Seller killed himself.... quite shocked

[Tien]

This is a first for me....



I met the seller on Tuesday night. Made an offer of 150 000$ on a value of 250 000$.

He accepted without negotiation.... I was shocked that he just accepted like that.


He told me he hadn't worked for a year, divorced... girlfriend left him.... owed money to government... was broke...
had no where to go when the house was sold.... No one to go to....

Completely depressed, his eyes were red at the corner indicating to me he was really at the bottom of the barrel.



Wednesday I called him to make an appointment with the inspector, no response. Thursday, same thing.


This morning I drove by to take a look and see what was going on with him.


I looked through the front door window and was able to read a suicide note on the 2nd entrance door.


He thanked his parents.... He asked someone to look after his dog for him... He said this was the best way to carry on. Did
not see the light at the end of the tunnel.


I called the cops on the spot and short story even shorter he committed suicide Tuesday night in the house.


I was the last to see him..... Sometimes I think maybe I should have given him a word of encouragement before I left. Him
selling the house to me at that price just drove him over the edge. Was the final nail to the coffin.

I feel so sorry for the parents.... They were there this morning. I can't imagine what it feels like to have your own kid that
you love kill himself.... I can't imagine.


He was a reasonably intelligent and robust man. I've seen people bounce back from worse situations.
It's sad because there's no reason to kill yourself just because you are broke. You were born into this world broke and you
will leave this world broke......

When you're at the absolute bottom of the barrel (I've been there, I've been to the point where I've written my own suicide note),
there's only one way to go and that's up.



Don't know why I posted this, just had to get it out of my system.



One more thing. I had a dream last night. I dreamt of that house I made an offer on. The front door was open and there was something
telling me "don't go in there". My dreams indicated to me that the house was haunted.


On the bright side, I still have an offer on this house at 140 000$ and the father asked for my card to contact me later.... 140 000$ is an absolute steal, but should I buy it?

[fdjake]

I see this all the time.  Last one was a guy who had lost his job, his wife told him he was worthless as she left the house to go to the store.
He put a .357 in his mouth.  We found him in the garage with his wife absolutely out of her mind.

There was absolutley NOTHING you could have done or said to change this man's mind.  People who commit suicide make that decision and they either DO IT, or they TRY to do it (but not really) as a cry for help.

If this guy jumped off a bridge after you closed on the house would you give it to charity???

Of coarse not.....DO THE DEAL if you can. 

He made his decision.....It has nothing to do with you.  Don't beat your self up over it.  But I can completely understand your feelings. 
People do this everyday...He was doing it whether you showed up or not.
If you had gotten a flat tire on the way there and never made it, the outcome would have been the same.  You just wouldn't know about it.

[Tien]

Should I still do the deal?


What effect on buyers does it have (or % of buyers) if someone committed suicide? Would you lose half your buyers?



House is worth 230-250 000 (without a dead person) and I have the option to buy it at 140 000$.

House needs about a couple of grand in reno.

[fdjake]

I honestly don't think your obligated to tell anyone he killed himself in that home.  My grandmother died in her sleep, in her home (of old age at 90) last summer.  The house just sold last week.  The buyers weren't told.  The buyers LOVE the house, why ruin that feeling for them by telling them my grandmother died in their new bedroom.  It's part of LIFE.  This guy decided to end his early.  THE HOUSE DOESN'T CARE.  Nor will the next buyer, or the next, or the next.  This house will probably be around for 100 years.  He won't be the last one to die in it.  For all you know YOUR house could have been built on a piece of land where 10 people died. 

People die in homes everyday.  As a matter of fact, your more likely to die IN your home than anywhere else.

Do the deal.....Clean it up nice....and for this one...USE A REALTOR.  You won't have to answer any questions about it and you can bet your life a realtor isn't going to volunteer that info to anyone.  Don't even bring it up to the relator...Just list it.

If you don't grab this deal someone else will.  If you sell it and make what sounds like a potential $75K on it.....Donate $5,000 to a suicide prevention charity and at least you know you'll be helping others.

[christopher w]

He will be obligated to report the suicide in the sellers disclosure. There is a house in my neighborhood where a guy had a heart attack and it has been on the market forever. Forget about this deal; no one will buy this house at least for an amount that will make it worth your while.

[HoldAndBuy]

That must be very unsettling--I friend of mine was living in a shared rental house and one of the roommates killed herself--the other roommates found her (drug overdose).

[fdjake]

It's a State by State deal.  Some require, some don't.
Should be very easy to research.

[Tien]

Well the neighbors all know by now....


The next buyers won't have a problem finding out.....



In our province we have to declare that stuff.


If the new buyers found out even a few years after, they could still sue me, that's if I hid the suicide.



No clue, probably going to throw this deal out. I believe it was a violent suicide...

[HoldAndBuy]

Are people really still this superstitious about things? I mean can understand why no one would want to buy Jeff Dahmer's house, but--and not to sound callous here--a single violent death would not bother me if I was a retail home buyer and I liked the house.

