The World's Most Expensive John Deere Lawnmower

[Model A Fan]

So, I've been looking for a property to purchase for a while. A few of my criteria were the house needs to be practically ready to move into as I didn't want to be doing renovation on the house I'm moving from and needing to do renovation on the house into which I'm moving. Another was land. I want at least an acre if not more. I want to be able to throw a ball with my kids and not worry about it going into the neighbor's yard or a ball through the window. I also would like a garden, chickens and other things of that nature. Thirdly, I want a shop on the property, or at least an area where I can build a large shop.

So, after about six months of looking, I found two locations that worked well and were in my price range. The first was on two acres and the house was really nice. Level property totaling a little over two acres, so definitely room for a shop to be built.. It was right at the top of my budget, but sold before I was able to get a chance to look at it. "Oh well, I'm sure more will pop up.", I thought to myself. Little did I know, but one did!

The house that showed up about two months later was on 1.25 acres, 1400sf, rural, flat and had a 35'x30' shop. I toured it with my girlfriend and we decided it was great. It had all three elements I was looking for and the house didn't need much in order to move in. It fell under my max budget by $25,000 and the land size was decent. It was flat and butted up to a large farm, a neighbor of similar sized property and the train tracks. My girlfriend did a quick search and found that two BNSF trains go by a day. Not outrageous I felt. I could deal with that, even though the tracks ran 200 feet from the house.

I told my realtor I wanted to make an offer of full price and they throw in the riding lawn mower. We went back to the office and wrote out the deal, he submitted it and found out the sellers were ecstatic about the offer. The next thing I know, I get an email about a counteroffer, which I had not expected because the sellers expressed such enthusiasm about the offer that they wanted to know if they could rent the house I am living in as they had no where to move.

Their counteroffer was my full price offer minus window dressings and the lawnmower. I really wanted that lawnmower because I would like one for a large yard and I've never had one but see people with them all over my neighborhood. I thought about it for the two days you're given and I initialed the paperwork stating I'd do the deal. My realtor had helped with the paperwork and he wrote in for the neighborhood clause something to the effect of, "If for any reason the buyer may back out of the deal within seven days of a mutual agreement if the neighborhood doesn't suit the buyer's needs or expectations." I thought it was an interesting clause and figured if was for people who are not from the area.

I had my realtor hold off on submitting the offer until the second day after the sellers making their counteroffer. He submitted it on a Sunday morning at 0830 and that's when it got a little crazy.

It bugged me that after making a full price offer, the sellers didn't want to include a used lawnmower. They got the asking price they offered the first day the house was on the market. (I think I jumped the gun a little ). Because of their desire to keep the mower, it gave me a couple extra days to do some more research, and on the day of the submission of my acceptance of their counteroffer, I found out that BNSF isn't the only company to use the train tracks, and that an estimated 12 trains a day run by the house!

I also found out about 30-40% of children raised by freeways and trains have asthma, and I am not wanting that for my future kids. I called my realtor while I was at work, and had him rescind the offer once he got out of church. Needless to say, he fully understood the reason and we were able to use that neighborhood clause to get out of the deal. He later forwarded me an email from the listing agent asking why the sudden rescission of my offer. The email also said that since we looked, there has been a lot of interest in the house, they have a backup offer and it will likely go into pending again.

I called her and explained the train issue and that I did not want that to be near my house, and also explained that if her sellers had not fought me on the lawnmower being part of the sale, I would have signed the paperwork and purchased the house without ever doing more research on the train tracks issue.

About an hour-and-a-half after I called the selling agent, I got a text from my realtor stating, "The seller just came back with the offer to leave the lawnmower if we accepted the offer." It is likely that the backup offer (if one was even submitted) wasn't as good as mine. The lawn mower is the same as any one from Home Depot that can be had for $2,000.

And that is the story of the $295,000 John Deere lawnmower.

