This week we got an offer on a listing. That offer included some personal property. That offer also included a finance clause. Although it was a great offer we had to take the time to counter it because signing it would have created problems down the road for the buyer/borrower.
Now if a buyer is a cash buyer, then saying "the porch swing and chairs and the dock furniture to be included" can be okay. However, in my 32 years experience in real estate I have yet to find a lender who was okay with financing patio furniture for 30 years.
In Georgia we have a form for that. It's called a bill of sale or personal property agreement. The agreement to sell the personal property is contingent upon two things.... 1. the real estate transaction actually closing. So if you are buying some of the personal property in a home, even for a price of $1.00 you ONLY get to buy it if the real estate transaction actually closes. So if you don't buy the house you don't get the living room furniture or the dock furniture you also want for that $1.00 or $100.00 or whatever price agreement you came to for the personal property. The 2. contingency is that the personal property is free from any liens. So you don't have to worry about "Rooms to go" coming to pick it up because the seller is guaranteeing it is owned free and clear or they will be paying it off at closing as part of the payments the attorney is collecting and paying at closing.
So many times we've had to amend a contract to remove personal property because the agent doesn't understand that personal property is NOT real estate and NOT part of a real estate transaction that underwriting is NOT going to give clear to close if they are financing a sofa for 30 years.
In my market of a LOT of second homes there are lots of times when sellers will agree to sell/give a buyer some of the furnishings in the home because they aren't "moving" from the home and don't need to take the furniture and frankly don't have a place to put it in their primary residence that is already furnished. On several listings in my MLS right now it says "home is being sold with furniture", that's fine and good, but those items belong on a personal property agreement (Bill of sale), not in the real estate contract.
So if your agent writes information in your contract to purchase real estate that furniture conveys, you might need a new agent because it might just screw up your loan. And if they don't have the knowledge or the oversight of a broker who is teaching them the property way to deal with personal property, you have to wonder what else they might not know about that could harm your transaction and keep you from getting the home you are trying to purchase.
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