Buying a home that has had an incident: what to ask the seller, the price and how families cope

Legal basis: 2015 Civil Code — Article 443 (titled "Obligation to provide information and instructions for use") · Law on Real Estate Business No. 29/2023/QH15 — Article 6 (disclosure of information) · Updated 23/10/2026. This article is for reference and does not replace a lawyer's advice.

A family may have gone through a loss in its own home: a relative's death, an accident, a fire, or a serious incident. When the family puts it up for sale, the buyer often wonders: should I buy, how should I ask, is the price different. This article goes from the legal angle, to the practical, then to belief, with respect for both seller and buyer.

1. What must the seller disclose under the law?

• 2015 Civil Code, Article 443: the seller must give the buyer the necessary information about the property sold and instructions for its use. If the seller fails to do so and this stops the buyer from achieving the purpose of the contract, the buyer may request that the contract be cancelled and claim damages.
• 2023 Law on Real Estate Business, Article 6: a real estate business must disclose information fully, truthfully and accurately; for existing houses and works, this includes the certificate of ownership and land use rights, and any restrictions and mortgages. This applies to real estate businesses; a retail sale between individuals mainly follows the Civil Code.

We have not found any provision that separately states a duty to disclose that a home has had a death or a killing ("a home with an incident"). Whether that information is "necessary information" depends on the case and how a court assesses it, so avoid treating it as a given. What is more practical is to ask clearly and put it in writing: if the seller answers in writing and it later proves untrue, you have a basis to ask for a remedy.

Unlike an incident, matters of structure, fire, disputes and mortgages directly affect ownership and safety, so you must check them with documents and a survey (see buying an apartment with a pink book).

2. How to ask, and whom to ask

1. Ask about the home's history politely and specifically: "Since what year has your family lived here, and in that time was there any major event such as a fire, flooding or a death at home?" A polite question helps the seller answer openly.
2. Ask the neighbours, the security guard and the building's management board. They usually know what has happened.
3. For a fire: ask for repair records, the replacement of the electrical system, and fire-safety acceptance (if any), and have an engineer check the structure and the electrical and water systems.
4. For an incident handled by the police or an inheritance dispute: check the legal status and who has the right to sell; require all co-heirs to sign.
5. Put it in the deposit contract or an appendix: the seller undertakes that they have given truthful information about the home's history and any significant incidents.

Asking does not mean doubting. An honest seller will understand that this is about the biggest decision in the buyer's life.

3. Does the price differ?

In Vietnam we have not found any published data on the price of a home that has had an incident compared with the general level. In other markets, a VnExpress article (09/05/2023) recorded that "haunted" homes in China and Hong Kong are usually 20–30% cheaper than the market, and in some places a scene of a serious killing falls by up to 50%. That is a different market and a different culture, and the figure should not be applied as is.

For homes in Vietnam, price negotiation usually rests on:

• How far the information is known in the community around the area (neighbours, the street).
• The time that has passed and the condition of the home after repairs.
• Your expected liquidity when you resell: later buyers will also ask about the home's history, so a reasonable price now makes it easier for you to resell later.

The seller should be upfront, because hiding information and being found out after signing usually causes greater loss than a price reduction.

4. How many families handle it spiritually

By folk belief, many families do a few things to feel at ease, depending on each household's religion and view:

• Clean, repaint and change the layout so the home takes on a new look; this helps ease the mind and also lets you recheck the structure.
• Hold a housewarming offering (nhập trạch) when moving in, asking permission of the ancestors and the land spirit; see also choosing a date for moving into a new home and the altar in an apartment.
• Ask a monk, a priest or a respected person in the family's religion to hold a prayer for peace, if the family follows that religion.
• Let the home "breathe": open the doors, let in light, and open the windows for a few days before moving in.

Stay level-headed: some "masters" exploit the owner's worry to charge high fees. See feng shui remedies that cost little.

5. The decision for your family

Two balancing questions: (1) will your family really be comfortable living there, including the elderly and small children? (2) do the legal status, structure and safety meet the standard? If both are "yes", a home having had an incident is a factor you may accept or not, according to your own beliefs. If someone in the family is uneasy, another home is usually the less painful choice than forcing each other.

Note: The spiritual part is folk belief, presented for reference. Check the legal status and structure, and ask a lawyer, for transactions of high value.

• Legal System — Article 443 of the 2015 Civil Code: Obligation to provide information and instructions for use, accessed 23 October 2026.
• Legal System — Article 6 of the 2023 Law on Real Estate Business: Disclosure of information (Law No. 29/2023/QH15, effective 01/08/2024), accessed 23 October 2026.
• VnExpress — Avoid buying a "haunted" house (prices of homes where someone died in China and Hong Kong), 9 May 2023.