Whether those who want environmental gains should pay for them, or whether they should be compensated if the gain does not happen, is closely related to rights for the goods. The University of Michigan owned a historic house in the city of Dexter, Michigan, a few miles from the University's campus. The university planned to sell the house to the highest bidder, because it had no reason to keep it and could use the funds for other purposes. Some residents in Dexter wanted to keep the house as it was, rather than see it torn down. Did the university have the right to sell the house to the highest bidder, in which case the residents would have to purchase the property to keep it as it is (equivalent variation, since their utility would go down with the destruction of the house), or did the residents have the right to expect the university to maintain the property in its current state, in which case the residents would have to be compensated if it were sold (compensating variation)?