We Tell it Like It Is

When we show houses, real estate agents witness some pretty interesting living arrangements, strange and elaborate home decorating techniques, remodels gone bad, time warp back to the 50's etc. We also experience a lot of interesting stories & scenarios when it comes to helping people buy or sell homes. People often ask what my strangest experience has been and here is one of them:

I had met w/2 college-aged women almost 3 yrs ago who were interested in purchasing a house and they wanted to live in the Hugo/Lino Lakes/Centerville area. One home in particular was of interest to them in Lino Lakes. It was a 4 bedroom 2 bath split level house on a corner lot with a great yard. There was new carpet and paint throughout and there were many other features that really made the asking price seem incredibly reasonable. However, as we walked through the home, I felt something wasn't quite right in spite of how great it all looked on the surface. (Side note: I am a bit of an oddball and have been able to accurately sense issues with a house such as a history of water intrusion, sewer back-up, and mechanical issues without obvious clues present. Not something I picked up from real estate school; just call me a "natural" I guess. Or a "freak".) Since I did not have any physical proof to point out that would support my suspicions, I remained silent. However, upon our second visit to the home (one of the gals wanted to show it to her mom for her opinion), I continued to feel uneasy and began actively inspecting areas of the home (Another side note: I am NOT professing to be a skilled home inspector or anything equivilent. More like a "slightly trained eye".) that would normally be subjected to problems if they were to occur. I saw nothing suspicious and decided it would take more than my slightly trained eye to find something, if there was something to be found. I parted ways w/my buyers, giving them time to decide if they'd like to put in an offer. On my way home, I received a call from the listing agent who asked me if my buyers may put in an offer since they formally looked at the home twice. I told her that perhaps they would and she said she has some information she must disclose to me. She told me that a MURDER took place in the home and she wasn't at liberty to disclose the details. Whoa, hence the uneasy feeling that I never imagined would be because of THAT! So, with some online research and the help of a friend, I found there were 5 murders in the city of Lino Lakes within the past 5 yrs--and all 5 of them were at the same time in that house. Eeek. A man was refused treatment at a local hospital after complaining of hearing voices. He left the ER and ended up killing his sister, brother-in-law, and their 3 children with a hammer as they slept that night. Hence the new carpet and paint. I was creeped out beyond belief and my buyers did not purchase the home. In fact, I never heard from them again after that. The home did eventually sell for a very low price after being on the market for quite awhile.