They say that accidents happen often. However, an accident cost this small Florida town its water tower! Believe it or not, this story is indeed real–even the buyer himself was shocked! Business owner Bobby Read reached out to the Brooksville City Council regarding the purchase of a municipal building at the base of the small Florida town’s water tower but what he didn’t expect was that he was going to get a lot more than what he was bargaining for.

Meet Bobby Reed: Businessman And Water Tower Owner

The Businessman came across the mistake when the property had been sold to him for $55,000. His initial plan was to revamp the building, which had previously been used as a storage depot for multiple city departments, into a personal training studio called ‘Downtown Athletics.’ When Bobby Reed visited the county property appraiser’s office, he was given the news that he was now a proud owner of a building AND the city’s water tower.

Kelly L/Pexels | Reed never has to worry about water bills ever again

Returning The Water Tower

However, just like any other good citizen, Reed realized that something was amiss here. He quickly went ahead and took the necessary steps to give the water tower back to Brooksville city. He also added that this unintentional mistake happened when the city was selling him a split section of the parcel including a small garage.

Pixabay/Pexels | It was a gift from Bobby to the City of Brooksville

What Went Wrong?

The funny, yet surprising purchase took place because of a mix-up over the legal description of the said property. The City Manager, Mark Kutney, talked about the mishap and mentioned that the property that Reed was buying was the one that was never originally split from the parent property, which was why the water tower came in with the deal. So, when Kutney forwarded the new legal description of the split to the attorney, the attorney received the description for the full property. Mark Kutney also took responsibility for the mistake and mentioned that it could’ve been avoided if he had paid extra attention to the whole situation. Thanks to Kutney, Reed held the title of the owner of the water tower for a little over one week, but he didn’t enjoy any other privileges such as having access to the tower itself.

Magda Ehlers/Pexels | Now Kutney will make sure to read each and every document with full focus

So, even if Bobby Reed had to return the water tower to his rightfully owner in the end, this has to be one of the most significant moments in the history of the city of Brooksville!