Jim and Donna Stoner contract to sell their house in Rochester, Michigan, to Cle

Question

Jim and Donna Stoner contract to sell their house in Rochester, Michigan, to Clem and Clara Hovenkamp. Clara thinks that the decorative chandelier in the entryway is lovely and gives the house an immediate appeal. The chandelier was a gift from Donna’s mother, “to enhance the entryway” and provide “a touch of beauty” for Jim and Donna’s house. Clem and Clara assume that the chandelier will stay, and nothing specific is mentioned about the chandelier in the contract for sale. Clem and Clara are shocked when they move in and find the chandelier is gone. Have Jim and Donna breached their contract of sale?

Blaine Goodfellow rents a house from Associated Properties in Abilene, Texas. He is there for two years, and during that time he installs a ceiling fan, custom-builds a bookcase for an alcove on the main floor, and replaces the screening on the front and back doors, saving the old screening in the furnace room. When his lease expires, he leaves, and the bookcase remains behind. Blaine does, however, take the new screening after replacing it with the old screening, and he removes the ceiling fan and puts back the light. He causes no damage to Associated Properties’ house in doing any of this. Discuss who is the rightful owner of the screening, the bookcase, and the ceiling fan after the lease expires.

Explanation / Answer

Jim and Donna have not breached their contract with Clem and Clara. Nowhere in the contract, it is written that Jom and Donna will leave the chandelier when they are vacating the house. If Clem and Clara liked it so much, they should have verified with the owners when they were signing the contract. They can not assume something and then feel cheated. Usually, all the decorative items in the house will belong to the owners and they can take it with them when they are vacating the place. So Clem and Clara have the right to ask them to return the chandelier.

Blaine Goodfellow is the rightful owner of all the mentioned items. The landlord gives only the house with basic amenities. The tenant has invested in the items that he feels are required and he can take them with him when he is leaving the house or when the contract expires. He has also not caused any damage to the associated properties. So he does not have to answer to anyone and he is the rightful owner of all the items that he has paid for.

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