Actually, the Seller had every intention of leaving it and didn’t think much about it until that fateful day when the moving van backed in to pack up. The children noticed the gator was NOT getting on the truck and PITCHED A FIT!! So, suddenly the gator was given a ticket to ride!

The Buyer was seriously steamed when they found out, as apparently their children were TOTALLY excited about having a lawn gator and had bonded with him when they toured their prospective new house, and put dibbs on their little bedrooms.

Yes, this is a true story .. the sale of a $1.3M house skidded to a screeching halt over the purported purloined gator. The Seller claimed it was decoration, much like a picture hanging on the wall and the Buyer countered it was “installed” and therefore part of the property. This went back and forth for awhile. The final remedy was a gator allowance, although the Buyer was pressing for an “installed gator”, they eventually relented and agreed to the allowance.

Ok this was a first for me. Usually the object for the majority of the fussing and fighting I hear about  is the elaborate antique mirror in the powder room ---“Its HANGING on the wall, just like a painting in the Living Room, or does your client expect to take those, too?” vs. “It’s the ONLY mirror in the bathroom and was displayed with the house, do you expect my client to pay over $1M for a house and then have to go buy a mirror for their bathroom?”

But this time it was the gator. How about you? Any gator allowances in your transaction history?

Judith, The Floor Plan Lady

www.smarteplans.com

© SMARTePLANS 2009

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