Once and For All -- What is a Fixture?

To determine what stays with a home and what goes is to define the word fixture as it pertains to real estate.

Some sellers believe anything they can remove from a wall or a ceiling is not a fixture, but they could be mistaken. The time to talk about fixtures is when the home is listed for sale, not when it's in escrow or, heaven forbid, after it has closed.

When I listed a client's home in Elk Grove, CA, I cautioned the seller that his back-yard spa was a fixture. He wanted to take it with him. Well, then he better remove it now, I suggested, and put it in storage. That was too much work. The seller instead wanted to make the item "negotiable" in the listing. Better say goodbye to your spa then, I told him. Anything that is negotiable, the buyer will want. We were selling in a buyer's market, I reminded him, and even if the buyer doesn't really want a negotiable item, trust me, it will show up in the offer.

Sure enough, the buyer demanded the spa. Did he want to tell the buyer no-can-do when the closing on the seller's new home was less than three weeks away? So, the spa stayed with the home . . . read more about What is a Fixture?

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• Before Selling Your Home
  
• Why Sell Your Home?
  
• How to Install a Remote-Controlled Ceiling Fan

_{©Elizabeth Weintraub}

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