If it's not included in the contract, you're under no obligation to buy it. Say you're not interested. I doubt if they'll bother to dig it up and move it.

Where I am from in Canada the realtors contract has a line on the contract that lists everything that's included. If its not noted in the contract they can rightfully take it away. Things like blinds, appliances, gas heaters in garages etc etc. It sounds like you had a lazy realtor who isn't very detailed orientated.

A few questions: have you removed all conditions on the purchase? Have you discussed with the realtor that he said it was included. You have multiple witnesses to this issue. Both your realtor and the listing realtor should be dealing with this appropriately.

If the seller and his agent aren't working towards fixing the issue you could always take a hard stance and tell them you won't be closing.

I understand the OP to be saying she thought the fire pit was included as a permanent installation and her agent said yes -- apparently without checking. The seller should have been clear and excluded it in the listing if it appeared to be permanent, but a buyer who cares so much about it being included that they would want to walk away from the house over a fire pit should have been clear to their agent about how important the question was.

There are legal questions, questions of fact, practical considerations -- but the bottom line is what do you want here?

Are you wanting the fire pit included in the negotiated sale price or are you looking for a way out of the purchase of the home? If you want the fire pit -- push back. Without seeing it, this could be a weekend project, a thousand or two purchase (new -- not used) or a custom job -- but it is likely very heavy and risks breakage if moved. The movers may have told the seller how much it would add to the cost of the move and that they won't insure it against damage in the move. There is a reason this has come up now. Have your agent push back and tell them the listing should have excluded what appears to be a permanent installation if it was not to be included. If they can't get the seller to concede in including the fire pit, they should be able to remind the seller of all the potential problems and how upset you are, then negotiate a lower price if necessary.

I can't imagine a fire pit that is worth risking the close on the sale of a house for either the buyer or the seller. Really.

OP said both selling agent and buyers agent confirmed it stays. Attention is in the details.. if its not specified in the contract then one should assume its not part of the deal. In this case though the buyers being represented by someone who's paid to avoid these little mistakes. What good is a buyers agent if they aren't protecting their buyers.

Did your contract state that the fire pit conveys with the house? Did it state that the fire pit does not convey? If nothing was in writing, then you don't have much except your agent's word. This really sucks!

I guess they can try to sell it outside the escrow, but if it's heavy and concrete, they may get no takers. Too many really nice inexpensive fire pits available.

In our current house nothing was mentioned about the mantel conveying or not. They took the whole thing!! We just had a new one built. Shrug.

Sad that people aren't all honest.

I've lived in many areas of the country and bought and sold houses in all. In every case if something was NOT to remain with the house it had to be in both the listing and the sales contract. If it wasn't specifically exempted from the sale then it was part of the sale.

I agree that the buyer should be very firm about their expectations and insist that the agent tell the sellers that doing this could put the sale in jeopardy.

Where do you draw the line with your example Kate? You list all your furniture, clothes, pictures?

I think i understand what your saying but it's a bit vague.

Op had a realtor helping them on a transaction, something this simple shouldn't happen on their purchase. It's a rookie mistake by their realtor.

Tell your agent to tell their agent you won't pay extra for the fire pit so they can take it with them. But you will not accept the house with a hole where everything was. You want the area to look like the fire pit was never there.

This is nothing more than a misunderstanding. Everybody but the seller thought it was included in the sale since it's attached to a gas line and was considered a permanent structure. In some states anything permanently installed automatically conveys, and in other states it does not.

OK, in my state, "permanently installed" means that it remains in the house. And yet, all appliances will still be separately listed.

For the OP:

1. I'd look at the contract. It sounds like it was not included.

2. I'd decide how much it's worth to me and how much I really wanted it.

3. I'd assess how much it would be worth to the seller, including cost the seller to remove and restore the spot to its original condition.

4. I'd make an offer. If rejected, I'd let them take it with them.

And I thought it was ridiculous when an offer specified that the sprinkler system was to convey!

(Remember the movie "Fun With Dick and Jane" where the couple's newly installed sod lawn was 'repossessed'?)

If the buyer's agent confirmed means the seller's agent said the pit stayed and did not check with the seller, the seller's agent needs to make it right. If the seller is trying to change their mind or just trying to do a grab for some last minute cash, the seller's agent needs to set them straight.

You want to know my first thought when I saw this -- same initials as another thread that ran on an on with changing facts just to keep the drama going. Wondered if the troll kept the initials and changed names, but this time the OP hasn't been back.

Bottom line for me -- this is something for the agents to fix and I have no patience for a buyer who would use a fire pit (at least any fire pit I have seen and anything I can imagine where there could be any confusion as to whether it was permanent or would go, etc.) as a reason to back out on a purchase of a home.

Since both realtors told you it was included they should offer to buy you a new one similar to the one the homeowner is taking with them.

"You draw the line at "installed." If this fire pit was built in and
installed with gas lines it is assumed to be part of the property, much
like built in cabinetry or a toilet"

So, a refrigerator with a water line for the ice maker?

Does not convey in all jurisdictions based on my experience.

Lesson here? Not to use any random realtor when buying a house. With rookie mistakes like this it gives those who do their job properly a bad name.

And I agree saltidawg that it doesn't cover all juristictions. There are lots of little scenarios people wouldn't list in the contract. For my house I bought at the end of last year I labeled anything I knew was important for me that I expected to stay with the house. Nothing wrong with adding details to confirm in advance so nothing goes wrong.

I am having trouble picturing what you are calling a concrete fire-pit. Is this something like what you mean?

While all jurisdictions are different in most of them the above fire-pit would be considered landscaping and would convey by default. Typically the exception to conveyance would need to be noted in the contract. Anything made of brick or blocks that was assembled on site would convey. An easy test is, if you need a tool to remove it, then it conveys by default with certain reasonable exceptions. Another test would be, if the lawn is disfigured by removing it, then it stays by default. Anything connected to a gas line will typically stay by default.

There are exceptions to everything above. But I would be very surprised if a concrete fire pit didn't convey in your jurisdiction.

The first question is, do you really want a fire pit? Or not? It shouldn't be enough to stop the sale of the house either way.