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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not make an appointment to view a house where there was a murder

125 replies

bewilderedfish · 27/04/2016 21:25

We've been looking to buy a house in a particular area for a while and today a lovely house has come up for sale on right move within our budget (it does seem cheap for what it is so I was very excited).
The interior pics look beautiful, it's been refurbished inside and ticks all the boxes for us. DH and I were excited to call the estate agent tomorrow to book a viewing and I idly did a Google search of the address just for fun.
My stomach sank when It became obvious it's the house where a woman was murdered in a horrible arson attack 10 years ago. I remembered it clearly when I read the news reports.
The woman died on the stairs after being disturbed by the fire. The house was badly damaged as petrol had been put through the letterbox and lit. It's obviously been completely remodelled but Its put me right off.
I immediately said no, I wouldn't be going to see it. I could never live there. Not for any price.
I wouldn't sleep at night for reliving that woman's last moments and I'd never feel happy there. DH thinks I'm being ridiculous and he's really disappointed.
Am I being stupid?

OP posts:

Trooperslane · 28/04/2016 09:08

I absolutely wouldn't.

We were desperate for a house and the agent started acting all weird. Eventually we found out that the couple were splitting up. Pulled out straight away.

It felt really wrong to buy our first house together under those circumstances.

Trust your gut. If it feels wrong, don't do it. You'll never be happy there.

OVienna · 28/04/2016 09:30

We've night two houses from divorcing couples! Including our first. That is very different IMo from buying a property which could be identified on Google as the scene of a murder.

OVienna · 28/04/2016 09:30

Sorry bought

specialsubject · 28/04/2016 09:52

Really notorious houses get demolished not because of primitive superstition, but because of ghoulish sightseers and occasional would -be copycats making pilgrimages.

Original poster

bewilderedfish · 28/04/2016 09:54

Well I had nightmares about it last night where we had bought the house and I couldnt get in to certain rooms or lock the back door. When I did eventually go inside the room (it was a bathroom) it was horribly old fashioned and I knew it had been like that when the old lady that died had lived there. No, we aren't going to even bother viewing it, DH is okay about it as he's given more thought to the possible fire damage and resale issues if we ever wanted to move on.

OP posts:

TiggerPiggerPoohBumWee · 28/04/2016 10:43

We were desperate for a house and the agent started acting all weird. Eventually we found out that the couple were splitting up. Pulled out straight away

Can't have been that desparate, can you? Divorce is one of the main reasons to sell a house after all, if you wouldn't buy a house because the people living in it were splitting then you're ruling out a lot of houses. And what if the people leaving weren't splitting but they bought from people who were?

spankhurst · 28/04/2016 10:46

I wouldn't like it either, OP. The bottom line is, if it bothers you now, it's probably going to bother you the whole time you live there.

pinkcan · 28/04/2016 10:52

Dying peacefully as an old lady/man is very different to getting brutally murdered.

There is a house near me where there was a murder followed by a suicide. It also got completely remodelled but I wouldn't even want to go in as a visitor, let alone the occupant.

TiggerPiggerPoohBumWee · 28/04/2016 10:55

Dying peacefully as an old lady/man is very different to getting brutally murdered

Different yes. To the family etc. But not at all different to the house

MarvinKMooney · 28/04/2016 10:55

I'm a bit on the fence here. My first thought was to agree with you. But then I remembered that family members of mine lived in an old cottage for nearly 15 years where a murder had taken place. Ok, it was just before WW1 but the details were quite graphic and overwhelmingly sad (they found a report in the newspaper archives).

The house was lovely, really welcoming, and no bad 'vibes' at all. Perhaps go and see it just to see? There's no commitment in that.

gotthemoononastick · 28/04/2016 11:07

We rented a house once, where a dentist hanged himself.I hated going into that room and could not wait to leave.
We are pragmatic people,but this was just a step too far.

