Real estate deal gone bad over a washer & dryer
landlord tenant attorney Kentucky Oct 9, 2026
Location: Kentucky. This, like most things in Kentucky, is painfully dumb. I guess I'll be thorough and start at the very beginning. Our landlord died and the property owner is forcing everyone out to sell the land. We have not been evicted yet. I was preapproved for a conventional loan through a bank for $150,000 at 6.5%, no down payment, no PMI, $3,500 closing costs. We worked with a real estate agent and found our ideal home for $149,900. While looking at the house we noticed a brand new high end (to us) washer and dryer, approximate value of $2k. We made an offer on the house. I offered their asking price, $149,900 and asked them to pay $4k in closing costs. Conditions were: clean out the garage, leave anything bolted down or screwed in, leave the fridge, stove, microwave and the WASHER & DRYER. They accepted, both parties signed the contract. Two days later the realtor tells me they took the washer & dryer. I tell her that I want them back or, if it is too much of a hassle, credits for a new set. They come back with an offer of $500 and a rundown washer that looked like it was from 1982. I do not accept this offer and find it insulting, tbh. They have breached the contract by taking the washer & dryer. Then my financing falls through. Payment shock. Our current rent is too low. I work with a broker to get a USDA loan. USDA has no down payment but it does charge a $1.5k fee, which is financed into the loan. So now our price is $151,400 at 7.5% with a .38 PMI and $8.5k in closing costs. We were not preparing to move. We only have $6k in savings. Now I have to spend an extra $4k on closing costs, plus the inspection and appraisal, buy a couch AND a washer and dryer. And our payment is now over $200 more than our initial pre-approval quote and at our absolute limit of affordability. I also want to take a second and say $150,000 is the minimum price for any livable house in our area. I tell the realtor that instead of fighting over the washer and dryer, the seller can put an additional $2k toward closing costs. The realtor suggests $3k for room to negotiate and to kind of stick it to them for breaching contract. I also want to point out at this time the house had been on the market for 45 days, recently had a $10k price drop, there were no other interested parties and the seller moved out after accepting our offer. So the seller then countered. They agreed to an extra $3k in closing costs... but they raised the asking price $3k to $152,900. We counter by raising the price $1k above asking to $150,900. They counter with $152,500. Now the monthly bill is too high. You might be saying it's only $20 or $30 more, but we've been adding a hundred here, fifty there past the point we are comfortable and this is just a nail in the coffin. So, the point of all this is that part of the contract stated they will leave the washer and dryer set valued at $2k and they did not honor that agreement. No money was exchanged but their breach of contract has prevented me from purchasing the property. Do I have grounds to sue? Maybe specific performance to make them sell me the property at the original terms? Or even litigation that prevents them from selling for months?