 

[brownsmustang]

Have you ever lived by train tracks before? You're gonna be hating life every time you're in the back yard throwing that ball and that train goes by. I've been there done that wouldn't do it again for anything.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Jarhead0408]

That is a freaking awesome story man.

Had me rolling. Good luck on your house search friend!

 

[ScottsGT]

So are you saying that you went through with the deal anyway?

 

[LB-1911]

Thanks - Great read.

Good Luck w/your search.

 

[Boilerhouse]

Cool story - I've seen this sort of thing before.........usually near the end of a hot market and sellers refusing to take a penny below full asking price only to have it sit for two or more years and eventually selling for thousands below original asking price. Greed is not always good Mr. Gekko.

 

[bimmer1980]

I lived in a townhouse that was near some railroad tracks for a couple of years. I quickly acclimated to the train rolling by a couple of times a day....

It does make you respect the size and the mass behind the train tho......

 

[kv501]

Have you ever lived by train tracks before? You're gonna be hating life every time you're in the back yard throwing that ball and that train goes by. I've been there done that wouldn't do it again for anything.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

^^^This X 1,000,000.

You're going to loathe the day you ever bought it. My house is 815' from a set of tracks (Google Earth is awesome) where trains come through 3 times a day, one of those between 3:30 and 4:00AM. No way I could imagine 12 times a day 200' away from my house. Good god man that's insane; it's no wonder the thing was for sale. Hope you still have that 7 days to back out.

 

[iceman510]

So are you saying that you went through with the deal anyway?

Yeah, did you buy it?

I usually would not mind the trains (being a railfan), but that does sound a bit close.

 

[Falcon67]

Have you ever lived by train tracks before? You're gonna be hating life every time you're in the back yard throwing that ball and that train goes by. I've been there done that wouldn't do it again for anything.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I grew up 100' from some busy train tracks. No big deal. And I don't have asthma FWIW. House with the red truck.

 

[mrrooG8]

I think the asthma thing is a little far fetched. I grew up near a major highway and railroad. None of my siblings or family has asthma or any breathing issues. This is 3 generations of family growing up on the same property. Now in a major city? Maybe. But thats a whole different issue. I respect your concern though. Cant knock that. But 200 feet is very close. My current property is very close to the same property we grew up on. Although 3/8s of a mile to the tracks and 3/8s to I94 now. All solid woods between and a river. I still take my kids to the tracks and watch the trains role through on a regular basis. Well I like watching also..

 

[nes999]

I live within a mile of a very large international airport. When we first moved in I heard every stinkin plane than went over head ( Damn near constant stream) within a year I stopped noticing them. I bet you'll get used to them pretty quickly.

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[Stevie-Ray]

Have you ever lived by train tracks before? You're gonna be hating life every time you're in the back yard throwing that ball and that train goes by. I've been there done that wouldn't do it again for anything.

I grew up about a mile or so from 6 tracks in succession. We heard every train, but it was very slight and didn't bother us. After I got married, we lived right on top of those same tracks. The trains, that were now about 200 feet away were the biggest pain in the *** ever! Most of the engineers were at least polite, and gave the horn a couple toots at crossings at nighttime. One though, a Grand Trunk jackass, would fly by so fast, he pulled on the horn from one street, all the way to another main drag, with 5 or 6 streets in-between! At 3 o'clock in the morning! Hundreds of complaints went unanswered. I wanted to kill the son-of-a-*****! Many years later, my mother began seeing a retired railroad engineer from Conrail. I told him about our experience, and how much I hated that *****. He told me that everybody knew who he was, just a pissed-off employee that didn't like the shift he was on, and wanted everybody to know it. But, for many years after I moved out of there, I still heard that jackass, as we moved back to about a mile away again. Hope somebody finally shot him.

 

[HoosierMark]

Note: He rescinded the offer. His point is that the mower cost the seller the sale. It became a $295,000 mower because by not agreeing to terms in the beginning, they lost the sale. A $2,000 mower became a $295,000 (offering price) mower. They let a little thing become a big thing.

