Home ownership is one of the most exciting, comforting and rewarding times in our lives. What a perfect time as the prices are at an all time low. You may just get a deal on a foreclosed property that you dream of fixing up and tailoring to your liking. However, the challenge of the home may not be what you expected. The house may have a myriad of obstacles that go beyond just every day home improvement problems, in fact, it may include a resident that is no longer alive.
It has been a bit odd to me quite a few people I know have reported their houses here in Arizona to be haunted. From reports of footsteps, menacing presences, lights bursting, and disembodied voices, the activity runs the gamut. Coming from New England, I incorrectly thought the reports of hauntings would be quite minimal moving out west. I started brainstorming as to why I have heard about so much activity.
Losing ones home due to foreclosure is an extremely tragic, sad, and quite frankly negative event. Most of the people who I have talked to either purchased homes that have been on the market quite some time, short sales and foreclosures. I started to wonder if in fact the reason why I feel there have been so many people who have reported their house having activity, actually has something to do with the housing crash. Are houses that have had some serious emotional and negative events subject to negative energy lingering in the air? My colleague, Kris Godinez, who is a licensed professional counselor, author of What's Wrong With Your Dad?, and a former member of West Coast Ghost and Paranormal Society, agrees negative energy can be trapped inside dwellings. "My own personal belief is that buildings can and do absorb energy from the occupants. If there was a lot of stress you can feel it in the air when you walk in" exclaimed Godinez.
In keeping with the theory of hauntings escalating due to vacant homes, another reason for the haunting may actually be vandals. When these structures are left empty for a long time, it is possible people may be breaking in conducting dark arts. And unfortunately, this can be very hard to prove unless evidence has been left behind. While I will not go into specifics, I have had to help a friend with her house, and I believe it was possible someone fooled around with something not so nice on the property.
Arizona, as it was also kindly reminded to me by Godinez, was mainly Native American Territory for quite some time. I was a bit naive in thinking there would not be many reports of hauntings. Often, Native burial mounds were "relocated", but essentially the entombment was disturbed, either way. "We don't really know what the land was used for previously and yes it could be ritual use or drug use. Remember when people abuse drugs and alcohol they leave themselves open to energies that they may not want," stated Godinez.
Some of you are wondering, how can I avoid buying a haunted home? Well, in every state, the laws are different, but most do have to reveal information if a buyer asks. "In California, the Association of Realtors addressed the issue of death disclosure requirements. Civil Code ¤1710.2 states death on a property need not be disclosed if it occurred more than three years prior to the sale. The statute does require disclosure of a death more than three years old if the buyer asks." (Legal Zoom, Susan Funaro 2010). This article also states it can take up to 50% more time to sell a home that has had a murder or a suicide. There are also some states where it is actually necessary to disclose to the buyer if there are any psychologically impacting factors associated with the home.
Frances Fox, a psychic investigator wrote an online article in October of 2011 called "Haunted Forclosures" explaining how just how imperative it is for the new buyers to "cleanse" the foreclosed home. "A stick of incense once a week or even daily is not enough to detoxify your home of the vibration of financial woes that is invading our lives" stated Fox. Fox discusses in her article that it is extremely important for homes to be physically clean and neat as well, as dirt also is known in the spirit world to attract negative energy. She also advises to "clean up" the psychic debris from friends who are experiencing financial hardships that may be visiting the individuals home. "If these types of acquaintances and activities are often in your home, then yet again you must pay attention to clearing the spaces of their miseries and their energy" said Fox.
The best advice I can give to anyone who is buying a home is to use a bit of common sense and intuition. If there is a hint of a creepy feeling or uneasiness it is most likely for a reason. These feelings are very ancient and evolutionary, therefore valid. We have these feelings for a reason called fight or flight . "Males are more likely to respond to an emergency situation with aggression (fight), while females are more likely to flee (flight), turn to others for help, or attempt to defuse the situation – 'tend and befriend'. During stressful times, a mother is especially likely to show protective responses toward her offspring and affiliate with others for shared social responses to threat."(Wikepedia,http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter4/sec2_1.html)
Ask yourself, what type of energy am I feeling? Is it good, bad, sad, and unfortunately, evil? If you are experiencing apprehension of the purchase, do your homework! As a buyer, it is allowed to ask if anyone died on the property, or if negative events have occurred. If you are not satisfied with those answers, do a title search, and look into your local town/ city hall for information. Godinez even suggests researching further about former occupants. "What were the most recent occupants like? What was the land used for before there was a house there? Has the building been squatted on? Are there drug users living in the house? From personal experience the house we bought in 2001 had a divorce and there was a lot of angry energy in the house that got moved out with sage burning and prayers."
If you are one who cannot deal with "activity" I suggest not purchasing or renting a home that potentially carries that kind of energy. It takes a very strong person to stand up to the activity, and it can only be the people living in the dwelling to confront the energy or spirits. I also suggest when there are young children involved, it is better to heed the intuitive warning of uneasy feelings more seriously as to not endanger the child in an emotional and spiritual battle. Always remember no one says you have to live or rent the particular house. And on that note, happy house hunting!
