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The original was posted on /r/amitheasshole by /u/Consistent_Place8923 on 2024-01-22 14:05:20+00:00.
We sold our house in early December 2023. The house has an in-ground pool and it was closed for the winter months prior to the sale. To hold all the pool equipment, we had two large deck boxes near the pool. These held things that most every pool owner needs: a vacuum hose/head, skimmer baskets/jets, chlorine containers, a submersible pump for the winter cover, a summer solar cover, and most importantly the filter unit. Everything was very neatly organized/stored for winter.
Closing day comes and the buyers do their walkthrough. We get a call from our realtor that there are still items left outside by the pool that need to be removed. We asked what items and they said the deck boxes. We said that the boxes contain the pool equipment which is why we left them behind. Well, the new owners wanted them removed. We asked if they just wanted the physical boxes removed and to instead leave the equipment in the garage but they said they wanted it all gone. We had them send a request in writing (through email to both realtors, our lawyer, and to us) specifically and clearly stating what they wanted removed from the property. We replied that what they wanted removed was the pool equipment and they replied stating it had to be removed or no sale.
So we agreed and removed it. Our new house doesn’t have a pool so I either sold or gave-away most of it, including the filter.
Last week we got an email from the new owners/their realtor asking where the pool equipment was. We were super confused and forwarded them the email chain where they told us to get rid of it. They apparently didn’t realize the boxes contained the pool equipment and thought we were leaving behind things like floats/toys. We replied that we had stated multiple times that the boxes contained "the pool equipment" but they still wanted it removed. They asked for reimbursement because now they have to buy equipment and we said no; we did exactly what they wanted and that this is no longer our concern. Our lawyer says we are in the clear.
AITA? They looked to be first-time homeowners (likely never owned a pool) but we were really really clear on what was in those boxes.