What stays and what goes?

What stays and what goes? (part 1)

A sort of rule of thumb is that “if it can be unplugged, unhooked, or moved without tools, it is probably personal property.” Personal property goes in the packing boxes; it does NOT stay with the house when it is sold. If the item is, however, "affixed," it is real property--part of the realty.

One of the goals of any contract is clarity. Sellers and buyers approach that goal, however, from opposite directions.

If you are the seller, you can specifically exclude any items that you want to take. That should be done both in the listing agreement itself and in the MLS entry your real estate agent publishes.

Obviously, you want your house to be in the best show condition possible, so you don’t want to remove all of the high dollar items that make it show best. If, for instance, you have an antique chandelier you inherited from your grandmother that looks spectacular in your dining room, you might opt to leave it up but exclude it from the sale.

Since the chandelier is definitely ATTACHED, buyes will rightfully assume that it is a fixture and goes with the house, unless they are explicitly told otherwise IN WRITING. Even if you have specifically excluded it in all documents, a potential buyer may still try to make it a negotiation point, so be prepared for that risk.

As mentioned earlier, attached items are generally considered “real” property, rather than personal property (real property = realty). Obvious examples are the kitchen cabinets, bathroom fixtures, and light fixtures. Some things are not so obvious, however. A mirror that is attached to the wall by brackets is “real” property, while one hanging from a wire is not.  The attached fireplace mantle stays, but the firescreen sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace may not have to stay.

Drapes are personal property, so they get packed (unless you have to unscrew them from the wall to remove them). To be on the safe side, sellers might consider leaving curtain rods—but they definitely should not remove the brackets themselves!  Sellers also cannot go around and replace the brass faceplates with plastic ones or upscale light fixtures and ornate doorknobs with off-the-shelf versions after the house is under contract.

In short, sellers have two choices: remove/replace the item before showing the house or specifically exclude it in the listing contract and the contract for sale. [I will discuss the buyer side of the issue in Part 2]

Test time for today: While it is clear that the flowers in the vase are not attached (and, thus, are personal property that can be packed), what about the tulips planted in the yard?

If you said the tulips are "affixed," you passed the test! The seller of the house cannot go digging up plantings around the house, unless those plantings have been specifically excluded from the sale. Plants can be a bigger deal than you might think. If you sell a farm with crops growing, for instance, your contract could specify that the farmer who is selling the land retains the right to harvest the crop.