A dozen bouquets of flowers and a tiny figurine of an angel form a makeshift memorial to Brian Betts, a widely admired middle school principal who was shot to death in his suburban home recently.
The death has been ruled a homicide, and police are still searching for the killer. Meanwhile, some area residents grieving his death are also pondering a bizarre twist: Betts' cozy brick house was the scene of a separate 2002 murder of a man and his 9-year-old daughter.
The real estate agent who helped Betts buy his home in 2003, Therese Cox, told The Gazette, a Maryland newspaper, that Betts learned about the 2002 double murder from a neighbor after the purchase.
Rules about what real estate agents must disclose vary from state to state. Only two – Alaska and South Dakota – require that sellers inform all prospective buyers about a previous murder or suicide. Disclosure laws have become less relevant in the age of Google. In addition to scouring traditional real estate databases, it might be good to conduct a thorough Internet search on a property address as well.
Homes that have been the site of a horrific event such as a murder or suicide usually sell quickly, and a "haunted" property can even have added appeal, some sellers say. Real estate agents and prospective homebuyers across the USA say that's a common view. Stigmatized properties often sell at a discount, though a tragedy actually appeals to some buyers because it gives them a story to tell.
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