July 7, 2026, 9:38 am | Read time: 4 minutes

These 5 Curious Facts Realtors Must Disclose Before a Purchase

How big is the house and how many garage spaces does it have? How many rooms are there, and is there an attic or not? These are all things realtors are happy to mention, but what about deaths, difficult neighbors, or aircraft noise? myHOMEBOOK spoke with lawyer Nicole Mutschke. She lists five pieces of information that realtors must disclose to prospective buyers.

1. Nightmare Neighbors

“Yes, unusual neighborhood conditions that can negatively impact living must be mentioned by realtors if necessary,” reports Nicole Mutschke. This was even confirmed by a ruling from the Federal Court of Justice in 1991. So-called “harassing neighbor behavior”—in this case, years of regular nighttime disturbances—should have been disclosed by the seller. However, these are individual cases, and it is up to the discretion of the respective realtor to report these conditions. In the worst case, a court decides.

2. The House Was Once a Brothel

If the building that interested parties want to buy was once a brothel, realtors must disclose this. The reason is that the reputation of the building in the area can be severely affected, and thus also the reputation of the buyers. Therefore, if the house was once operated as a brothel, it is considered a “disclosable defect.”

3. Crimes

“In certain cases, crimes or unusual deaths must also be disclosed by realtors,” explains Mutschke. For example, if the residential building is highly publicized due to the crime (such as murder or suicide) and thus has a bad reputation. This lowers the market value of the property. However, according to the lawyer, it is important:

• if the building is heavily stigmatized by the crime, the realtor must actively address it
• if prospective buyers themselves inquire about possible criminal incidents, realtors must answer truthfully

According to the lawyer, there have already been rulings where realtors did not inform about suicides. In one case, a woman inherited her parents’ house, where they took their own lives together, and she wanted to sell the building and hired a realtor. However, according to the plaintiff, the realtor concealed the exact circumstances of the previous owners’ deaths.

Important: If the death occurred too long ago, courts (including the Coburg Regional Court and the Munich Regional Court) have already dismissed lawsuits.

4. Noise Pollution

Not only neighbors can disturb the peace. For example, pubs, kindergartens, or even a church nearby can be sources of noise pollution.

5. Suspected Bombs

According to the lawyer, everyone should be informed about the possibility of a bomb being present on the property. The Higher Regional Court in Hamm also ruled that the suspicion of unexploded ordnance is information that must be communicated.

Even though some of these cases are individual, they show that in some situations, it is indeed advantageous for prospective buyers to ask again. Nicole Mutschke summarizes: “If the seller knows of a specific, unusual, permanent, and not easily recognizable burden, it can become disclosable according to the Federal Court of Justice’s line on terror neighbors.” If realtors do not address such potential burdens, a lawsuit can be filed. But ultimately, the court decides whether the lawsuit is upheld.

What Do Realtors Not Have to Mention?

Of course, besides the information that realtors should disclose, there are also some things they do not have to talk about. These include:

• Ghosts or supernatural phenomena, as their existence is not proven and thus no objective defect in the property exists
• Diseases of previous owners, as well as
• personal reasons behind the sale of the property (such as divorce, financial difficulties, …)