Items included in Sale?

What items are generally included in house sale? e.g. kitchen appliances, do people leave or take with them?!

neogotiate!

In theory, the sellers could take anything that's removable, e.g. carpets, curtains, washing machine, fridge, light fittings.

In practice it usually not worth it for the sellers to take these, so they would be included, and this is stated in the brochure.

When you make your offer, be sure to specify what you want inculded, in particular if there is a specific item of interest (e.g. nice build in appliances). Also if there is something that may not normally be inculded, such as an item of furniture, ask, there is always room for neogotiation.

Re: neogotiate!

If it is fixed to the property, it is a part of the property and therefore automatically deemed included in a sale.

If it is not fixed, it is not included. If it can be picked up, it is a "chattel" and not a fixture.

A famous case involving a linen mill (well, some sort of mill - my education was a long time ago and the memory is not what it could be) and a receiver hinged on this point.

The main value of the mill was in its equipment - the equipment was made in such a way as to be bolted to the factory floor, thus making it a fixture - i.e. part of the property BUT the bolts hadn't been fitted, so the mortgage holder got screwed, as their mortgage didn't cover it.

A solicitor will therefore ask his client to be particularly sure to check:

A. Anything which is fixed, but which is leaving, so that it can be excluded (example satellite dish, some light fittings, trees and shrubs, garden lanterns etc.)

B. Anything which is not fixed, but which is staying, so that it can be expressly included (example Barna Shed, carpets, free standing units or cookers, wood burning stove etc.).

neogotiate!

Advise you get a very specific list as this aspect of house buying/selling can spring unexpected difficulties.

When I purchased my present house I moved in (the day after the seller relocated to India) to find he had left all his furniture (which included two huge 'three piece suites' and very large wardrobes upstairs). These were joined by my own 'goods and chattels' obstructing the firm who had been booked to treat some patches of woodrot in the floorboards.

A couple a few doors away moved out last year and I was astonished to see them load the compost-bin and contents just before they shut the doors on the last load!!!

Six months ago when my late mother's house was sold the purchaser insisted on E 500 for a 'skip' to dispense with larger items of furniture that remained though we had estimated their second-hand value to be about E 5,000 and had factored this into the price.

Increasingly descriptions of properties for sale have details such as 'Shed to remain' or 'Curtains and light-fittings to remain'. It is pretty safe to assume if this is not specified the seller will be taking it.........including tubs and shrubs!!