Yeah, this really happened – a small town of 8,500 residents in Brooksville, Florida. Last April, business owner named Bobby Read went there to purchase a municipal building at the base of Brooksville’s water tower.

Read approached the Brooksville City Council about the purchase but little did he know that he would get the city’s water tower with the property.

Oops.

Read discovered the mistake after the property had been sold to him for $55,000.

When Bobby Read went to the county to get an address for his new business location, he was told that the place he bought included the entire water tower site.

Brooksville city manager Mark Kutney told NPR that the tower was accidentally sold to Read because of legal descriptions. There the building he wanted to buy was never split off from the parent property where the water tower is based.

“We’re human,” Kutney said. “Sometimes we make a mistake.”

Luckily for the city people, Read was willing to give it back.

In an email to NPR Read said, “I immediately went through the necessary steps to deed the water tower back to the city of Brooksville”.

After owning the tower for more than a week, Read transferred the water tower back to Brooksville through a warranty deed on 14 May. He told NPR there was a $10 fee to give it back. Other than that he never got any keys or had access to the property. 

Read approached the Brooksville City Council about the purchase but little did he know that he would get the city’s water tower with the property.

Read discovered the mistake after the property had been sold to him for $55,000.

When Bobby Read went to the county to get an address for his new business location, he was told that the place he bought included the entire water tower site.

Brooksville city manager Mark Kutney told NPR that the tower was accidentally sold to Read because of legal descriptions. There the building he wanted to buy was never split off from the parent property where the water tower is based.

“We’re human,” Kutney said. “Sometimes we make a mistake.”

Luckily for the city people, Read was willing to give it back.

In an email to NPR Read said, “I immediately went through the necessary steps to deed the water tower back to the city of Brooksville”.

After owning the tower for more than a week, Read transferred the water tower back to Brooksville through a warranty deed on 14 May. He told NPR there was a $10 fee to give it back. Other than that he never got any keys or had access to the property.