Would a suicide put you off buying?

[Gilesmummy]

We went to view a house yesterday, gorgeous property in the country.. the agent has known the vendor for many years, in fact he sold it to them.
I asked him loads of questions and asked is there anything else we need to know, he replied that “no nothing “ he said he was obliged to tell me if there was..
When we got home I was doing research on the property and found out that one of the owners had committed suicide within the house..
Apart from feeling sad that this had happened here I’m in two minds whether to go ahead and buy..
It made me go cold to think that had happened but I’ve got two ongoing questions... if I came to resell, would you it put you off buying the house? And If so would you pay less for it.. statistics say that suicides can reduce a resale price by up to 40%..

It’s a totally unique house so it’s not like I can go elsewhere and purchase an identical property...
All opinions appreciated
GM

It wouldn't put me off at all and most older houses will have had deaths and things happening in them that we don't know about. I think some people would be put off if something upsetting had happened in a house though so it depends how much you love the house and how long you envisage living there because these things generally lose importance in the mists of time...

Yes it would put me off but it probably shouldn't. I'm currently in the process of buying a property and I've done the same as you and researched it. Or at least, I googled the address and looked through the local newspaper.

No it wouldn't put me off. I'm not generally superstitious.

It's sad but wouldn't stop me buying a property I loved. I would guess the suicide had nothing to do with the house.
Is the house 40% below market value now? If not and you buy it at market value, then you are your own proof that this is not applicable.

No, it wouldn't bother me at all.

Not at all

I couldn’t buy it, I’d never be able to go to the toilet at night with the light off!

Kind of but maybe not. My friend bought a house where the previous owner had shot himself she found out after they moved in. I was certain it would have been in one of the numerous sheds outside or the garage but it was inside.

I think they found it weird for a bit but over time it just became their family home. I did feel a bit creeped out when I slept in that room but got used to it and we might buy the house if they decide to sell .

Our friends got £40k off a house (about 12%) because someone killed themselves in the loft. No-one else wanted to buy it. It wouldn’t have put me off.

No it wouldn’t put me off

No. Having said that I did just think if i were buying it now I would prefer it not to have happened in the bedroom and better if it had been outside. So I guess I must have some concern but it is tiny.
If I were buying after you had lived there it wouldn’t worry me at all.
Gosh. Sad all round but it won’t affect the house itself.

no. Why would it?

No.

Especially in older houses there's a high probability that someone would have died there over the years.

I definitely wouldn't put me off.

It was in the house (in the bedroom.)
I definitely wouldn’t pay asking price as I think it’s slightly top heavy anyway..
I live in a 16thc house now and appreciate that people would maybe have died here but it’s the knowing about it that is making me hesitate...

Oh and it wasn’t a “clean “suicide...

I think I’m more upset that the agent didn’t tell us which he is obligated to do by law

I would feel sad that someone had died that way, but people have died in lots of houses. It's always sad for the people bereaved.

I find the squeamishness about living in a house where somebody died a little odd, but I suppose it is a reflection of how detached our culture is from our own mortality.

If I was able to continue living in a home in which my family member had died, I think I could live in a home where somebody else had died as long as it hadn't been a murder.

So, if you are the kind of person that would be bothered by this, then why did you spend time looking into the lives and deaths of previous occupant ?

No wouldn't bother me

What I’ve just said That sounds horrid .
What I mean is that I got very excited and spent a long time discussing it .. it has made me think again

What kind of research were you doing to learn that level of detail? Reporting around suicide is really careful.

Back for good.....I didn’t look into the deaths of the previous occupant, I was researching about the area to see if there were planning applications or other relevant facts like I always do and it came up in a newspaper article

Yes.
I would also take notice of the statistics

Not at all. The previous resident of my house died here and lay for 2 weeks before being discovered.

When I was younger it would have but since losing my grandmother who died at home I have a different view on things.

I used to live in a house where the previous owner commited suicide. It didn’t bother me but it did bother some of my visitors (and my MIL stayed away, every cloud...) I don’t think I’d reduce the asking price by that much. And I’d be surprised if an earlier suicide was a reportable issue for an EA.