As Halloween approaches, you may start thinking of dark, moonlit nights and scary stories told around the glow of a campfire. They always start out in relatively the same way: a family moves into a new house, frightening things start happening, and they find out something terrible happened in the home before they bought it. Although it might be fun to spin some yarns about the idea of a haunted house, nobody actually wants to move into a place that gives you the heebie jeebies. Although it isn't common, it does happen! Just in time for Halloween, here are the five scariest things homeowners have found in their homes, brought to you by Landmark Home Warranty:
Snakes
Believe it or not, in Rexburg, Idaho, a family moved into a home for what they thought was a steal, but it turned out to be a house of horrors. The Sessions said the home smelled musty and the water tasted foul. After they started seeing and hearing snakes everywhere, they moved from the home. It turns out the home was built on top of a garter snake nest, where hundreds of the reptiles lived and multiplied. The only way the snakes could escape is by going up and through the walls of the home.
This should make home buyers extra sure to complete their due diligence. The Sessions had to declare bankruptcy on their mortgage because their home insurance wouldn't cover for a snake infestation. Although home warranty plans sometimes cover for pest control, most can't take care of a snake infestation. Biologists said no matter what kind of pest control the Sessions completed, the home would need to be rid of snakes for 15 years before they could be sure the snakes wouldn't return. Snakes release pheromones and travel back to their nests by following those scents. Thus, if a home warranty plan covered for snakes, it probably wouldn't have helped this family much!
Spiders
In 2012, the Trosts left their home after thousands of dollars and years of pest control treatments didn't make a dent in the thousands of spiders crawling through their home. One estimate said the home contained up to 6,000 brown recluse spiders. The house soon went into foreclosure after the Trosts left and, in 2014, large tents were draped over the home and sulfuryl fluoride gas was pumped into the home.
Their insurance company, State Farm, denied their claim, saying the home insurance company doesn't cover for insects. Certain home warranty plans do cover for spider pest control for only a small service call fee, although in this situation, it doesn't seem like pest control helped! If you have a minor infestation of spiders and a home warranty, give your company a call to see if your home warranty plan covers for pest control.
Stalkers
In 2015, New Jersey family bought a beautiful 1.3 million dollar home, but apparently, the home's sale included a stalker called "The Watcher."
According to the buyers, "The Watcher" started sending the new buyers letters that said he was "in charge of the home," and watching the home was a family tradition that started in the 1920s with his grandfather. In some of his letters, he asked where they would be sleeping so he could better watch the family and asked if "they knew what was in the walls?" He also made veiled threats against the couple's children.
Now the buyers are suing the sellers because they unearthed evidence that the sellers knew about "The Watcher" before moving and didn't tell the buyers. New Jersey doesn't have a disclosure law, which means the sellers didn't have to tell the buyers if they knew anything about "The Watcher." Even if there was a disclosure law in New Jersey, something like a home stalker most likely wouldn't be included. Once again, this is why it is imperative to complete due diligence as well as getting a home warranty plan on your new place.
Graveyard
According to Trulia, only 50% of women homebuyers would be willing to live near or next to a cemetery. But what happens if you find out you've been living on top of one all along?
That's what happened to Vincent Marcello, who wanted to build a pool but instead unearthed 15 coffins that belonged to the old St. Peter Cemetery. Luckily, the coffins were moved and were reburied. Marcello said he didn't mind at all, so we guess he was one of the 61% of men who would be completely fine living next to a cemetery.
Home Repairs
Finally, most homeowners move into their new abodes without realizing an extremely frightening thing lies in wait within their walls... home repairs. Unfortunately, systems and appliances have a life expectancy and break down often. Most homeowners spend between 2 and 4% of their home's value on home repairs each year. If they have a home warranty plan, however, they can save thousands of dollars. A home warranty plan covers repairs and replacements of systems and appliances that have failed from normal wear and tear. These can cost between $400 and $600 annually with a $60-$100 service call fee.
If you're interested in ridding yourself of the looming costs of repairs and replacements, get a home warranty plan. You can compare our home warranty plans here, or simply go to our homepage to learn more.