4 Things You Must Leave Behind When Selling Your Home
Did you know that there are certain things you should leave behind when you sell your home?
Well, most sellers don’t. It’s typical for homeowners to think that everything within the property belongs to them and can be potentially transferred to their new home when they move.
While this idea makes sense, it’s actually a flawed understanding of the property selling process. To clear things up, we need to look at the disclosures involved.
Taking a Deeper Look at Disclosures
Many state’s disclosure forms include a section that lists all the items that stay with the home and won’t be removed before the sale. Sellers filling out this form will go through a long list of household items, such as light fixtures and appliances, and check off the ones that will remain on the property.
While this may seem like a breeze, sellers need to be very careful that they’re filling out this document properly.
Like any disclosure document, this part of the form is an official and legally binding statement between the buyer and seller. If you mess up in any way; say by removing the light fixtures you said you’d leave behind, you could be liable.
Besides this, there are a few items that buyers expect sellers to leave on the property. Here are 4 things that sellers need to leave behind:
Appliances
Be careful if you’re planning to move with your home appliances. Most prospective buyers are paying special attention to the appliances in listed homes. New appliances can be a pivotal selling point for any deal and buyers expect them to stay.
The Property’s Plants
Don’t plan on transplanting your greenery from the old house to your new property.
Even if you planted your house’s plants with your own two hands, they’re actually apart of the property. Listing your home on the market includes selling not only the house but the accompanying plants, too.
If you do plan to take away the yard’s greenery, you absolutely must disclose this to the buyer. Otherwise, you’ll be risking big problems.
Light Fixtures
It doesn’t matter if you bought and installed your home’s light fixtures. Once your home is for sale, buyers will assume the light fixtures are a given part of the transaction. The best way to avoid a problem is by removing your favorite lighting elements before you put up the ‘for sale’ sign.
If It’s Attached to the Ground, It’s For Sale
The broadest category on the list, items that are anchored to the ground can’t just be taken without the buyer’s consent. Sellers need to disclose if they’re going to be removing any ground-anchored property features since buyers will be expecting them to stay.
Whether it’s a basketball hoop or a swing set, be careful when removing things from the ground.
If you want to avoid a lawsuit, be aware of these 4 things you can’t take with you when you sell your home. For more real estate tips, explore the Glide Blog.
