Do New York Relators Have to Disclose Paranormal Activity Before Selling a Home?

Would you want to know if the house you were moving into was haunted?

The Haunted Ackley House of Nyack, New York

Have you heard the story of The Ackley House?

Most New Yorkers, and paranormal believers, are familiar with the tale. For those who might not know, a house in Nyack, New York was the first house in America to legally be declared haunted.

Helen Ackley and her family lived at the Nyack home from the 70s until about 1989. During their time living in the house they experienced poltergeist activity such as beds shaking (to wake the kids up for school, so a helpful ghost) as well as "gifts" left for the grandchildren that would mysteriously disappear.

The Ackley family hosted ghost tours and the house was featured in numerous local publications as well as a story written in Readers Digest.

The home on 1 Laveta Place went on the market in 1989 with Ellis Real Estate and Helen Ackley was adamant that whoever would be buying the house should know it's haunted history.

During the signing process is where things took a turn.

America's First Legally Haunted House is in New York

According to reports, the buyer Jeffrey Stambovsky was notified about the hauntings from Ellis and allegedly responded with "we'll have to call in the Ghostbusters."

Stambovsky signed the contract.

But after meeting with Helen Ackley and hearing her stories first hand, Stambovsky then filed action against Ackley and Ellis realty for damages and fraudulent misrepresentation.

The case went to court the ruling came to this conclusion "having reported [the ghosts'] presence in both a national publication... and the local press... defendant is estopped to deny their existence and, as a matter of law, the house is haunted."

Do NY Relators Have to Disclose Paranormal Activity Before Selling a Home?

In 2024, do NY realtors need to disclose paranormal activity before selling a home? According to NBC News, only 4 states deal with paranormal activity in real estate law: New Jersey, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York.

However, legally you don't need tell buyers that your house is haunted.

Nadel & Ciarlo Attorney's at Law, P.C., explain "If a seller has publicly made claims about their property having supernatural activity or ghosts, they should inform the buyer of those claims."

For instance, if your house has been included in a haunted house walking tour or if you've applied to a paranormal TV show to film at your house (like Ghost Hunters, or Ghost Adventurers) those buying the house could take you to court "over your failure to disclose those issues later."

They add:

However, simply having a suspicion that something happened there or knowledge that someone died in the home before doesn’t force you to disclose any suspected spooky activity.

A Look into More Nyack, New York Real Estate

Even though the Ackley House is considered legally haunted it doesn't look like your typical "Haunted House." While most of the original windows and woodwork is still within the house the interior has been renovated over the years.

You can see the gorgeous updates below:

From haunted to historic. Check out one of the more historic homes in Nyack that was for sale earlier this year:

And while we're on the topic of ghosts and the paranormal, why not check out one of the spookiest New York towns that is quickly becoming a hot tourist destination: