advertising for deceased estates

[Moe S]

Hi,

Just wondering if by law deceased estates have to be advertised as such. A property I was looking at was not advertised as such in any of the advertising material online or in printed brochures. However, I found out later that the home belonged to an old lady who passed away. What exactly is the law in regards to this ? i.e. if a certain amount of time has elapsed since passing, do they not have to advertise it etc. Does it matter if they pass away in a hospital or at home ? I'm sorry if this question seems callous .. no offence intended to anyone, I'm just curious.

Thanks,
Moe

 

[Propertunity]

Sort answer, NO. They do not have to advertise it as a deceased estate no matter how much time (long or short) has passed.

Just the same they do not have to advertise that vendors are selling because they are getting a divorce or the banks are closing in etc.

Agents will sometimes, but only if it suits their own purposes. i.e. purchasers often think that they will get a cheaper price if it is a deceased estate - but it does not always work out that way.

There is a website that you can subscribe to that advertises deceased estates and mortgagee sales:
http://www.nmddata.com.au/

 

[Perp]

I'm curious as to why you'd think it was a requirement to advertise the vendor's circumstances? They have to be truthful about the nature of the property - eg size, number of bedrooms, etc, but other information - such as the circumstances of sale - isn't information that you're entitled to have.

 

[Rolf Latham]

perhaps the question relates to probate.

Sometimes it can take ages to settle a deceased estate

ta
rolf

 

[marg4000]

Deceased estates are often perceived to offer bargains.

In reality the opposite is often true.
Marg

 

[synthman]

I'm curious as to why you'd think it was a requirement to advertise the vendor's circumstances?

I am not answering this for the original poster but I certainly can relate this question to our case. For many people, especially many older Asian, there exists a belief that there is life after death. In the case of deceased estate, if the owner had passed away peacefully and naturally, his/her spirit will be free in heaven and can bless the house and the people living in it. There is no problem purchasing such a property. On the other hand, if the death was not natural i.e. a suffering death, the spirit may try to hang on to this world and can affect the well-being of people living in the house. When we go look at a deceased estate property, we always try to find out as much information about the circumstances as possible. Being Asian but are Catholic, we do not really share this belief fully but being told from time to time, it is hard not to think : o.k it may or may not be true but there is no harm trying to find out anyway before buying. This theory also applies to other cases of "bad luck" sales such as as a result of a divorce or a bank repossession. The belief in this case is bad (or good) luck will be passed on.

 

[ianvestor]

Well, that's all very interesting, but absolutely none of it would make it a [legal] requirement to advertise the vendor's circumstances. Unless of course possession by spirits falls under the category of "nature of the property".

 

[Propertunity]

Well, that's all very interesting, but absolutely none of it would make it a [legal] requirement to advertise the vendor's circumstances. Unless of course possession by spirits falls under the category of "nature of the property".

Ian in most cases you are correct EXCEPT the circumstances surrounding a Material Fact. In this case the agent has to declare any material facts that he is aware of AND including those that he is not aware of (according to the law - but I have NO idea how you would do that) in relation to the property.

Now in the case of Asian buyers it would be considered a material fact that if they hold to their traditional beliefs, (as described by synthman) that you would need to tell them prior to their purchase of a property how a person might have died in the property. As this goes to whether or not they would proceed with the purchase in the light of the disclosure made by the vendors and their agent.

 

[marg4000]

Frankly, if I was selling due to the death of a close relative (the only reason I would be involved) I would find probing questions about the manner of death intrusive, and offensive to MY cultural beliefs.
Marg

 

[Propertunity]

I know what you're saying Marg but it is the law now. You can thank that murderer Seth Gonzales for being key, to turning 500 years of caveat emptor (buyer beware) case law on its head.

 

[synthman]

I know what you're saying Marg but it is the law now. You can thank that murderer Seth Gonzales for being key, to turning 500 years of caveat emptor (buyer beware) case law on its head.

Marg, I understand what you are saying. If I was in this position of a close relative of the deceased, I would find the questions intrusive and unrespectful in this difficult time as well. We had looked at three such properties since we started to have IPs. We only asked quietly the questions to the Real Estate Agents, with full respect, good will and with the sole purpose of understanding the historty of the property. I think such a question is intrusive to a relative of the deceased, regardless of cultural beliefs.

