Streaming services are filled with television shows and movies about haunted houses and other supernatural occurrences. After all, who doesn’t love a good ghost story? We know of at least one group of people who could do without the tall tales. Anyone selling a house would prefer to keep the dramatic retellings to a minimum. 

However, rumours have a tendency to spread like wildfire. If your house has a history, chances are good your potential buyers have heard about it. Even if they haven’t stumbled across the stories online or through social media, you can still be assured of one thing: Their buying agents are certainly aware of the situation. 

Is there anything you can do to sell a house with a stigma while still enjoying the maximum results? As experienced real estate agents who have dealt with every situation imaginable, we have a few tips that will help.

Put Your Personal Beliefs Aside

Whether you believe in the supernatural or not is beside the point. If there’s a rumour afoot, what matters is that you can bet that some potential buyers believe it, at least to a certain degree. Some may be uncertain but still feel spooked. Others may believe with all of their heart and soul. Even a skeptical potential buyer may scoff at the idea of a house being haunted while being mindful about its resale value and other practical concerns. 

Crafting a successful selling plan means putting your personal thoughts aside and focusing on making your home appealing to those who are searching. In many cases, this means addressing the issue directly.

Selling in challenging situations is one of our specialties. Here are some other scenarios homeowners can face:

• How to Sell Your Home After a Divorce
• Can You Sell a House When You Have Tenants?
• Why Sellers Hesitate to List Their Homes for Sale

Define Stigma

What is a stigma, anyway? The dictionary defines it as “a mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach on one’s reputation.” In real estate, it often means there’s something that can cause a buyer to hesitate even though there is no structural flaw with the house. 

Ghost stories and poltergeists may spring to mind. However, there are other types of stigmas that can affect your ability to sell a home. For example:

• Your property was once the site of a heinous crime.
• Someone has passed away in the house.
• A notorious criminal or other unsavoury character once owned the property.

Even something that seems innocuous to one person might be a source of fear or unease for someone else. Something as simple as the wrong numerals on the address doesn’t seem problematic for most people. Still, it could be a red flag depending on the buyer’s background.

Don’t Try to Hide It

In the olden days before the Internet, a seller might have gotten away with hoping an interested buyer wouldn’t hear a story that sent them screaming for the hills. Now that everything is online for everyone to see, there is no such hope. While you don’t have to shout from the rooftops that your house has a ghost, you do need a plan for when questions inevitably come up.

By law, you don’t have to disclose stigmas in the same way you must make buyers aware of latent defects. The challenges arise when someone asks. You don’t have to answer the question, nor is your real estate agent permitted to answer without your permission. However, it is illegal to lie to a potential buyer.  

Deciding what to reveal can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you don’t want to give the buyer a reason to hesitate by providing more information than they need. On the other hand, refusing to answer could allow their imagination to run wild.  

Targeted Marketing Is More Important Than Ever

Generating maximum exposure is typically one of the keys to selling a house successfully. In the case of a stigma, it’s often more about finding the right person than launching a mass advertising campaign. If someone is easily spooked and finds the home’s history terrifying, they are not likely the best person to pursue. Instead, ask yourself, “Who would buy a house with a stigma?” The answer may be more simple than you realize.

• Those who don’t know or care about the stigma. They’re more interested in features like the condition and location of your home.
• Those who are aware of the stigma and are actually intrigued by it. Believe it or not, there are a few people who actively search for “haunted houses.” 

By understanding the market and the mindset of your most likely buyer, you are well on your way to a successful sale–stigma or no stigma!

Marketing and presentation will help you make the most of your sale. Learn more in the posts below:

• Our Full-Service Real Estate Team’s Guide to Marketing Your Home
• What Everyone Needs to Know About Selling Their First Home
• Fact Vs Fiction About Working With A Real Estate Agent

Work With an Experienced Real Estate Team

Selling a house can be a challenging endeavour at the best of times. It involves in-depth preparation, marketing research, analysis and an eye for design. Add a stigma to the mix, and finding a buyer can be even more difficult without sacrificing on the value of your home.

Working with a real estate team who is ready for anything is one of the best things you can do to maximize your results under any circumstances. A simple issue like a stigma is no match for an experienced professional with a vast network of potential buyers searching for a home like yours. 

Do you have any questions or concerns about selling a house in the current market? We are here to guide you through it no matter how challenging your situation. Reach out today or call (905) 332-9223 for more information.