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“I almost sold a murder house without realizing it”

It's not often that real estate agents find themselves in a situation where they almost sell their clients a “murder house,” but one in Connecticut came dangerously close.

When Kate JoyntOwner of Atmosphere Real Estate, showed a lovely and affordable property in Norwalk, Connecticut to her client, who was just about to sign the contract when he was informed that someone had been shot in the house.
Laws regarding disclosing “murder houses” to prospective buyers vary from state to state, Joynt says. But in Connecticut, sellers are only required to disclose if the buyer or their attorney asks directly. And that's exactly how Joynt and a prospective buyer learned about the property's grisly past.

“This was the first time in my career that I was personally involved, but these things happen,” says Joynt.

She notes that there were signs that something was wrong even before the contract was signed, such as the elderly woman who lived in the house ripping out the carpet in the living room, but both the agent and the client thought it might be because she hadn't renovated the house in years.

“It was probably bloodstained, so she ripped it out,” Joynt says.

And every time Joynt and her client toured the property, the owner was constantly nearby.

“We just thought it was bizarre, but some people say, 'Do it in front of me, this is my life.' There are people who choose not to leave during the screenings,” she says. “But it turned out she was under house arrest and couldn't leave.”

Back then, there was so much demand and so little supply in the area. [so] many customers have cancelled all contingent liabilities.”

But after Joynt's client made an offer that was accepted and they signed the contract, their real estate attorney uncovered the shocking detail about the home.

On January 20, 2022, the homeowner Ellen Winkleentered her property while her tenant was there to clean out the refrigerator before putting it up for sale, Greenwich Time reported.

Your tenant, 54 years old Kurt Lametta filmed them with his cell phone. Wink allegedly became angry, grabbed a gun, aimed and fired – killing him, according to Norwalk police.

Wink, who was fired from her job as a Republican deputy registrar, has been charged with murder and will plead self-defense at her upcoming trial.

“If our attorney had never asked, we would never have known,” Joynt says. “But he specifically asked if a murder had ever occurred on the property, and the answer was yes.”

Joynt says it was unusual to break the news to her client, but she took it well.

“I try not to put my opinion in there,” says Joynt. “I went back to the buyer and told him our options were to take the property as is, try to negotiate a lower price because it's a stigmatized property, or get out before closing. Now it's clear why the property was still available in a tough market.”

Your client decided to take a few days to think about it, but ultimately came to the conclusion that it didn't feel right.

“She trusted her gut and did her research,” Joynt says. “We were lucky that our lawyer asked, so we were lucky.”

Murder houses fall into the infamous category of “stigmatized properties,” which are often difficult to sell, according to the National Association of Realtors®. (This includes homes where suicide or violent crimes have been committed, or that are located near a cemetery or neighboring murder house.)

“I've probably been involved in more murder house deals than I realized,” Joynt says. “Some states require the information, some don't. If you go to closing and don't know anything, you're pretty much screwed. Everyone is put off when something grotesque happens on a property.”

How long a home can stay on the market, according to Joynt, is “directly related to the seller's willingness to lower the price to be able to sell it. That shrinks the pool of buyers, and you have to lower the price. You have to get the price just right.”

But a price reduction may not be the only downside to a murder house. For example, if a house is known for a tragic event that occurred on the property, onlookers and crime buffs may tour the property and take photos.

But in Joynt's experience, most home buyers have a price in mind that will turn a “murder house” into a livable property.

And that's exactly what later happened with the Norwalk property, which was sold for $605,000 in March 2023, according to public land records.

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