 

[eKwatee]

Imagine your agent presenting an offer like this to you.......... $500k, 45 day settlement, subject to building inspection, pest inspection & Autopsy report

 

[Moe S]

Thanks for the replies, guys.
As you've worked out I'm fairly inexperienced with these matters, and I had the general mpression that these things had to be declared. Maybe because some properties ARE advertised as deceased estate, I assumed all of them had to be. But as Propertunity has pointed out, agents might declare it in advertising if they feel it might be to their advantage.

It's significant to me because my in-laws are fairly superstitous, and all things being equal, they would probably not be in favour of a deceased estate for PPoR.

I guess its up to the buyer to proactively suss these things out, and "never assume" (as Benny Hill once said

 

[Firsthomelooker]

Frankly, if I was selling due to the death of a close relative (the only reason I would be involved) I would find probing questions about the manner of death intrusive, and offensive to MY cultural beliefs.
Marg

This sums up how I feel about the situation. I wouldn't lie if a buyer asked about the houses history but I also wouldn't be inclined to advertise the traumatic death of a relative to all and sundry.

I also do wonder how many people would genuinely care about a death in the house and how many would just use it as a bargaining tool. With the exception of genuine religious beliefs like those mentioned by propertunity, I do think its a bit silly when people are turned off by the fact someone has died in a house. I hope they don't think too hard about the sheets and the bed next time they wind up in hospital

 

[Perp]

I think the Court's decision on the "murder house" was very wrong. What's next? Revealing whether any kinky sexual practises have been engaged in in the home? Whether anybody prone to depression has slept in any of the rooms? A Scientology e-meter read-out for each prior occupant? Frequency of good and bad dreams?

Do all these requirements extend to the neighbours' homes as well?

I mean, really - when prior occupational activity unrelated to the nature of the property starts to be relevant, where does it end?

 

[justjudy]

Deceased Estates

A deceased estate is simply the estate of someone who has passed away,they may have passed away in hospital ,nursing home,on the property or any other place . However as previously stated when a death occurs on the property in horrendous circumstances there is a law regarding disclosing this,not sure if its nationwide though.

 

[gg1965]

My wife is Asian (taiwanese) and last year we were looking at a grand old home for our PPOR. It was about 160 years old.

After doing our DD and research etc, we found that 2 children had died in the home in the late 1890s - most likely of TB. Plus, a man in his mid 20s had also died in another room after some type of rural accident. So we found out that at least 3 people had died in this home.

She was rather upset in hearing of this and didn't want to go ahead with the purchase. Her reasoning being is that the spirits, especialy those of the children who died in the house, would torment our baby. She was rather adamant about this.

I'm not a believer either way but am open to ideas and evidence. However, for the sake of a peaceful and harmonious PPOR, I decided that it wasn't worth the domestic hassle.

Oh well.


g

 

[travelbug]

I mean, really - when prior occupational activity unrelated to the nature of the property starts to be relevant, where does it end?

Friend of mine bought a top floor apartment in Potts Point that was a brothel.

Lovely mirror ball in the lounge, black marble bathroom with gold taps, nice intercom system.

 

[Perp]

Lovely mirror ball in the lounge, black marble bathroom with gold taps, nice intercom system.

And they didn't figure it out for themselves?

 

[Cherry Pro]

When we were looking for our PPOR some 8 years ago, we were shown this house in Castle Hill, possibly 15 - 18 years old.

Agent had mentioned to me it was a deceased estate but I neglected to tell hubby. The rooms were quite sparsely furnished and in the family area at the back of the house was a grand piano. Anyway, I tailed the agent around the place and hubby went wandering off by himself.

When we caught up, he said, I don't like this place - I had an eerie feeling walking through, like someone was watching me and almost felt someone seated at the piano.

I still have goosebumps recounting this ...Anyway, I then told him that it was a deceased estate and really, he's not superstitious or anything of the like, I'm the big wuss, but he said let's get the hell out of here. Don't think we want the kids to be ever alone in a place like this ! Some places do give you the creeps !

For a PPOR, I think I'd check if someone had died in unusual circumstances.