What should I leave and what to take?

hereonceagain · September 2011

I am curious what is standard for these items - take them or leave them when selling:

washer and dryer

refrigerator

large backyard potted plants and trees /hanging flowers

shelves nailed into walls

I am fine either way but just want to know what is standard.

062307Bride · September 2011

If you have a great washer/dryer and refrigerator, I would take them. A buyer could always ask for them to be included in the sale, so that could be a good point of negotiation for later on.

I would leave the shelves and probably the plants/flowers depending on how far away you are moving. Last time I moved, it was over 1000 miles and it would have been annoying to move all the plants. I gave mine away to friends that wanted them.

car_ramrod · September 2011

Are you already under contract or listed? If you are listed already you will need to see what is listed as staying on the listing. If you are in contract unless otherwise stated, You must leave everything that is listed as staying in the mls (usually includes fridge, stove) plus anything attached to the walls (window coverings, blinds, shelves, etc) unless they are specifically excluded. The backyard plants and hanging plants I would only leave if they look nice, we are getting into cold weather where plants will die and look like crap so there is no reason to keep those out.

EastCoastBride · September 2011

Ditto car_ramrod.

If you need to make these decisions, though, my take:

Every house we looked at included major appliances. We left ours. I think the only way I'd take them is if they were pretty new and we spent a lot of money on them. W/ the house we sold- all the appliances had come w/ the house when we bought it, so... we felt no need to take anything.

We left a shelf that was nailed in the kitchen. We didn't list it either way, but once we knew what house we were buying, we knew we cuoldn't use it. Same w/ the coat rack we had up by the front door. Plus, both of these items just looked good in the house!

As for plants, it's kind of the same thing. Do they look nice/ do they enhance the yard?

ETA: for stuff that you don't specifically list one way or the other, you could also ask the buyers if they want it or not. We did that w/ our house number. We had commissioned a friend to make it and it was very unique. It fit the house perfectly, but as it was also "art", who knew if the buyer would like it.

She told us we could have it, but in our discussion, it turns out that she actually liked it and would keep it up. She just knew it was important to us. As she wasn't going to take it down, we decided to leave it because it was made for THAT house!

breaness · September 2011

We wrote into our offer on our house what we wanted. If you're under contract that should be on there.

We had them leave all kitchen appliances, window treatments (because, let's be honest, what's the chance your custom window treatments will work in the new house?), and washer/dryer.

srs5624 · September 2011

Fixtures - anything that is attached to the house stays with the house, unless otherwise specified. This would include all window treatments, shelves, cabinets, wall mounted tvs and associated mounting brackets, light fixtures and ceiling fans. If you have any of these items that you want to keep, you must specify which items to not convey with the property in the contract.

Appliances - different by region. In some areas, you'll never buy a house with a fridge included. In other areas, every appliance is included. Keep what you want and convey what you don't. Just make sure it's in the contract.

Plants - same as fixtures. If it's attached to the property, it stays. If you have a plant that you just have to keep (e.g. a peace lily that you planted in honor of a deceased relative) you must note this in the contract. If it's not attached (potted plants, baskets, etc), it can stay or go without any hassle.

saisongbird · October 2011

I disagree that wall mounted tvs must stay. The brackets, yes, because otherwise you end up with holes in the walls, but our sellers had a wall mounted tv when they listed and a second wall mount downstairs. They left the mount downstairs (it was in the bricks) but they took the wall mount from the bedroom and repaired the holes prior to closing.

curlylocks3 · October 2011

Its my understanding that the W/D is kind of a regional thing. As a buyer I'd expect the fridge (and other kitchen appliances) to stay. For the plants unless I had some emotional connection (like they were replanted from a former home or from family) I would probably leave them. I'd definitely leave the shelves. If you plan on taking the shelves I'd probably take them down before listing the place.

Sisugal · October 2011

Appliances vary - but this would be written in the listing and contract. Usually they stay with the house, but there are exceptions .

potted plants - anything moveable you can take. Anything you would have to dig up would be listed in contract or negotiated.

Curtains - stay with the house if the house is shown with them . We had to put up cheap curtains to show the house since we wanted to take the existing curtains with us.

Shelves nailed - are fixed to the property - and stay with the house.

What should I leave and what to take?

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