Houses with bad history

[Pamela Veselinovic]

I've been interested in buying and selling real estate for a long time and decided to dip my toe in the water today, looking at my first potential investment property.  The price was right.  A cute brick 3/2 on 2 acres.  $59K.  Stalking around the property I could see that the roof needed some work, some carpet inside was stained (some new) and the ceiling in the living room needed repairs.  Still interested, I called the listing agent.

He told me the house had been vacant for about 5 years due to homicide that happened there.  You have to sign a disclosure just to enter the house.

I remember a case in that area when a man killed his 3 teenage stepchildren and then himself. I'm not sure that's the house, but it might be.  Either way, a homicide and then apparently a regular death sometime after happened in the house. 

I can't imagine how hard it would be to get tenants and you would have to disclose everything, or the neighbors would and the house would vacate overnight. 

What happens to these properties? I  wouldn't pay a nickel for it now. Well, maybe a nickel.