- Overview
- Sellers:
- Pricing Pyramid
- The Effect of Over Pricing
- Activity vs. Timing
- Where Buyers Come From
- Working With a Real Estate Licensee
- Listing Contracts
- Responsibilities of the Seller
- Completing the Sale
- The Process of Selling a Home
- Seller's Checklist
- Fixture or Chattel?
- 20 Tips for Selling Your Home
- Buyers:
- Moving Checklist
- What is a Real Estate Agent?
- Finding a Home that Fits Your Needs
- The Offer to Purchase
- Completing the Purchase
- Typical Expenses
- Nine Mistakes the Buyer Should Avoid
- Options and Choices to Help Customize Your Mortgage
- Glossary
- Mortgage Calculator
Fixture or Chattel?
The difference between a chattel and a fixture can be subtle. Chattels are items of moveable or transferable property, unlike land and buildings that are fixed and immoveable. If the items are neither land, nor permanently attached to land or a building, they are, by definition, chattels.
Typically, if an item is attached to land only by its own weight, it is not usually considered part of the land unless the surrounding circumstances make it clear that they were intended to be part of the land. By the same token, a fixture is a piece of equipment which has been attached to real estate in such a way as to become part of the premises, and its removal would do harm to the building or land. Using these definitions, a mirror that is hanging on a hook is a chattel and can be removed by the seller. The same mirror becomes a fixture if it is permanently attached or mounted to a wall in the house.
A furnace delivered to a house, for example, is a chattel or item of moveable personal property when it leaves the store. When it is installed in the owner's house, and permanently connected to the ductwork, floor, electrical and plumbing systems, it becomes a fixture that remains with the building when the owner moves out.
Given the definitions, it is always prudent to specify in the Contract of Purchase & Sales exactly which items will pass with the property and which will not. At the time a seller is preparing to sign a listing agreement, we should discuss what items will be included or excluded in the sale and what items can be negotiated as part of the purchase.
The following list commonly represents a sample of the items that are the most commonly asked for in a Contract of Purchase and Sale. It is by no means complete.
- Washer
- Vacuum Canister & Accessories
- Dryer
- Hot Tub Cover & Accessories
- Stove
- Garburator
- Refrigerator
- Pool Cover & Accessories
- Freezer
- Shelving
- Microwave
- Mirrors
- Dishwasher
- Fireplace Inserts
- Drapes/Window Coverings
- Water Purification System
- Alarm System
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