Selling of a crime scene via a remodel

Randall Bell, a California-based damage economics specialist, says stigmatized homes that once were crime scenes can lose 10 percent to 25 percent of their value.

However, some properties, particularly those in urban areas, retain their value even if violent crimes were committed there.

Stigmatized properties in rural areas tend to be most affected by the memories retained by residents of these quiet locales, according to Bell.

But “mitigations,” like new addresses and remodeling, can help eliminate the stigma carried by these properties, said Bell who once rendered an opinion on the former Kurt Cobain home in Seattle’s Denny Blaine neighborhood.

Washington state real estate agents and sellers are required to disclose murders and other violent that know have occurred in the homes they are selling.