It's important to understand the Contract for Purchase when buying or selling real estate.

In this article and others, I will be explaining different parts of the Contract for Sale of Residential Real Estate drafted by the legal counsel of the Missouri Association of Realtors.

Our subject today is the Inclusions and Exclusions section. This simply means: what's included with the property and what is not.

The items listed on the contract in this section are the basis for what is included in the sale; not the MLS information sheet, the Seller's Disclosure, or a promotional flyer. Therefore, as a buyer, it is imperative that you list items that you wanted included in the sale on the contract.

Our contracts already list attached items such as built-in dishwashers, ceiling fans, hot water heaters and other objects that would obviously stay with a home. However, the refrigerator, washer, and dryer are NOT on this list. For these items to be included in the sale, they MUST be specifically listed as included in the sale on the contract.

The same is true for boat slips and lifts. Even though the MLS listing sheet says, "boat slip included in the price," the boat slip must still be listed next to the line that says "included in the sale."

On the opposite side, the seller has to make it clear on the contract, any items that do not stay that ordinarily would. For example, I just closed on a home that had a dining room light fixture that the seller wanted to keep. On the contract, we listed "dining room light fixture" in the "excluded section."

Being thorough on the Inclusions and Exclusions section of the contract is a must to prevent any misunderstandings.