DFW Real Estate

DFW Real Estate Articles: 2008

Personal Property
© by Mike Stevenson

The real estate agent turned on the lights as we walked in. A large tiled entry seemed to go on forever into the huge living area with massive windows and fine woodworked pillars. Custom drapes and rugs made this beautiful entertainment area seem warm and inviting. "This is perfect!"  We both said it at nearly the same instant, so we laughed. "Those drapes are the exact color we were hoping to use to accent the furniture we're getting." The agent looked at the printout he brought along from his office. "Now, the drapes don't stay -- the seller is reserving these drapes, but will replace them with nice ones that work really well in this area."

When looking at homes, sometimes what you see is NOT what you get!  There are many instances where items don't "convey"... that is, they don't stay with the home when it sells. Such items are considered "personal property".  Most people understand that furniture is personal property and won't be a part of the real estate purchase.  Certain items, however, seem to be in question by both the buyer and the seller.  The simple answer is, items that
are attached to the property to be used as part of the property, are real estate, not personal property. Those items that are not attached to the property are personal property.

Light fixtures are a common example. If the light fixtures are attached by bolts or screws, and are used as part of the property, they then become real estate and are not personal property. On the other hand, a floor lamp that isn't physically attached, is personal property. There are legal "tests" for such things, but I'll spare you the grief.  In the case above, drapes are usually considered part of the property because they are attached as well as being specially sized for each window. Unless they are specifically "reserved" and declared as such, they will stay with the house when it sells.  If the seller intends to keep such items, they must be reserved at the time the house is listed. Details of these reserved items are written into the listing information to help avoid possible misunderstandings between the buyer and seller.

Let's be Serious
I've seen items reserved that might be considered trivial. My recommendation is, don't worry about a $50 item that could be a point of contention when selling a $200,000 house!  Sellers might do well to replace reserved items in advance of showing their property. It's also a good idea not to appear "petty" by reserving, let's say, a hose reel, if that's going to make you seem difficult to work with when it comes to final price negotiations.  Both parties to a real estate transaction should try to appear reasonable when dealing with the sale of a home.

Buyers and sellers need to be clear with each other in real estate transactions. Personal items that may cause misunderstandings should be made clear from the outset. Don't let personal property become a "personal issue" when buying or selling a home.

Read the Next Article --
See Archived Articles --