 

[AirJunky]

I've lived by train tracks before & it's no picnic. In our case, the tracks were only 50' or so from out back fence & there was only 1 or 2 trains per day going by at very slow speed. Each time it took 10 or 15 minutes for the train to pass & any pictures on the wall that were hung with a single nail would be crooked. Typically it was during the day while I was at work so I rarely heard it. But if we ever slept in on a weekend or holiday it sounded like thunder for 15 minutes solid. Luckily it was only a rental we lived in till we found a place to buy that is miles away from the tracks.

I have a buddy who's office is near the tracks. Seems like every time I go over there I have a 10 minute wait for the train to pass.

I don't understand the issue with the lawn mower. Maybe he committed it to a friend or family member when he moved & he was only trying to live up to the commitment?

 

[Model A Fan]

Note: He rescinded the offer. His point is that the mower cost the seller the sale. It became a $295,000 mower because by not agreeing to terms in the beginning, they lost the sale. A $2,000 mower became a $295,000 (offering price) mower. They let a little thing become a big thing.

Exactly, the deal fell through because of their reluctance to include the mower. It prompted me to do more research and talk to coworkers about it. It also gave me extra days to decide and ultimately wound up being the catalyst for my decision.
The market in the area where I live is very "hot". Basically what would be a an average house anywhere is at least $300,000. It is hard to find the right combo of features. There are A LOT of manufactured houses for sale, but I'm trying to avoid them. Just not as good resale. The market is overinflated. It is tough here.

I've lived by train tracks before & it's no picnic. In our case, the tracks were only 50' or so from out back fence & there was only 1 or 2 trains per day going by at very slow speed. Each time it took 10 or 15 minutes for the train to pass & any pictures on the wall that were hung with a single nail would be crooked. Typically it was during the day while I was at work so I rarely heard it. But if we ever slept in on a weekend or holiday it sounded like thunder for 15 minutes solid. Luckily it was only a rental we lived in till we found a place to buy that is miles away from the tracks.

I have a buddy who's office is near the tracks. Seems like every time I go over there I have a 10 minute wait for the train to pass.

I don't understand the issue with the lawn mower. Maybe he committed it to a friend or family member when he moved & he was only trying to live up to the commitment?

Well, it might have been better to just buy a used one for them. Or tell the friend what happened. However, it worked out in my interest so I'm happy.

Another factor was wait time for trains can be really long. A few months ago I went to find a piece of property in the same area to look at. Needless to.say, I wound up waiting about 15 minutes because it stopped driving and just sat on the tracks.

 

[brownsmustang]

Note: He rescinded the offer. His point is that the mower cost the seller the sale. It became a $295,000 mower because by not agreeing to terms in the beginning, they lost the sale. A $2,000 mower became a $295,000 (offering price) mower. They let a little thing become a big thing.

Phew after rereading it I think you're right. Forgive my early AM post lol.

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[Richard Cranium]

Being a rail fan, I think I would of enjoyed being close to the track, I know a guy who lives in a mobile home park just off of the freeway, I asked him how he could stand all the noise, He told me he was used to it and didn't even notice it any more. I guess a person can get used to almost any thing.

 

[LB-1911]

Note: He rescinded the offer. His point is that the mower cost the seller the sale. It became a $295,000 mower because by not agreeing to terms in the beginning, they lost the sale. A $2,000 mower became a $295,000 (offering price) mower. They let a little thing become a big thing.

Exactly, the deal fell through because of their reluctance to include the mower. It prompted me to do more research and talk to coworkers about it. It also gave me extra days to decide and ultimately wound up being the catalyst for my decision.

The market in the area where I live is very "hot". Basically what would be a an average house anywhere is at least $300,000. It is hard to find the right combo of features. There are A LOT of manufactured houses for sale, but I'm trying to avoid them. Just not as good resale. The market is over inflated. It is tough here.

Another factor was wait time for trains can be really long. A few months ago I went to find a piece of property in the same area to look at. Needless to.say, I wound up waiting about 15 minutes because it stopped driving and just sat on the tracks.

