‘Stigmatized’ Homes Can Be Bargains

While many house-hunters find themselves turned off by a property that has been the scene of a gruesome crime, prospective buyers that can move beyond the “yuck” factor may actually get a great piece of real estate at a very low price. Real estate consultant Randall Bell of Bell Anderson & Saunders estimates that so-called stigmatized properties can warrant sales discounts of 10 percent to 25 percent off market pricing. That is evident in the sale of the picturesque three-bedroom home in Houston where Andrea Yates drowned her five children, which sold for just $37,000. Meanwhile, a buyer purchased the Los Angeles abode where O.J. Simpson is believed to have killed his ex-wife and her friend for $590,000, $200 below the initial list price; the buyer of the past Ohio residence of Jeffrey Dahmer, where he killed and dismembered his first victim, paid only $245,000, or more than $100,000 less than similar properties in the neighborhood; and the Northern California estate that was the scene of a mass suicide by Heaven’s Gate cult members, listed at $1.6 million before the tragedy, sold for much less — $668,000 — two years after. While the savings are enough to win over some otherwise hesitant buyers, Bell says there are other concerns tied to stigmatized homes, including resale value. Additionally, he explains, notorious real estate tends to languish on the market for two to seven years longer than they would normally. | Read More