Do Sellers in Maine Need to Disclose if There Was a Death Inside the House?

If you’re in the market to buy or sell a home, it’s good to know that all home sellers are required by law to disclose major defects to potential buyers via property disclosures.

For example, a leaking roof or a faulty furnace.

But do they need to disclose if there was a death in the home? Well, that depends on the geographical location of the property.

A home where a death occurred is called a stigmatized property, and for a lot of potential buyers (especially in the low inventory market that we are in), they wouldn’t be bothered by this – at least not enough to turn them away from putting an offer in on the home.

It’s also likely that this could be situational. For instance, did someone pass away of natural causes, or was there a homicide or suicide?

Alaska and South Dakota require sellers to reveal murders and/or suicides that happened in the last year. California requires you to reveal if there was a death in the home over the last three years, even if it was from natural causes.

Do Sellers in Maine Need to Disclose if There Was a Death Inside the House?

In Maine, disclosing a death in a home is not required by law. In fact, the seller agent is required to get any disclosures of a stigmatized property in writing by the seller.

Do Sellers in New Hampshire Need to Disclose if There Was a Death Inside the House?

In New Hampshire, it’s only required to be revealed if a potential buyer were to ask, which is common in other states as well.

If you are truly concerned about living in a stigmatized property, and it’s not required to be disclosed in your state (or if it’s just unknown), you can try using the website diedinhouse.com.