It was on the wrong side anyway........

 

[bdbecker]

I had a somewhat similar situation a few years ago...

Part of the reason I cancelled out of a private sale contract because over appliances. The owner called me up one night to tell me that he wanted to keep the appliances that were originally included in the purchase agreement. I told him that I didn't really care, but I did ask to lower the sale price by $2000 because I would now have to go buy a new fridge, oven, and microwave (the washer and dryer I didn't really care about because I already had them).

He lost his mind over that. He very rudely told me that there would be no price adjustment, that he was basically giving the house away to me at the current agreed price, and threatened to cancel the deal if I pushed it any further. Mind you, we had originally agreed to pay his full asking price on the house and he was the one who offered to include the appliances in the sale. I told him I would give him my answer the following day and hung up the phone. I then talked with the wife about what had happened and first thing the next morning called the law firm that was brokering the deal to see what I had to do to cancel and get my money out escrow.

It turns out, he had never signed the purchase agreement, so there was nothing stopping me from backing out. The guy ended up being a real psycho. Over the following weeks, he sent me a couple of pretty nasty emails, and then a really nice one apologizing about how he had acted and that he was now prepared to meet my lowered asking price... it was very strange. I ignored them because by that point, we had already had an offer accepted on our current house.

I was in the neighborhood last fall because my cousin bought a house a few blocks away - he still hadn't sold the place after almost 2 years, and still has the FSBO sign in his yard. The market in that part of town is still hot, and his asking price is pretty competitive. I just wonder how many other people have backed out of deals with him.

$199k stainless steel appliances...

 

[Model A Fan]

If the tracks are welded and the horn isn't required the noise is acceptable to me.
The people who tend to walk the tracks as alternative route... Not so much.

I didn't do as much research on the tracks because at that point it didn't matter. It did however matter to me as the house was right at a crossing. It was the corner piece of property right where the road crosses the tracks. It also has the little gates the come down when the train goes by so there is also the klanging of the bell. According to a coworker who lived just around the corner on a side street, the trains blow their horn the whole distance and that is something I don't think I could get used to.

I'm glad I didn't buy it based off of what I read about tracks and the traffic. There is also going to be an expansion project (eventually) in a neighboring town to expand the port to supposedly ship products all over the world. With the train tracks running right by, it is only going to see more traffic than it currently has. Needless to say, it will be heavily traversed by oil, coal, lumber etc.

 

[goneflyin2002]

You should send John Deere a letter of thanks because they saved you from a deal that you would have regretted!
My first house was less than 1000' feet from heavy freight tracks. Never saw or heard the train all the times we looked at the house, and we had 'first time buyer tunnel vision' of course.
Freights would come by in the middle of the night, or any time of day and shake the house. Totally annoying, never got used to it.
Good bit of luck you had!

 

[ScottsGT]

Yes, you dodged that bullet!

 

[WWShop]

I didn't do as much research on the tracks because at that point it didn't matter. It did however matter to me as the house was right at a crossing. It was the corner piece of property right where the road crosses the tracks. It also has the little gates the come down when the train goes by so there is also the klanging of the bell. According to a coworker who lived just around the corner on a side street, the trains blow their horn the whole distance and that is something I don't think I could get used to.

I worked at a shop that was right next to RR crossing for four years. I never ever got used to them blowing the horn. About 30-40 trains would go through per day and it was constant noise. If inside the shop, it wasn't so bad, but get otside and the blowing horn was so loud it was damn near unbearable. Good call on passing.

 

[ratdoggy]

I backed out of one because the end of a runway (Islip McArthur) was 1000' away and the planes would be taking off and landing right over the house...
I'm near the approach to Akron-Canton now but I'm off the actual approach by a mile and 2 miles from the runway...They fire them up at 6am and I really don't need an alarm clock

 

[mrrooG8]

My house I just sold last month almost fell through on a cash deal because of not having a washer and dryer included. They specifically wanted my high end front load units that were brand new. The contract stated NO washer and dryer included. They said they would not buy the house without them. So after going back and forth and not wanting to lose the deal, I opted to include a set of top load units that I got for next to nothing. they were a couple in their 80's and did not want to move anything. Funny thing is, they have still not moved into the house. I think they never will. The wife doesn't want to move but the old man is ready to be a bachelor again Lol. Funny old guy.

