alpaca
You've probably heard stories about how rockstars make jaw-dropping demands for their dressing rooms on tour, like a hot tub, or bowls of M&Ms with all the brown ones picked out (true stories!).
Well, it turns out that some home buyers also think they're holding all the cards when they make some crazy request a condition of purchase.
Don't believe us?
Check out these stories from real estate agents, and you'll see what we mean.
Does it come with the dog?
"A buyer asked me to include the seller's dog, a poodle, as part of the contract. He was serious. It was more of an entitlement issue with this buyer -- 'I can get anything I want because I'm wealthy, offering cash, and a good price' -- than that he was a dog person. Of course, the sellers loved this dog and would never give her up. The home was eventually sold to a family who had their own dogs. I stopped working with this client and referred him to a local dog shelter." Tanaz Akhlaghi, associate partner with The Partners Trust in Beverly Hills, CA
Make it rain
"After several hours of inspection, discussion, and long drawn-out decision-making, doors locked, everyone leaving, the buyer says, 'I want you to unlock the house and let me back in, then turn on the hose, and make it rain on the house so I can hear what it sounds like.' I said no. Please note, I'm actually very accommodating, but declined for good reasons. Thankfully, we sold the house to someone else." Candace Gunther, associate partner with The Partners Trust in Pasadena, CA
The boy-band poster must stay
"This story always makes me smile. The client was a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army. We were exploring the basement of one house, when he pointed at the wall and said, 'I will buy this house if they give me that.' By 'that' he meant a framed poster of NSync. He was apparently a huge fan of the boy band! We had four more showings, but he demanded we pull into a restaurant and write the offer immediately that included the poster. Unfortunately, he didn't win the bid on the house, so he had me reach out to the agent and ask if he could buy the poster from the owners. They said no. It took him a week before he would look at any other house, he was so heartbroken." Sarah Bowles, brokers associate for Colorado Homes Denver
Sweeten the deal -- with those cookies
"When a buyer came to an open house, I served chocolate chip cookies from the decadently famous Levain Bakery -- eight cookies for $49. When we started negotiations, he said he'd take the deal only if I threw in a box of the cookies. I thought he was joking and said sure. But when I got the deal sheet the next day, he'd written in 'a box of the cookies that were offered at the open house.' Later on, during our final walk through, he said, 'You'd better not forget my cookies.' I brought eight to the closing, which he ate right then and there and got mad I didn't bring milk!" Frank Seegitz, real estate agent for Douglas Elliman in New York City, NY
It's a numbers thing
"I had a client looking for a high-end apartment ($7,000/month) who was heavily into Kabbalism and numerology. So he said I couldn't show him buildings with specific addresses if the numbers were 'bad,' and could only show apartments that were on specific floors and that had specific unit numbers." Matt Sadewitz, Real Estate Broker for Douglas Elliman in New York City, NY
13 alpacas, please…
"When showing a home with a pack of 13 alpacas on the property, my client became attached to a baby alpaca, and therefore wanted to buy that one -- and all of her friends, so it wouldn't feel lonely -- for an additional $120,000. The seller agreed. Deal consummated." Madison Hildebrand, founding partner of The Malibu Life with The Partners Trust
Let's all live together!
"I represented the seller of a two-bedroom apartment that got an offer the first day on the market. Only my seller couldn't move immediately, because their new residence was not ready. In order to not lose the deal, the seller agreed to let the buyer -- which included a husband, wife, child, and two dogs -- move in for a month. They all piled into the seller's apartment, and all became great friends." Deborah Solomon, real estate broker with Douglas Elliman in New York City, NY
I'll take everything … no, really, everything
"I was the broker for a luxury apartment where the buyer insisted, in order for the deal to go through, that the sellers include all the furniture, beds, blankets, dishes, essentially the entire contents of the apartment -- including the toilet paper and bath soap! The sellers agreed -- for the right price." Valerie Lettan, real estate broker with Douglas Elliman in New York City, NY