Recently, the son of Ms. Zhang, who lives in Beijing, will get married on November this year. She wanted to help him find a house as the couple's wedding room, so she bought a house in shaoyaoju, Chaoyang District, with a total price of 2.8 million yuan. Because it is a wedding room, Ms. Zhang specially asked the intermediary and the original owner if there was any death here, and the owner certainly denied it. Ms. Zhang thought it was foolproof, but only in the decoration stage did she hear the neighbor say that the former male host was there.
Ms. Zhang believes that before signing the contract, she and the intermediary have clearly asked Ms. Cui whether there have been abnormal deaths in her house. The two defendants did not tell the truth and deliberately concealed this important event that affected the conclusion and performance of the contract. His behavior has constituted fraud, and the contract should be revoked according to law. And compensate yourself for the renovation loss of more than 73,000 yuan.
"The defendant denied intentional fraud."
During the trial, Ms. Cui denied that she had concealed the facts. She said that according to the fire accident certificate and certificate issued by the fire brigade, her ex-husband Zhao died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to excessive inhalation of fire in bed. "I don't think this room is a haunted house. In addition, at that time, the intermediary asked if there had been any suicide or homicide in the house, and Zhao's death was an accident. Except that the intermediary asked about the haunted house when signing the notice, neither the plaintiff nor I mentioned the haunted house and the wedding room. " Ms Cui thinks she didn't cheat.
Ms Cui's agent also pointed out that "haunted house" is not a legal concept. It is generally believed that only houses with human factors such as suicide and homicide, rather than normal deaths, are "haunted houses". Accidental death lacks subjective malignancy, does not entangle secular grievances and hatred, and should not be included in the scope of "haunted houses". The plaintiff's characterization of the accident as a "haunted house" has gone beyond the general social cognition and the identification of "haunted house" in the intermediary notice when buying a house.
Ms. Zhang's agent believes that the fire broke out in the morning and the deceased was a person. It is not excluded that the deceased committed suicide because of unsatisfactory life, and accidental death is also an abnormal death. In addition, if it is a "haunted house", it is not only 400,000 yuan lower than the normal market price, but also difficult to sell.
"The intermediary supports the plaintiff's claim"
Yesterday morning, as a third party, Chain Home Company appeared in court and agreed that the plaintiff should return the house. The agent said that the company fulfilled its audit obligation when signing the contract, because the plaintiff made it clear that the house was used for a wedding room, so the staff especially emphasized whether there had been any abnormal deaths such as suicide and homicide in the house. If the buyer knew that someone had died in the house, he would definitely not buy it. The agent said that the company has contacted many buyers. Except for normal birth and death, abnormal death will make them feel scared, and no one will buy this kind of house at a reduced price.
It is reported that it is not uncommon to request to return a house because of suing the house as a "haunted house". People in the legal profession generally believe that abnormal death in the house is a major event that affects the conclusion and performance of the contract, and the seller should take the initiative to disclose it.
As early as 2008, because of the "haunted house" problem, buyers took the agent and landlord to court: Li, who works in Chengdu, bought a 70-square-meter second-hand house through a housing agent at a price of 310.8 million yuan. When Li was decorating, he learned from his neighbors and the police station that a shocking murder happened in this house a few years ago. Li found an intermediary, and the intermediary couldn't explain clearly. Li asked the landlord for a refund and sued the court to cancel the house sales contract and give a refund.
Li believes that houses make people afraid to live. The landlord believes that there is no law requiring the seller to inform the "history" of the house. "There is no so-called' haunted house' in laws and real estate regulations, and the house where the murder occurred does not affect the normal use. It is superstitious that a dead house can't live, and it is not worthy of social promotion. "
However, the court held that people's fear and taboo about the murder in the house is an objective phenomenon. The house will depreciate because the buyer is shy. According to Article 6 of the Contract Law, "the parties shall follow the principle of good faith when exercising their rights and performing their obligations", the landlord Liu shall inform the buyer that a murder case has occurred in the house. Because Liu did not fulfill his obligation of informing, his behavior constituted fraud. The court held that people have fears and taboos about the murder case in the house, which may lead to the depreciation of the house, and the seller should truthfully inform them. Therefore, the court decided to cancel the house sales contract signed by both parties, and the seller returned all the house payment of RMB 365,438+RMB 8,000.
Recently, the establishment of a "haunted house" database by a real estate agent in Beijing caused a heated discussion on the Internet. According to their statistics, there are at least 900 haunted houses in Beijing at present. According to the reporter's investigation, there are also real estate agents in Chengdu who are building the Chengdu version of the "haunted house database", and more than 100 sets of "haunted houses" have been counted. The intermediary said that the reason for this move was that it suffered many "haunted house" transaction disputes and lost money.
In fact, as early as a few years ago, there was such a "haunted house" dispute in Chengdu. The landlord did not inform the buyers that there had been a murder case before, and finally the court ruled that the "purchase contract" was invalid.
◆? What is a haunted house?
1, generally speaking, there have been abnormal deaths (such as suicide, murder, malignant infectious diseases);
2, unlucky or always an accident in the house, people living in the house, there are abnormal deaths;
3. In five lines of gossip, houses with bad air, wrong orientation, dead doors and ghost doors can be collectively called haunted houses.
◆? Folklorist: "Haunted house" has always been a superstition.