 

[joe_padavano]

Exactly, the deal fell through because of their reluctance to include the mower.

It also fell through because of your concern over a $2K lawnmower. That's 0.6% difference in the selling price. Plenty of fault to go around.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Have you ever lived by train tracks before? You're gonna be hating life every time you're in the back yard throwing that ball and that train goes by. I've been there done that wouldn't do it again for anything.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I lived in a townhouse that was near some railroad tracks for a couple of years. I quickly acclimated to the train rolling by a couple of times a day....

It does make you respect the size and the mass behind the train tho......

^^^This X 1,000,000.

You're going to loathe the day you ever bought it. My house is 815' from a set of tracks (Google Earth is awesome) where trains come through 3 times a day, one of those between 3:30 and 4:00AM. No way I could imagine 12 times a day 200' away from my house. Good god man that's insane; it's no wonder the thing was for sale. Hope you still have that 7 days to back out.

I grew up 100' from some busy train tracks. No big deal. And I don't have asthma FWIW. House with the red truck.

I've lived by train tracks before & it's no picnic. In our case, the tracks were only 50' or so from out back fence & there was only 1 or 2 trains per day going by at very slow speed. Each time it took 10 or 15 minutes for the train to pass & any pictures on the wall that were hung with a single nail would be crooked. Typically it was during the day while I was at work so I rarely heard it. But if we ever slept in on a weekend or holiday it sounded like thunder for 15 minutes solid. Luckily it was only a rental we lived in till we found a place to buy that is miles away from the tracks.

I have a buddy who's office is near the tracks. Seems like every time I go over there I have a 10 minute wait for the train to pass.

I don't understand the issue with the lawn mower. Maybe he committed it to a friend or family member when he moved & he was only trying to live up to the commitment?

I worked at a shop that was right next to RR crossing for four years. I never ever got used to them blowing the horn. About 30-40 trains would go through per day and it was constant noise. If inside the shop, it wasn't so bad, but get otside and the blowing horn was so loud it was damn near unbearable. Good call on passing.

It all depends on what type of trains and which tracks you live near. Commercial & Passenger? I could see the annoyance. Passenger only, a little less. Electric commuter trains like NJ Transit? Almost a non-issue. Crossings? Horns are a problem. MRS. LS6 grew up with NJ Transit in her back yard, less than 50' from their fence. No crossings nearby, welded rails, almost zero noise.

Somebody near one of the NJ Transit crossings in my town complained to the DOT about the horns being used too close to the house. He wanted the engineer to sound the horn farther away.
The DOT did an investigation and found the horns were under the minimum dB requirement for the crossing at the original distance they were being blown and now the engineer blows the horn CLOSER to the guy's house...


Tommy

 

[cptn_zippy]

Our last attempt at buying a house fell through because of seller greed. Wife worked with a guy that had a great house, we talked price (350K) and were going to complete the sale without a realtor. He was retiring and moving out of state. Anyway, the comps/appraisal came back for 10k less than what we had discussed. Guy refused to come down 5k, convinced we were trying to screw him out of $$...We walked, bought a different place. About a month later the house goes up for sale at the appraised price, through a realtor, and sold for $10k less than asking (330k). Dude cost himself 15 grand + realtor fees. Dumb move on his part.

J

 

[Model A Fan]

It also fell through because of your concern over a $2K lawnmower. That's 0.6% difference in the selling price. Plenty of fault to go around.

The mower was the catalyst for me to do more research. Had they said yes and thrown the mower in, I would not have done further investigation and probably bought the place without a second thought. I had tunnel vision with this first house and hopefully won't be blinded by my inexperience and desire to find a place.

