Investing in a "murder house"

[John Franczyk]

I have a lead on a single family property in suburban Milwaukee. The house is in an estate and the lender filed a foreclosure action against the estate. It's going to a sheriff's sale in January. I reached out to the estate and the lender contacted me, but gave me little information other than the fact that they got a default judgment on the foreclosure claim for a little more than $170,000. Here's the wrinkle that I later discovered -- the now-deceased owner was murdered in the house by her adult son, who suffered from severe psychological problems. 

It's not my intention to be callous about this event, nor to belittle the problems of individuals who suffer from mental illnesses. Nonetheless, I would like to approach the bank with a lowball offer with an argument that if the property goes into the bank's REO portfolio, it will sit there for a long time because, statistically, fewer buyers will be willing to consider purchasing a murder house. The house itself was a crime scene. I believe that it is no longer sealed up, but there is a cleanup issue that the bank or the new owners will need to deal with.

Any thoughts or advice on how to approach the bank with this argument will be appreciated.  Thanks!

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