Seller sold windmill before closing.

[Buster Brown]

So we’re buying our first flip farmhouse on a few acres. We are buying from homeowner during their redemption period for the payoff. Good buy. We’ve been in contract with Ernest money at title company. The farmhouse is really cute and the windmill which is an antique aermotor 30’ tall needs work, but someone she said could have it (allegedly about a year ago) for a 100 bucks came and took it over the weekend. We’ve had the agreement to purchase deal signed for 3 weeks and this was not disclosed, however no disclosure form either. We have a simple buyers agreement and we’re buying it cash as is. Wouldn’t our contract nullify any previous promises since the windmill was taken during our pending status?  Evidently it took a few men with a boom truck to take it. Looking for ideas on what to do about it. Too much meat on the bone to walk, but the windmill was iconic to the ambiance of the property. 

[JD Martin]

Only you can decide if it's a deal breaker or not. If it is, then you walk or renegotiate. If it's not, then you close. That's the way it is with real estate; it's not that clean a business.

I bought a house once from a guy that inherited it from his stepfather. When I walked the property it had all the appliances. On my way to closing a few weeks later (I always do my final walk through on my way to closing), we did the final walk through and the stove and refrigerator were missing despite the fact that they were written into the contract. When I got to the closing I questioned the seller on the stove and refrigerator - "Oh, they weren't working so I thought I would do you a favor and haul them off for you". Yeah, right.

I had to make the same decision - close or walk. I had what I considered a good house at a good price, that I would have bought at probably the same price if it had no appliances, so I let the liar go and we closed. The joke of course is on him because the house has appreciated $150k since I bought it. Yeah, it was greasy what he did, but that's the way it goes in this business.