Property solicitors in Chichester know all about hauntings

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7th November 2011

It's something that even the best property solicitor in Chichester might struggle to come to grips with – a house that is reputed to be haunted or is notorious for being the scene of a disturbing murder.

Most people would be surprised to learn just how many such properties there are in and around Chichester. In fact, almost all estate agents, in any area, are likely to know of at least one house which has remained on the market for years as a result of ghouls and grisly memories keeping potential buyers at bay.

So, it will be no surprise for property solicitors in Chichester to learn that the Chartered Institute of Surveyors has gone on the record as saying that some properties are near impossible to sell as a result of being the site of either rumoured hauntings or confirmed crimes.

A spokesperson from the Institute commented, "While many factors can affect a property's value, unusual occurrences such as rumoured hauntings, celebrity inhabitants or high-profile crimes can have a significant effect on a house's saleability."

For example, the Institute said that one property in West Sussex remained on the market for a whole fifteen years despite being on the beachfront in a desirable area with good links to Chichester – more understandable perhaps when you learn that the house went onto the market following it being the scene of a murder in which a man killed his wife with a champagne bottle.

It would be tempting to say that these properties might, for some first-time buyers, represent the only chance to get on the property ladder, but no-one should be forced into a taking decision they are not comfortable with, particularly when it comes to buying a family home.

In my experience, these properties often end up being sold at auction, sometimes fetching a surprisingly good price after years spent latent and lost cause-like on the market. Another common circumstance is for them to end up as buy-to-let investments.