I had a deal fall apart because of a garden gnome. Yes, you read that right. We were two weeks from closing, inspection done, appraisal done, everything smooth. Then my buyer decides to do a "casual drive-by" and notices the sellers removed this ugly concrete gnome from the front yard. Suddenly it's a crisis. "What else did they take? Are they hiding something? I don't trust them anymore." I called the listing agent. Turns out the gnome was a family heirloom and the sellers took it to their new place early. Completely within their rights since it was never in the contract as included. But my buyer spiraled. Started questioning the roof age, the HVAC maintenance, whether the neighbors seemed "too quiet" during showings. Within 48 hours, they wanted to back out entirely, claiming they'd "lost confidence in the integrity of the transaction." Over a gnome. I still think about the listing agent's voice when I had to deliver that news. The silence lasted so long I thought the call dropped. It didn't. She was just processing the same disbelief I was feeling. That gnome haunts me.