Its funny, because after telling my coworkers (whom I told I was putting an offer on that house) that I rescinded my offer, they all came back and said, "I was going to tell you not to buy a house on train tracks..."

 

[Stevie-Ray]

Somebody near one of the NJ Transit crossings in my town complained to the DOT about the horns being used too close to the house. He wanted the engineer to sound the horn farter away.

The engineer is required to sound the horn wherever the whistle post is. Problem arises when the train is speeding, and there are several crossings in a row, when the idiot feels he can just lay on the horn the entire time as he passes those streets, like the jackass from GT in my case. Your case sounds like either another jackass engineer, from his latest antics, OR, DOT found out he was actually taking people's comfort into account and blowing the horn a bit early, and his bosses ordered him to abide by the rules.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I lived close to busy tracks for 18 years. 90 whistle blaring, fast moving trains a day (24 hrs). I didn't notice the trains too much unless I was trying to listen to something.

 

[LXCam]

I lived 1/2 mile from the main commercial rail transfer station in downtown San Bernardino for 4 years. My Mobile home was the last one in the park directly adjacent to the rail lines running east/ west about 300ft away. I got used to it after about a year with the exception of one train that ran multiple times every week. 3 engines pulling, 2 in the middle followed by 2-3 pushing. That damn thing always took a half hour to get going and out of ear shot and it seemed like it always started at 4am.

Many years later I bought a commercial building that was a couple hundred feet from a very busy 3 track crossing. I could deal with the noise, but we would constantly get caught at the crossing sometimes taking 20-30 minutes just to get through.

Personally, I'll never put myself in either of those positions again. Looks to me like that mower saved your ***

 

[LS6 Tommy]

DOT found out he was actually taking people's comfort into account and blowing the horn a bit early, and his bosses ordered him to abide by the rules.

You nailed it.

Tommy

 

[99LeCouch]

We live 1/2 mile from some currently very un-used tracks, and two crossings. We see a small train about once every few months. Or they could be sending them in the middle of the night when we don't notice. We knew the area, knew the tracks were seldom used, and bought the house.

 

[lynnbilodeau]

We live by train tracks. I wouldn't move from here for anything. We love it. I like to hear the sound of the trains. Means at least SOMETHING is getting done in this country, even if it is just moving Chinese goods from one coast to the other.

Asthma? I don't think so. I think you will find the asthma claims are much more closely tied to urban areas.


We average 27 trains per day (so I have been told). I rarely notice one. Of course, it helps that our brick walls are 18+ inches thick. But, noise does come in the patio doors and the skylight. The tracks are west of us. The only windows in our home are on the east side. Never had a train wake me up (and the skylight is in our master suite).

And the grandsons love to go down and watch the train go by when they come over.

Clearly a case of to each his own.

 

[ynned]

We average 27 trains per day (so I have been told). I rarely notice one.

Elwood's room. "So often you won't even notice"

 

[Ilikeike]

My office of 16 yrs is 300' or so away from BNSF main line tracks. Although it was neat seeing all the M-1 tanks go by this morning,I could not imagine enjoying my home less then 2500' from those tracks. I can't speak on the phone now if the window is open when a mile long train comes by every 30-60 min.aswell as Amtrak.
A mile seperation would be my min if buying a new property.

 

[DetroitDIESEL444]

I sometimes stay on the Detroit river, near the freighter channel. I love the thud of the big marine diesels going buy in the middle of the night!!!

 

[BigWil]

I'm about 500m from a set of tracks...some of the busiest in Canada. The house is brick, and there is a lot of trees between me and the track. I can hear the horns in the house, if things are quiet, and I can hear them clearly outside, but I can talk over it. Because of that, I was ok with buying the house.

I'm also about 1.5km from a military runway, and that also doesn't bother me.

My first apartment was about 50m from a set of busy tracks (Same ones, actually, just a couple hundred kilometers from where I am now) That one the trains were actually annoying.