Folklore expert Liu Xiaochang thinks that the word "haunted house" is unreasonable and has always been superstitious. In ancient times, people paid more attention to the geomantic omen of houses. Due to people's lack of awareness, accidents occurred in houses, resulting in deaths. They often blame the cause of the accident on the housing problem. This is just a superstitious statement.
Liu Xiaochang said, in fact, the practice of real estate agents is very undesirable. "Now the house is incomparable in terms of structure, lighting and ventilation. Intermediaries should not be mysterious and bring superstitious thinking to the public. "
◆? Sociologist: Intermediaries are also customers.
Zhang Xiaoyuan, a sociologist and professor of the Department of Culture and Media at Chengda University outside Sichuan, believes that the real estate agency, as a commercial organization, instinctively pursues interests only to avoid risks and should not be blamed. The practice of real estate agents is also for the consideration of customers, which is understandable.
Zhang Xiaoyuan said, why do many people look pale when they talk about "haunted houses"? In fact, this has something to do with the psychological balance of ordinary people. "When buying something, he has a kind of accompanying psychology, whether he is happy or unhappy, or his mood has not changed. Property buyers don't want to buy a haunted house, not because they are afraid, but because they feel a little uncomfortable after buying such a house, they don't want to buy a house called a haunted house. In fact, the intermediary company is aimed at the psychology of buyers. "
◆? Is it legal? Lawyer: The intermediary can't inform without authorization.
Lawyer Yicao of Sichuan Shaocheng Law Firm believes that, adhering to the principle of good faith, the landlord or intermediary should inform the buyers. Everyone has a different understanding of "haunted house", and most people's willingness to buy will be affected.
"Judging from the current domestic cases, it is not because the house is a' haunted house' that the contract is revoked, but the judge makes it according to the principle of good faith or public order and good customs, and examines whether the contract signed by both parties has legal circumstances that can be revoked."
Then, the intermediary established a database, and many houses were labeled as "haunted houses". Is this in accordance with the law? Yi Cao believes that according to the existing laws and regulations, in order to avoid disputes, intermediaries can include this information for internal use, but they must not be made public. Without the consent of the landlord, according to the information collected by himself, informing the buyers or publishing it to a third party without authorization will not only bear legal risks, but also cause the house price to be damaged or not sold, so the intermediary should also bear legal responsibilities and compensate for the losses.
In fact, in practice, landlords often conceal their "bad past" in order to sell houses at "full price", which makes the intermediary very headache and even go to court. Yi Cao gave an idea to the intermediary. When the landlord entrusted the intermediary to sell the house, the two sides signed an agreement, and the intermediary asked the landlord to tell whether the house was a haunted house. If the landlord doesn't tell us, the intermediary will not bear the responsibility if there is a "haunted house" dispute in the future, so that the intermediary can avoid such risks.
◆? How to avoid buying a haunted house?
1. Pay attention to any evil spirits when looking at the house? When you look at the house, you can observe whether there is anything unusual in the house, such as whether there is a spell at the gate, whether there is anything in the drawer to ward off evil spirits, and if there is anything strange, you should be careful that there may be a murder or paranormal. Zheng Yayun, a numerologist, also pointed out that if you step into the house, there will be a fragrance, or the paint color of a wall is particularly different, or it may be caused by the special treatment made by the owner after the murder, so you must check it carefully.
2. Puppies and children are sensitive and can detect haunted houses? The numerology teacher Zheng Yayun said in an interview with Yahoo. Qimo News Buyers can bring dogs or children to see the house. "Because the dog's eyes are black and white, as long as you see a black image, you will feel uncomfortable and start barking; Children with three souls and seven spirits are not stable yet, and they will cry when they enter the haunted house. 」
3. Ask street neighbors to search online often? Actively visit neighbors, management committees, neighborhood leaders and even police stations to find out whether there have been any murders in the house. At the same time, you can also search for keywords or addresses online to find out if there is a tendency to be haunted.
4. It is best not to buy a wall knife. Before buying a house, we should observe the surrounding environment of the house, for example, whether the architectural appearance constitutes a "wall knife" or a "Jack nife". The house is easy to be bloody, indicating that people living in it are easy to have misfortune! "Wall knife" refers to the 90-degree angle where the home is facing the intersection of two walls, or more seriously, it is hit by the sharp corner of a triangular building, which is called "knife edge"; "God damn it" means that the door of the house is facing the crack between two buildings.
5. Set special terms to avoid losses? Before buying a house, you must carefully read the "Real Estate Status Statement" to see if the owner has checked the cases of abnormal deaths in the building. Lawyer Wang Hanxing also pointed out in an interview with Yahoo News that when the real estate sales contract was concluded, it was clearly stipulated in the written special terms that if a haunted house was bought, both the buyer and the seller would cancel the contract and the seller would return the price without objection. This can not only deter and avoid the fact that the owner hides the haunted house, but also avoid the losses caused to the buyer by the seller's claim that the contract cannot be terminated during the litigation process.
The five points for attention summarized above, I hope everyone can give you some reference. Buying a house is a major event in life. When buying, you must be careful and check in many ways to avoid buying a haunted house and causing a series of unnecessary disputes.
For more common sense of buying a house, please pay attention to the Tuba rabbit decoration website. You can also subscribe to Tuba Rabbit's decoration information mailbox, select home improvement information once a week, and spend some time studying. I'm sure the decoration will be fine.