Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Condominium buyers can get more than granite countertops and penthouse views for $4.16 million in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. If Barack Obama isn't elected president, they can get out of the deal.

Call it the Obama contingency. Buyers at the building called +aRt will be released from their purchase contract ``no questions asked'' should the Democratic candidate lose to John McCain on Nov. 4, said Erik Ekstein, president of Ekstein Development.

``We've been trying to move some of our product and one of the major stumbling blocks has been political,'' Ekstein said. ``This being New York, people are looking forward to his taking office,'' he said of Obama.

Some would-be buyers visited the building, discussed financing, and then said they feared McCain, Ekstein said. Victory by the Republican will trigger the escape hatch for anyone who signs a sales agreement before then.

Clients began touring the building at 540 W. 28th Street in mid-October. Some said they would feel more confident committing to a luxury condo after the election, said Roberta Benzilio, senior director of sales at Halstead Property Development Marketing.

Ekstein said he suggested the loophole as a sales incentive last week in jest.

``We started laughing,'' Benzilio said. ``Then we said, 'You know what? It's not a bad idea. Let's do it.'''

Art Arena

The Obama clause will be used at five open houses between now and next week and in print advertisements, Benzilio said.

The building taps into its setting amid Chelsea's galleries with plans to install art in the lobby and in a private yard. Unit prices range from $520,000 to $4.16 million.

No sales have been made since the Obama clause became public Friday, said Jill Feldman, a spokeswoman for Ekstein Development.

Jennifer Morrison, 38, a New York City renter and mother of two, said she and her husband signed up months ago to see the condos. She hasn't been in a hurry since the onslaught of the banking crisis, threat of recession and tighter credit.

When a sales agent called last weekend and told her about the Obama clause, it piqued her curiosity.

``I don't think it would entice me to buy it more so than before, but I found it entertaining enough to go visit,'' Morrison said.

``This would not happen unless it was New York,'' she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Oshrat Carmiel in New York ocarmiel1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 29, 2008 00:01 EDT