Would you Live in this house?

[Sparx]

I'd be more concerned about WHY the fire started in the first place. I wouldn't want to live in a house that I knew was prone to electrical fires, for example.

 

[MoniqueU]

If a child had died there no flipping way I could. I lost my son in a horrible accident in a rented house and couldn't even go back there for even shoes, I didnn't have them on when we went to the hospital. My friends all chipped in and packed up my house. How they did that for me I will never know. I can handle almost anything that comes my way, maybe not with grace but I can handle it but anything involving a child wrecks me emotionally even after all these years. I just couldn't bare the thought. Also if an older person died and there was a nursing home type smell that I didn't think I could get out I might take pause but it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

 

[spacemermaid]

As a previous poster said, if the rebuilt house still smelled "burnt" (I know the smell, and it's not a "happy" smell, like, say, a campfire...), then no, I wouldn't want to live there.

As to living in a house where someone died, well...I really, really like old houses. If I ever had a choice between, say, an Art Deco bungalow, or a stately old Victorian, and something newer that looked just like everything else in the neighborhood, I'd choose the old building, even if someone had died in it. I'm not superstitious. So long as the remains weren't included with the house, what should I care?

But then again, I grew up in the house where my Nana passed away. Also, I have lived in an old house (over 100 years old; I'm sure at least one person had died in it, it would be an anomaly if someone hadn't...) within viewing distance to an equally old cemetery. Neither place had "bad vibes", IMO.

 

[NMAmy]

Is it staying long-term in a place that someone has died in that freaks people out?

(I am aware that I'm evil for bringing this up, but it's one of those things that has always puzzled me.) Most hotels have had deaths. If you've never stayed in a room that's had a death, you've likely slept next door to a hotel room that's had at least one death. And if you stay at casino hotels, it's likely some of those deaths were from , ahem, exhertions or were suicides. (You got yer happy deaths and yer not-so-happy deaths.)

If you've ever slept at a quaint B&B in a very old house, you've most certainly stayed at a place where other people have died.

So what's the difference between that and buying a house someone has died in. For that matter, doesn't that limit you to only brand new houses?

I was curious about this, as well. So for those of you who refuse to live in a home where someone has died--what about an apartment building? You'd never know who had died where.

It just seems so odd to me although my dd did ask me similar questions when we purchased our home. The lady had retired and moved to Florida and dd thought it was suspicious that she only communicated by mail.

I guess my feeling is that everyone dies. It would be hard to find property--even new buldings--where someone had not died on the grounds or in a previous building on the same site. Now if it were a horrific death like say, the Sharon Tate home, then I would probably not be able to live there. But if Grandma passed away in her sleep upstairs, I'm fine with that.

 

[Sparx]

I was curious about this, as well. So for those of you who refuse to live in a home where someone has died--what about an apartment building? You'd never know who had died where.

It just seems so odd to me although my dd did ask me similar questions when we purchased our home. The lady had retired and moved to Florida and dd thought it was suspicious that she only communicated by mail.

I guess my feeling is that everyone dies. It would be hard to find property--even new buldings--where someone had not died on the grounds or in a previous building on the same site. Now if it were a horrific death like say, the Sharon Tate home, then I would probably not be able to live there. But if Grandma passed away in her sleep upstairs, I'm fine with that.

I really think my main problem with living in a home where a truly horrific death took place would be the problem that the owners of the Amityville house faced: rubber neckers. I could not STAND if people were coming to my house to take pictures or oogle where something horrible happened years ago.

 

[MoniqueU]

On a sort of seperate note has anyone ever lived in a house that gave them bad vibes? The house my son died in I was only there a short time but I would wake up every morning and say man I am depressed and couldn't really shake it.

