Do You Have to Tell Home Buyer Your Illinois House is Haunted?

It's not exactly breaking news that buying and selling homes is hard. There are so many laws and regulations plus best practices that you need to understand the details of. One question that gets asked more than you probably realize is whether or not you're required to disclose if your house is haunted to a prospective buyer. The law in Illinois is tricky.

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About a decade ago, I decided I wanted to get a real estate license so I studied for weeks and (remarkably) was successful. That being said, you should not take my word for this (or anything actually). Talk to a realtor and/or lawyer if you have serious real estate questions. I'm not giving you legal advice ever. This is just research I found interesting.

I found what I believe to be a reliable website called Illinois Realtors. They attempted to answer the question if the law requires that you disclose if you have a haunted house if you're selling it. They cited Real Estate License Act, Section 15-20 which says you don't have to admit anything that doesn't physically affect your property in a detrimental way. They say this:

They would not have a legal duty to disclose that someone believes the house is haunted.

However, it's not always that simple. It goes on to say that you may want to admit that you think the house is haunted as a "stigma". They also mention that if someone talks to the neighbors, they may learn your house goes bump in the night that way.

Here's my non-legal opinion for what it's worth. Being honest will never be the wrong thing to do. I'd rather lose a sale to a buyer, but know that I've been honest with them than get paid and know the buyer is about to relive the Amityville Horror, but that's just me. Boo.