In any market, it's not uncommon for buyers and sellers to save on lighting fixtures, window treatments, and appliances, with million dollar deals sometimes running on items that cost a few thousand. In general, anything attached to the walls – cabinets, sinks, and toilets – is considered part of the sale, with removable items like lights and mounted flat screen TVs falling into a gray area that is worked out during contract negotiations. If an item fails, it is usually replaced by an equivalent third-party product. But ultimately, a contract can contain all of the terms that buyers and sellers agree to.
And this year, buyers are agreeing to some doozies.
In East Hampton, the sellers of a $ 2.2 million home decided to keep a pair of fruit trees, even though removing them left two gaping holes by the swimming pool.
Even the seller's agent was confused. "Where did this come from? The buyer is freaking out, it will ruin the landscaping," said Yorgos Tsibiridis, a Compass associate broker who represented the sellers on the deal. The six-foot-tall trees were a gift from grandparents to the children of the Seller and it turned out to be a deal breaker. "She said, 'No, if you don't allow me to take her, I'll cancel the contract,'" said Mr Tsibiridis.
And so a landscaper recently showed up and dug up the trees in time for the closure, which should take place in a few days.
There are other factors that go beyond the seizure of power. Housing is in short supply, but equipment, furnishings and building materials are also in short supply as the global supply chain has stalled further as a result of the pandemic recovery. When sellers leave their homes, some of them look around and find that they may not be able to replace the items they leave behind. So why don't you take it?
During negotiations for a two-room collaboration in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, the sellers insisted on keeping the kitchen appliances and the washer and dryer. If buyers wanted it, they could pay $ 10,000, a premium on used Samsung devices. Buyers were furious that the listing for the $ 430,000 apartment did not mention demand.
"They thought it was very petty and cheap to throw it in there at the last minute," said Jack Chiu, an associate broker at Douglas Elliman who represents the buyers. He said they would have changed their offer if they knew the devices were locked out. "It hit you from the left field."