The house i am in now is real new and we were friendly with the previous owners. However they moved when he got a crazy kind of cancer that almost killed him (I hope he is still in remission) I moved in in August and by October I got diagnosed as being legally blind and told I was losing my eyesight with a rare eye disease. I haven't felt good about the house we are in since before we even got the keys and I lived in the same model around the corner, this one just has a heck of alot more upgrades and a nicer yard with a pool. But it hasn't felt like home to me like the other one did. I don't know if that is because the other one I got brand new and this one belonged to someone else or if my feelings are valid. But I want to move and have wanted to move for a long time now, even though we have friends in the neighborhood.

 

[indimom]

I don't believe that the dead remain with us; so no, it doesn't bother me.
I grew up in my family's 1900 home where my great-aunt died as a child from dyptheria.
I now live in a home built in 1890, it's possible someone died here "way back when" and it's a perfectly normal older home with creeks and moans, doors that stick in the summer and won't latch properly (and occasionally swing open on their own) in winter due to the wood expanding and contracting. No big deal.

 

[aprilgail2]

I would not buy a house that someone had died it....just would not. When I was a kid I had a vacant house behind us- I never knew why no one bought it until I was older and found out that the husband killed the wife in the bathtub! That would sure keep me from living there!!

 

[Micca]

My concerns would be a) the odor--as others have noted and b) whether there was something about the construction or wiring in the house that would make it vulnerable to another fire. Another thing to consider is that most of us would probably prefer to die in our homes. Not in a fire or other tragedy, but peacefully while sleeping. I think when you look at it from that perspective, having someone pass away in their home isn't so creepy.

 

[Mimi1965]

Absolutely positively not even a chance would I EVER want to step foot in a potential house that I'd buy if someone died in it. End. Of Story.



!

Hate to break this to you all-but most old folks die in their homes
I would guess a large percentage of older home son the market had a natural death in them. No big deal-IMO.

 

[happily single]

Thanks for the responses. After posting I googled the fire (I was away when the fire happened). THe owner on the first floor left a lit ciagarette and went to the second floor to eat dinner with her mother. The cigarette ignited a fire and the third floor tenant died EN ROUTE to the hospital, according to the newspaper. Now I have dealt with family death and know that "time of death" isn't always accurate ie: my grandmother died about 10:00 p.m. but because the ME didn't get to the house until after midnight her time of death, and therefore DATE of death is incorrect.

In any event, it was not an electrical, etc. fire. AND the house had NO WORKING SMOKE ALARMS. The fire happened at dinnertime.

My problem would be knowing that either myself or one of the children would be sleeping in the room that this poor man suffered in, even if for a short time.

Initially I was interested in a first floor unit, but after seeing the 2-3 floor I fell in love. But the fact that someone died is killing me!

 

[Ohiodislover]

I would in a case like the OP. However if the deaths occurred by a murder, I don't think so.

A few years ago, we had a teen in our neighborhood shoot and kill his mom, dad and 2 little brothers in there beds, and living room. Very tragic. When we were looking for our new home a few months ago, that house was still empty. The property is awesome, and they have dropped the price to well below what it should sell for. I couldn't bring myself to even look at it. One of the boys was my daughter's age and in her school. Just too creepy.

 

[Syrreal]

The guy that used to own our house died in our bedroom. Whatever. He's obviously not haunting us since we've almost completely remodeled the place and have done plenty of mouthing about the crazy stuff we have found (like fiberblass ceiling tiles used as wall insulation and a false floor in the basement to not have to deal with flooding).

 

[Poppinsme]

I have a horrible story.
Back in 1967 when I was 11 one of our neighbors house caught on fire.
They lived in a two story old farm house. The fire department was a good ways away. Too far really.
They had 3 children. One of the boys was my friend and he was 11 like me.
The fire started on the first floor at night. All the neighbors were alerted to this. My father and the men in the area used everything they could to put out the fire. Buckets, garden hoses etc.
My friend was trapped on the second floor, he couldn't get out. His father and mother received 3rd degree burns trying to save him. They had to hold them down.
For years I had nightmares about this as we could all hear him screaming, trapped on the 2nd floor.
The house burned to the ground and for years it became a haunted place. Nobody went there.

I could never live where somebody has died from a fire.
And my greatest fear is dying in a fire.