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Seller TOOK THE SIDEWALK!!!

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1stHomeGa

Junior Member
Seller took the sidewalk (Take 2)

Georgia

Sorry about that. I must have messed something up while trying to post the original thread.

Anyway to make a long story short my wife and I just bought a house and when we moved in we discovered that the seller took the sidewalk- literally. She actually pulled up the pavers and left us with (what is now) a path of mud.

I understand that sellers can retain any and all personal property but nowhere can I find anything that states a sidewalk may be considered personal property.

Any ideas on how to handle this? The sellers realtor is giving us the runaround.
 

TheGeekess

Keeper of the Kraken
Georgia

Sorry about that. I must have messed something up while trying to post the original thread.

Anyway to make a long story short my wife and I just bought a house and when we moved in we discovered that the seller took the sidewalk- literally. She actually pulled up the pavers and left us with (what is now) a path of mud.

I understand that sellers can retain any and all personal property but nowhere can I find anything that states a sidewalk may be considered personal property.

Any ideas on how to handle this? The sellers realtor is giving us the runaround.

Buy your own pavers. :cool:
 

tranquility

Senior Member
You'd think such a question is easy. It's not and is one reason why you need to inspect before closing.

A good definition (although in a different state) is at:
http://apps.americanbar.org/buslaw/blt/content/2012/01/0003c.pdf

I'd say it is a fixture, but, I would accept it is not.

Info edit:
Just read Zigner's answer. Because of the uncertainty, I agree with him.
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
So far I agree with the other posters, but I have to ask. Are these paver's located in front of the property (where the general public would use) or along a walkway just you and your guests would use?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
the pavers are required to stay unless specifically exempted. If they do not return and reset them and you do want to do something about it, sue them.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
I don't either. But as I live in a town that many paver's are placed in front so that children and others can walk safely...I had to ask.

While I don't disagree that I would argue the pavers are fixtures, I'd love the case you're holding. I suspect it is not precisely on point and would love to read the discussion.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
You have a case calling pavers a fixture?


well, if you want to argue they aren't, let's hope you never buy a house with a brick paver walkway or driveway.

You might want to look at a Google image search of pavers

http://www.google.com/search?q=pavers&sugexp=chrome,mod%3D9&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=wxW0UMSdNqibyQHq7YCYBg&biw=1266&bih=901&sei=yRW0ULneKKmzywHg94GgBQ
 
Last edited:

1stHomeGa

Junior Member
Thanks for the replies from everyone.

To clarify the pavers our on our private property leading from our driveway to our front door. The home is in a typical subdivision here in Georgia.

The pavers were removed and taken after closing. The seller had 3 days to vacate and my wife and I moved from out of town so we were not there to keep an eye on things. Of course if this was a simple item that could be dropped in place I may have chalked it up to a simple loss where it would just be easier to do it myself but the walkway is now mud. Even with my limited landscaping knowledge I know you can't just thrown some pavers down on the dirt. The sand and crushed base they were on looks like a loss to me and THAT is where the serious money comes into play. The idea to replace and then sue has been brought to my attention but the more opinions the better in moving forward. If they had no right to take them I will spend the time, legal fees and endure a little stress and inconvenience to fix this. It's a matter of right vs. wrong.
 

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