[fdjake]

I would never right off a deal like this.

Listen......You've got an option on the property for $140K, why not just be honest right up front, put the house on the market for $160K.  That would be an almost $100K savings for someone.  I can guarantee you that Buy and Hold and I aren't the ONLY ones that wouldn't be bothered by this AT ALL.  List the property BEFORE your option expires.

I seriously think you could have a little bidding war on this. $90K under market is a HUGE savings!!

Oh, and in case anyone thinks those days are over....I can personally tell you THEY ARE NOT!!!

I just sold a piece of land I purchased for $50K.  There were 2 other lots in the same area on the MLS for $125K.   I put mine on for $75K highest/best offer in 14 days.   By day 14 the lot was at $110K and the buyer closed in 5 days ALL CASH!!  10 offers total, all OVER the $75K starting point.

I would definitley try that with this property.  Be honest, tell people what happened and list it at a rock bottom price.
SOMEONE is going to sleep very well in that house knowing they saved $90K or more.  That savings is almost as good as an Exorcist to some folks!!!

Even at $160K YOU still make a quick $20K for doing almost nothing.

[furnishedowner]

Tien.

You must be very shocked. I'm sorry you had to go through a trauma like that. But there was nothing you could have done.

Major depression is a very serious illness with a 20% death rate. 20%!

I know because our 20-year old exchange student from Japan killed herself 4 months after returning to Japan. She jumped in front of a moving train. This was really devastating for our whole family. She was like our child and it was very tough on our kids too. The following year we sent over our son to be with her family at the Holidays. She was their ONLY child, and I couldn't see how they could get through the holidays alone. Now it's been 5 years and we are all coping, but what a terrible waste of a life.

I agree with fdjake.  Buy the house, pass the big discount on to a new buyer who has been informed of the suicide. It will be better too for you as far as dealing with the death.  You will somehow heal better if you take care of the house. It'll probably be a burden off the parents as well.

We had a suicide in a furnished rental unit about 2 years ago. An ill pharmacist overdosed, and his nurse wife found him dead on the floor in the morning. She moved right out, and was gone within 24 hours. We didn't know what to do, so we just cleaned and painted and rented the unit out again. Life just happens.

You have been through a terrible ordeal.

Furnishedowner

[Tien]

I'm over it already. Shock over, now time to do business. Of course I didn't put any of the guilt on myself.


Going to negotiate with the father and get an agreement with him on Thursday.


There seems to be some interest when I emailed my buyer's list at an advertised price of 180 000$.


We'll see what happens.

[sunnyskyinvestor]

Fdjake has a creative and good way to handle it. We had a violent suicide in my family. The home was sold but for a deep discount. Ask for your bottom dollar and you will probably come out ahead. This just creeps too many people out.

Just be sure to conduct the situation with sensitivity. You may be over it but that family's ordeal has just begun though I'm sure they'll be glad to have the house off of their hands too.

[maryh]

Tien,

If you are in California, the law requires disclosure to the buyer of any unnatural death that happens within three years.  Otherwise, death of AIDs or nature cause need only be disclosed if asked.

btw, you just helped someone.

Mary

[Rich_in_CT]

Suicide always confused me, I just don't get it.  Ok, if you are terminally ill...fine.  Beyond that you can always get more money, find a new person to date, etc.  Hell this guy lost a bunch of money but still had more money than almost everyone in the world, he still offed himself.

German billionaire reportedly commits suicide
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
Last update: 11:47 a.m. EST Jan. 6, 2009

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Adolf Merckle committed suicide following millions of euros in losses over a bet the German billionaire placed against Volkswagen shares, according to published reports on Tuesday.

The newspaper Die Welt said the 74-year-old Merckle was hit by a train near his home in southwestern Germany.

Police have ruled out any third-party involvement, the report said.

His family said Merckle ended his life after the financial crisis "broke" him, according to other reports.

Forbes Magazine's 44th-ranked billionaire in 2007, Merckle also had interests in Heidelbergcement, Ratiopharm International and Phoenix, a wholesaler of pharmaceuticals.

Merckle and other investors who had gone short VW shares, believing that they would drop in value, got burned as a result of a combination of two factors: Porsche's purchase of Volkswagen options, and a small free float that drove shares of the Beetle maker to levels that, briefly, made it the world's largest company by market capitalization.

Merckle was reported to have lost 400 million euros (BobE adds: round numbers...$600 million) on the bad VW trade. He also was struggling to finance his roughly 80% stake in Heidelbergcement.

Last week, his holding firm, VEM, had reached a deal with 40 banks to give him more time to repay debt.

Shares of Heidelbergcement dropped 6% in late trading in Frankfurt.

A relative just tried to kill himself recently.  He was found in the bathroom with his wrists slashed and when he arrived at the hopital his blood alcohol content was around 0.35%, the booze alone nearly killed him let alone the blood loss.  I just don't get it.....no one in the family even knew he had a depression issue.  Always seemed fine when we saw him at holidays, always seemed in good spirits.