Reporting from Washington — Sellers who leave things -- or at least things of value -- are a rarity. What happens far more frequently is that they take things they shouldn't. All manner of things, too, like built-in microwaves, light fixtures, sometimes even the shrubs.
Once, after Kat Gardner's clients moved into the house they had just bought, they called to say they had no electricity. They had transferred the power into their name, but when they flicked the light switch, they had nothing.
Turns out they had power but no lightbulbs. "The seller had removed every single lightbulb in the house when they left," said Gardner, who hangs her license at Re/Max Island Realty in Hilton Head, S.C. "There is thrifty, and then there is cheap."
There's a line between what's supposed to stay with a house when it is sold and what can be taken. For the most part, folks who take things they shouldn't do so unknowingly. But sometimes, the sellers know quite well what they are doing is wrong.
To know the difference between what goes and what stays with the house, you have to understand the difference between real and personal property.
What stays are all those items that are attached to the property and intended to be part of it. What can be taken, on the other hand, are things that can be removed without damaging the property.
Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Fancy light fixtures, designer doorknobs, built-in bookshelves, window awnings, garage door openers are all affixed to the house, so they are considered real property, or fixtures, that must remain when you move.
In contrast, countertop microwaves, refrigerators, washers and dryers, and window fans can be removed simply by unplugging them, so they are considered personal property that can be taken with you.
But there is a vast gray area between real and personal property. Here's a short list of questionable items: curtains, blinds, shades, draperies, fireplace covers, wood stoves, backyard swing sets, television antennas and satellite dishes.
Getting the picture? What do you do with those beautiful custom curtains? They aren't attached to the house, but the curtain rods are. Yet they match the wall-to-wall carpeting, which, as opposed to an area rug, is definitely attached.
The best way to handle these and other questionable items is to get them out of the house and into storage before you ever put the house on the market.
