and I can't be too sure on the details, but I know it did happen. As kids, we used to ride our bikes past it REAL fast, even months after the yellow tape was gone.
Like CMYST, I am totally blown away by Sippin sometimes. I think Sippin hit it on the head.
There is definately good "JuJu" and bad, and that can be relevant in terms of value, and cost in my opionion.
To this day, I can only identify the house as to a string of 3 or 4 that all look the same.
ANON-101
Personally, I spend way too much time watching "Ghosthunters" on the Sci Fi channel to give bad juju short shrift. I haven't encountered it in a home yet (although my mom, grandma, and great aunts lived in haunted houses and weren't bothered by doing so), and I don't wanna. And I surely don't want to pay for bad juju, either.
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