I may have a haunted house, what to do?

I may have a haunted house, what to do?

Rental Property Investor · Chandler AZ and Sylvania, OH · Member since 2009 · 708 posts · 561 votes

My contractor called me yesterday on a house we own out of state and said "You should check to see if your lot used to be a cemetery, I think your house may be haunted".  

A little background, we bought a house in January that we were planning on using as a summer retreat from the Phoenix heat. It's a nice house on a big lot in a nice suburb of a city we are very familiar with. The original plan was to use it in the summer and then STR Airbnb it in the fall/winter/spring to help cover the expenses. I immediately contacted the neighbor on the lot over whom I've known 20 years and she said she has "seen some things, but they are not harmful".

So this leads to my question of what would you do in my position.  Here are my options

1) Sell the house, purchase price plus repairs total at 250K, I can probably sell the house for 290K.

2) Rent the house, my monthly PITA is $1400, market rent is 2200-2400.

3) Execute the original plan, make friends with the ghosts and move forward.  Airbnb nightly rates for a house that size in that area is about $300 a night.  To break even I need about 7 nights a month, everything after that is profit.

Let me know if I'm not thinking of an option.  I realize all options are not horrible.  

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Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y

Maybe you can get an upcharge for a "Haunted" rental (???)

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  • Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    @Mindy Jensen that is a bold guarantee from @Jim K., but he is a bold man. 

    Saying the Roman Catholics have lost a step or two in this area since 1054? Say the Eastern Christianity hold the high ground within this realm, my only concern is availability of their services. As the old saying goes, "No one picks real Estate like the US Navy and the Catholic Church"   

    ps. Are we shooting ourselves in the foot ignoring Sufism and Kabbalahism?

  • Rental Property Investor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2017 · 25 posts · 9 votes
    6y

    I have seen similar threads here in BP and 95% of the users will tell you it is all fake and ghosts are not real. I used to think that way until I had an experience with no explanation. All I can say is you can always blame the wind but the wind doesn't sound like little kids murmuring and laughing in the middle of the night. Maybe not ghosts or spirits but "something" else. There are places where you just get bad vibes.

    Still... I would keep the property as an airBnB and advertise it as a "Haunted" house, assuming it is. I'm sure there is a market for places like this.

  • Property Manager · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2014 · 729 posts · 596 votes
    6y

    @Stone Jin

    Seriously, haunted? Maybe you can visit a local seer for advice.

    Or, advertise as haunted and earn a niche class of renters.

  • Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    6y

    @Jim K. Are you speaking from experience ?

  • Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Caleb Heimsoth:

    @Jim K. Are you speaking from experience ?

    Hell yeah! We get our house blessed/exorcised every year! Zero midnight ghost fingerblasting, 100% customer satisfaction!

  • Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Bill F.:

    @Mindy Jensen that is a bold guarantee from @Jim K., but he is a bold man. 

    Saying the Roman Catholics have lost a step or two in this area since 1054? Say the Eastern Christianity hold the high ground within this realm, my only concern is availability of their services. As the old saying goes, "No one picks real Estate like the US Navy and the Catholic Church"   

    ps. Are we shooting ourselves in the foot ignoring Sufism and Kabbalahism?f 

    Even hint at a generous honorarium, you can get a Greek priest to go anywhere and exorcise anything. Russians are a bit trickier, Serbians kind of clannish.

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