This Law Only Exists in New York State
It's spooky how it all happened, too. With Halloween on the way and fall weather finally arriving in the Empire State, it's the perfect time to tell you about a law that only exists here. Not all states in the union have this on their books, and it involves buying homes.
In 1991, a man named Jeffrey Stambovsky purchased a home from a woman named Helen Ackley in Nyack, New York. It was a typical purchase, except for the ghosts. That's right: the house was haunted. At least, that's what Ackley told Reader's Digest and a local paper on three separate occasions between 1977 and 1989. She and her family members claimed three friendly ghosts lived in the home. When Stambovsky purchased the home, he claimed not to know about the hauntings. He requested out of the contractual agreement he made to purchase the home because of the alleged ghosts.
The Ghostbusters Ruling
The New York State Supreme Court ended up with the case. The question became whether the house was indeed haunted. Because there were several articles claiming it to be so, the court ruled in Stambovsky's favor, winning him the case. This is now known as The Ghostbuster Ruling.
This Law Only Exists in New York State
Because of this ruling, ALL New York state homeowners must disclose that a house is haunted before it can be sold. It's a bizarre ruling that no other state has on its books. It's also truly enforced. When we were looking to move back to Buffalo, the house we purchased was deemed "not haunted," while the house we sold in Syracuse, we had to disclose if it was haunted or not. It wasn't, by the way, at least from our experiences there.
Do you think this is a good, valid thing to be a law in New York? Let us know on our app.
Looking for some "truly" haunted places in New York State? Check out this list of the 10 Most Haunted Places in New York State.
