What's included in or excluded from a sale?

Sam Schneiderman, Broker-owner of Greater Boston Home Team continues his Monday series. One of my clients asked me about this yesterday!

Many years ago, I represented buyers that were buying from an estate. The final price included items like the washer/dryer, refrigerator, etc. The heirs wanted to keep other personal items (like furniture) that the buyers wanted. The Purchase and Sales agreement detailed all the minutia of the sale, and the buyers happily signed the Purchase and Sale agreement.

Prior to closing, I accompanied my buyer-clients to the final walk through. The wife, Elizabeth, was beside herself when she did not see the Peony plant by the front steps. She turned to me and asked what happened to the plant. Of course, I had no idea whether it was stolen by a plant thief or removed by the sellers, but it really didn’t matter because Elizabeth considered it a good luck omen when she saw on her first visit to the property. Now that omen was gone!

Whether it’s a Peony plant, lighting fixture, shed or stove, I’ve seen this story re-played numerous times. Sellers think that they can take what they want as long as they leave the house, and buyers expect that aside from furniture and art work, what they see is what they will get when they close.

Real estate (a/k/a “real property”) typically includes buildings on a lot and anything “attached” to the lot or structure. Everything else is personal property. Unless otherwise specified in writing, a sale includes all real property and no personal property.

In the case of the missing Peony, it turned out that an heir removed his mom’s favorite plant, which he wanted to keep as a reminder of his mom. Elizabeth understood and the seller bought her a new Peony.

This example demonstrates how easy it is for misunderstandings to occur, even though the Purchase and Sale agreement specified that all of the plantings were included. Despite the fact that well written offers and Purchase and Sales agreements should spell out what’s excluded or included in a sale those documents are useless unless they are read by buyers and sellers.

Perspective:
It’s better to be clear up front about what is or is not included. Sellers should be sure that any excluded items are listed on the listing sheet. Better yet, those items (especially lighting fixtures) should be removed from the house and replaced before showing the home to prospective buyers.

Buyers should be sure that what they expect to get with the house is included in their offer and verify that those items are carried forward to the Purchase and Sale agreement.