As a Bristow-Gainesville-Haymarket area real estate agent, most of what I get to list and sell are residential properties in planned subdivisions with HOA's (home owners associations.) The mail boxes are very uniform, as required by the HOA. As such, when a Seller is leaving an HOA controlled community, there is never a thought of taking the mailbox with them. The mailbox was there when they moved in and will be there when they leave.
Rural property may present another story. When there is no HOA to control what a mailbox needs to be, many home owners pour their personalities into the mailbox. Maybe they've constructed something brilliantly colored with their own two hands and want to keep that mailbox when they leave. Maybe, just the thought that the mailbox wasn't provided when they moved in and built their home is enough for them to want to take it. Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind that a mailbox might not convey until last night.
I was at a meeting between my Seller and the Buyers of her property. The meeting was to iron out some last minute issues with a repair that may, or may not, delay settlement. Both sides were nervous about meeting the other side as in person meetings are generally discouraged by real estate agents. In our case, the meeting went so well the Seller of this rural property was overjoyed and yelled to the Buyers are they were walking to their car, "I'll even leave the mailbox for you."
Myself, the Seller's son and the entire other side of the transaction thought she was joking. She wasn't. As a rural property owner, and more importantly, a former U.S. mail carrier, she informed us that it was not typical for a mailbox to convey in rural routes.
So there's another question I'll be asking my Sellers in non-HOA communities. Does the mailbox convey?
Comments(26)