PrivatePike · 28/04/2016 11:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TiggerPiggerPoohBumWee · 28/04/2016 11:15

I pass a house where the owner shot himself daily

Me too, rather important grammar fail there!

PrivatePike · 28/04/2016 11:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FuckyMcFuckFace · 28/04/2016 11:31

We viewed a house a while ago, online I loved it, thought it would be the one, made an appointment, we were told that the owner was ill and we needed to use that hand gel stuff, no problems. When I literally stepped into the hallway I hated it, I didn't even want to look around but I did because I didn't want to waste the EAs time but I couldn't stand 'the feeling' it gave me. It was very strange and over 18 months on I haven't forgotten how that house made me feel.

People may say it's just bricks etc but houses do give you a feeling sometimes. How else do you describe it when you walk into a house and know it's the one for you? It's just a feeling then as well.

InternationalHouseofToast · 28/04/2016 11:39

The house next door to us (semi-detached) had an attempted murder before the couple who live there now moved in. Neighbours can remember police standing guard at the front door and the male is, I think, still in prison for attempting to murder his female partner.

The couple who live there now with their children haven't found it ghoulish at all, and have redecorated. It's their house now and filled with the life and noise of 3 young children.

I'd be more concerned if the fire caused structural damage to the house tbh, and whether the refit is cosmetic or replacing the underlying structure. The lady who died must have had happy times in that house as well, so I wouldn't rule it out just because of how she died. Would you think the same if it had been an electrical fault that caused the fire?

coffeeisnectar · 28/04/2016 11:42

I think the whole thread is really insensitive. My mum was murdered in our house and the story made the national newspapers (back in the 1970s). I'd hate to think of people hashing over the details like you lot and talking about bad 'juju'

Fucks sake, these were real people with real families. It's not a bloody TV drama.

Ripeberry · 28/04/2016 11:44

Ooh! Ghosties! But I'd be more worried about the fact that the murderer could still be out there and wanting to put petrol through the door again.

Original poster

bewilderedfish · 28/04/2016 12:11

Nah they caught the arsonists quickly as it was a grudge attack against the son of the woman (he was rescued and survived). I'd have a problem buying any house where someone had died in horrible circumstances - and yes, if it had been an electrical fire and someone had died I still wouldnt buy it.

OP posts:

OreosAreTasty · 28/04/2016 12:21

Look at the stats on how common
Suicide
Domestic violence
Child molestation
Murder
Torture
Child drowning/accidental death.
Rape. And other heinous things are.
If your house has been lived in before you, (ie not a new build) it's VERY likely one of the above (if not more or all) has happened in that house. A 9yr old boy drowned in the bath in the house I grew up in, my dad didn't care (not in a nasty way it just didn't effect how he saw the house) my mum hated the house for that very reason, and that made sure she was miserable there.
however irrational, and I must stress it is irrational (although I'd probably struggle too) the core of this is you'd be unhappy in that house, so just don't move there.

Andrewofgg · 28/04/2016 13:10

If I owned a house which I rented out to someone who committed a murder there I would not agree to it being demolished unless it was first bought from me at an independent valuation - and if that meant ghoulish types coming to stare, and blocking the traffic JTB. It won't go on for ever and my asset is my asset.

dotdotdotmustdash · 28/04/2016 16:06

One of my DM's neighbours was killed (possibly in the house but not confirmed) just before Christmas 2014 by her son. He is serving a long sentence but has launched a legal battle to inherit from his Mum. The house has sat empty ever since with it's Christmas decorations and lights still up. It's a very sad house.

expatinscotland · 28/04/2016 16:21

It's your call, but I'd go and see it and see how it felt.

tangerino · 28/04/2016 16:35

I would be concerned about resale, if it's well known. Dennis Nilsen's flat is a few miles from us and it's constantly on/off the market, can't get a buyer even £100ks under the going rate etc.

expatinscotland · 28/04/2016 19:27

You don't have to disclose it, though. So if the buyer doesn't do their own check, it can well go unnoticed.

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