Everyone loves going to Haunted Houses in October, but did you stop to consider that you may be reading this in a real life haunted house now? As an investor, many of the houses you’ve looked at this year, roughly 40%, are probably haunted according to the previous owners.  In this Realtor.com survey, 40% of respondents say that had lived in a house they knew was haunted or might be haunted.  That means for every 4 out of 10 houses that have been lived in might be haunted!

Even more interesting than this stat is the fact that 33% of the survey respondents said they would still buy the house even if it is haunted.  They would use the possible haunting as a way to ask for price reductions on sale price.  Some said they would buy the haunted house at full price if it had better kitchens, more bedrooms, or was in more desirable neighborhoods.

“In a competitive market, it’s harder for prospective buyers to be extremely selective,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com. “If a house is commensurately priced, or has desirable features, the fact that it may be haunted seems to matter less. This report shows that, for those looking for a good deal, a lower price, better neighborhood or larger kitchen can balance out a few spooky happenings.”

By law most sellers are not required to disclose the fact that their house might be haunted.  There are no “ghost inspection” clauses in buyer terms that we are aware of.   So how can you take advantage of your “ghost discounts” if the ghouls are not being disclosed up front?

“This is a real problem in this ghost infested real estate market!” says Elliott Stern, Propertyonion.com’s Chief market analyst.  “There needs to be a mechanism in place to detect the ghosts before the sale, same with any type of home inspection, and legal remedies to either remove the entities or to compensate the buyer for taking on this burden with the property.  Not one of our law makers has felt comfortable discussing the haunted real estate market, and this is the byproduct – up to 40% now infested with ghosts!  It’s time to take responsibility and do something.  We demand better from Tallahassee lawmakers in the 21st century!”

In the end, it’s ultimately up to you if you want to grill the sellers about possible hauntings. You should keep in mind 4 of 10 properties you look at this year will probably be haunted so it is a question you should be asking at each showing and probably a way to get a great steal of a deal!  I mean, you aren’t afraid of no ghosts, right?