In the real estate world, there are all sorts of stories out there about sellers taking various fixtures with them prior to closing that they should not have. Although fairly rare, items ranging from wall sconces to door knobs to even toilet seats have all been removed by a few sellers just prior to closing in some real estate transactions. Not only is the bad form on a seller’s part, often times it will go against the details in the purchase agreement.
Imagine a buyer doing a final walk-through of their soon-to-be new house just prior to closing and discovering the doorknobs are all missing, or the toilet seats are gone or various light fixtures have been removed.
The only time this would possibly be acceptable would be if these items were negotiated upfront during the time of contract and all parties agreed to such items being retained by the seller. The general rule of thumb is that if something (a fixture, light, miscellaneous item) is secured to the house by way of a screw or other fairly permanent tool, the item is supposed to remain with the house. There can be exceptions this this rule, but very rarely.
So, if you, as a seller want to retain a certain fixture, say a chandelier that has been in your family for a long time, that is perfectly acceptable, but you would need to inform your real estate listing professional before your property is listed and he or she would need to communicate this to any potential buyers and their agents. Further, the particular fixture would need to be listed as an “exception” related to what items, by default, will convey with the sale.
For more information on this topic, below is a great article, published by Realtor.com:
Read the Original Article Here: ‘We’re Keeping the Toilet Seat’: Why Sellers Are Taking Parts of Their Home To Go
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