Wow this kid is from a Twilight zone movie, How in the world did he dial in on this spot?

Really the only thing you can do is ask the sellers or there agent if spot is in the back yard forever and maybe ask them to take him with them when they go.

It must be important to your buyers now lol.

Todd, get a shovel and start digging. Actually, no, how in the world would you know? We certainly left a few pets in our last home we sold but didn't find it anywhere on the disclosure to let anyone know. I did have a house that the sellers had a flat headstone near a tree in the backyard where they had buried their pet and the buyers asked if they would be taking the stone with them, which they did, but we didn't ask if they were also taking the remains.

I am thinking you will need to track down previous owners? Good grief, what's next? lol

Well, that's different!  First, why was the kid digging in someone else's back yard?  Sounds like there might be a little discipline problem here.

Nonetheless, if the house has had multiple owners, you really have no way of knowing what's buried in the back yard.  I would tell the "parent" that if he wants assurances that no pets are buried there, he should build a brand new house.  Excavation will remove any remains.

That's about the silliest thing I've ever heard. How would an agent know what is burried in the backyard?

I gotta agree with Cathy -- any parent that let's a 5 year old wander about in a stranger's back yard with a shovel needs help...

I agree with Jay & Francy- ESPECIALLY considering the fact that it was an apartment.  Why was their 5 year old wandering around outside of a strange place ALONE to begin with????

You want to see what happens when young kids are out alone?

http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/not-what-you-want-to-see-plastered-all-over-your-neighborhood/386

I think I would tell them that anyone who buries a pet in the backyard, may have buried a jar or can of money also.

Jay,

You are sooooo right. I was a neighbor of Jimmy Rice who was abducted and killed while walking home from the school bus stop. It was a gruesome death and it is unthinkable to let a 5 year old out of your sight in a strange environment.

Hi Todd

To solve the current problem and put your buyers at ease.

Check the yard for signs of pet graves. If there are none, Ask the sellers agent if the sellers know of any pets buried in the yard. If not have the seller's agent add a statement that there are no known pet graves on the property to the disclosure and have sellers initial it. That is about all you can do here. Hopefully that will appease your buyers.

What Tom said!  I probably would have asked him to get the hell off of the property.

Call the police and ask if you can borrow their methane probe.   That's what the CSI folks use to locate buried bodies.  (No, I don't watch the show.  I'm just REEEEAAALLLY smart. :)

Or....Dr. Phil stayed at a Holiday Inn last night!

Jay, you are so right.  That link is scary!  I have thoughts about this but won't hijack Todd's thread.  I feel a post coming!

Getting back to you Todd.  I would almost think that this may related to a former thread about people dying in a home.  If it was built 30 years ago, or more, there's a good chance!  Build it new and put that kid on a leash. JK

That is just strange.  You could not find out that information and it is probably not required that you do in any state.  They need to control that kid.  I would have died if my children did something so rude.

I can understand their concerns but this is the real world and pets pass on to another place in it.  If the home had more then one owner do they expect you to dig up the pet history of every party involved?  I kind of doubt they are serious buyer to ask such a lame question.

Cathy brought up a valid point though.  People dying in a home is common but unless it is some type of murder or situation then most states protect the previous owners rights.  In Texas we only have to disclose certain types of deaths in a home.  If you family member dies of cancer in the home you should not have to relay this to every potential buyer.  Life happens along with death.  

Find some new buyer b/c those people are not serious and probably already forgot they asked you the question.  Did you pre-qual them to see if they can even buy????  I think they were just bored and out browsing.

Have a great time finding some normal buyers for your seller.  Interesting issue.  I have never heard this one that is for sure.

Take care.

Christina Stevens

www.Galveston4sale.com

www.SanAntonio4sale.net

www.LasVegas4sale.net

I've got one for everyone.  I sold a manufactured home on 20 acres.  About halfway through negotiations (and I'm on both sides), the seller says he won't sell it unless the dog graveyard is left intact in perpituity.  Luckily it was a 20 acre piece, but it had to be surveyed and the legal rewritten.  The Seller was an interesting character and this was just one of the many issues I dealt with.

Darcy

Darcy I feel sorry for you.  He did not disclose this when you took the listing.  He could have gotten himself in a lot of trouble in Texas.  we have to disclose any info like this on the listing.  Girl I feel sorry for you.  I hope you had yourself a party when that sale was over.  

I guess this just goes to show how much people love their pets.  Mine included but I would not jeopardize the sale of my most important investment over a dog grave.

Congrats to you for dealing w/ that mess.

Christina

www.Galveston4sale.com

www.SanAntonio4sale.net

www.LasVegas4sale.net

The way my day is going I have two agents I want to bury in someone's backyard.  A condo won't do it.  

Had some first time buyers last year- one of the criteria they mentioned was that they didn't want to buy a house that was haunted.  I asked how we would confirm that, and they said once they found a house they wanted to write on, they would bring their dog over (with the ower's approval) and if the dog was ok then it wasn't haunted.  We did, the dog didn't have any issues and they bought it!  

I don't know....

Ouija board?

Dousing rods?

Séance while blowing bubbles in a glass of milk while trying to imitate whale song?

How the heck are you supposed to know? If pressed to make a disclaimer I would say " Well since the ground has been here a while, I would suspect a few dinosaur bones, tribal Indian relics, fragmented meteors that survived re-entry and then maybe a bird or two."

Todd

I think every agent needs to invest in one of these,

http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=37840&x=7

And check all back yards for animals, in laws, ex wives/ and or girlfriends, and have a special stipulation added to the disclosure statement that would show if any flesh in buried on the property...

So Todd tell us what was in the shoebox!!  and how convenient the son new just were to go dig up that box.

Animal Quackers!!!

Todd,

Go stay a night at the Holiday Inn Express and your answer will come to you. Well, at least that's what the commercial implies.

You could suggest that they hire those guys that check for sinkholes with the sonar machines. They only charge about $5000 for that I think. LOL The sonar should show any dead bodies - animal or human! LOL

It is illegal in several of the counties here in Florida now to bury your pet in the yard. That happened about five years ago.

Todd

here is an agent taken care of business in a back yard..

http://www.lazydork.com/movies/caddyshack.jpg