murder house
i’ve been entertaining the idea of buying a house lately.
of course there’s the fact that with rent you feel as though you’re throwing away money every month, but it was easier to rationalize here in japan because the value on your house will virtually never be what it was when you bought it ever again. that and the fact that we have company subsidized rent for a great apartment so even if we’re throwing away rent money, we’re getting a place for 1/2 the monthly price now and they wouldn’t subsidize a mortgage.
the subject came up with a colleague the other day and he says, “why don’t you buy a mobile house?”…i thought – i’ve never seen those in japan then realized it was just his strong aussie accent and he said, “why don’t you buy a murder house?”. apparently there is a huge stigma to homes where something tragic has happened and they go for a fraction of the price. if you’ve ever seen the movie “Juon” (there’s an american version called the grudge or curse or something but not a fraction as scary), you’ll know why.
so i am told that you can go into a real estate office and simply say you’re interested in one of these properties and they’ll reach deep into their drawer and pull out a big black binder with a giant M on it!
if i’m feeling bored when my maternity leave starts i’ll have to try this – belly full of baby – can you imagine what they would think of me!?! wonder if they would even let me consider it in such a state! 😉
the catch is that this information only has to be disclosed for 2 sales…after that, anyone could be in a murder house. thankfully most japanese don’t buy more than one house in their lifetime.
bonus tip from same friend: check behind the pics in the house or apt. you’re checking out – if there is a little tori gate (the red gate you see before a shinto shrine) behind any one of these it means something really bad went down there and they had to have the place blessed…that or they just don’t want anyone peeing there.
so – wonder if this is all true?? would you buy a murder house for cheap?
Could I buy one, yes, would the thoughts of what happened there and my brain make seemingly odd things connect, yes. But I tend to be more paranoid than most. It’s that whole witching hour thing. Maybe you could do some research into the paranormal and see what your options are there;)