I recently read a blog post concerning Personal Property in a transaction. The situation was comical and I do appreciate her take on why personal property should not be included in a transaction. And, I read through several comments from agents who also agreed.
While I am not trying to be disagreeable, I sell real estate in the real world and know that there are times in which personal property does become an important part of the transaction, whether value is assigned or not.
Oregon allows agents to list personal property to be included in the contract, without value. Usually, those lines are filled with items that are inclusions on the MLS (i.e. stove, refrigerator, outdoor lawn furniture, etc...). However, there are times in which buyers want that custom made mirror that cost thousand of dollars, or that farm equipment. They may even want that car in the garage.
So, to me, the real question is, how is the best way to handle personal property when it does become important to the buyer.
I know, I know, a good agent will educate their client well enough so that personal property should not become in issue to the transaction. And yes, normally, the value compared to the transaction value is so minor, but we are dealing with people and their emotions during one of the largest dollar investments in their lives.
I recently sold a small hobby farm with some small farm equipment, and a small cabin that was not attached to the property. The cabin was declared in the listing as personal property and had great sentiment value to the seller. I represented the buyer.
This was one of those emotional transactions because it was a brother and sister acting as sellers of their deceased parent's property that had been in the family decades; the buying couple had several small children and were expecting (hormones) and they wanted to raise their family in the country...
As they were negotiating the personal property items, there were very intense times in which the deal could have gone sideways. Thankfully, the listing agent was mature and solution oriented instead of problem instigating (Yes, we all know those agents) and we were able to work through a very high and emotional transaction.
Some items were addressed in the contract because they were included in the listing. We then asked the seller (via email not in the contract) to supply us with a list of additional items for sale with the price. My buyer was able to choose which items, negotiate a lump sum and everyone agreed that the money exchange would be after closing but those items would remain on the property.
Now, to add even more "drama" to the situation, the sellers retained possession of the barn and out buildings AFTER CLOSING. Yes, it was sticky because we had emotional sellers working with emotional buyers after closing. So even after closing, personal items were being negotiated. In the end, it worked out and now all the parties are friends. I had to gently keep reminding my buyers what they agreed to via the contract and keep encouraging them to do the right thing.
I have represented many buyers that would like for some personal property. And sometimes it is a deal breaker for the buyer if they don't get it. We have to acknowledge that there are times in which personal property are important to buyers. We do our best to keep personal property out of a transaction and I would never recommend including any type of negotiations about personal property in the contract, however, when those times do arise, as they will do, we need to handle them with maturity and skill. We are paid to be negotiators, right?
Kudos to all those mature problem solving agents who don't get caught up in the emotions while representing their clients.
I would love to hear any tips from the pros.
Servicing Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, Monterey Bay, Aptos, Watsonville, La Selva Beach, Pajaro Dunes
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