Working as a real estate agent means handling many of the details of a real estate transaction for clients. Both seller’s agents and buyer’s agents have to assist their clients with paperwork. Seller’s agents ensure that sellers make appropriate disclosures, ask a reasonable price for the property and stage it in a way that entices bids from prospective buyers.
Buyer’s agents help clients find properties that suit their needs. They assist with negotiating an offer and help ensure that the closing occurs as smoothly as possible. In some cases, there can be conflict around closing time because the buyers discover that the sellers removed items from the property that they expected to retain.
Typically, furnishings and other personal property leave with the seller. On the other hand, fixtures and other permanent property features typically remain in place. If sellers try to remove any of the three items detailed below after the buyers view the property, that could result in conflicts.
1. Window treatments
Blinds, curtains and shutters are among the various window treatments people may install at their properties. Window treatments are both aesthetic and functional. They help control light levels and the temperature inside the home.
They can also enhance interior decoration. If sellers intend to retain their window treatments, they usually need to remove and replace them before showings or disclose the intention to retain the window treatments in writing.
2. Fixtures inside the property
There are various fixtures within a property that, while replaceable, are typically considered part of the building after the buyer views the property. The faucets and other fixtures in bathrooms and kitchens should generally remain in place.
So should light fixtures throughout the home. Replacing a chandelier with a $20 light fixture could drastically change how buyers perceive a room. In more serious cases, removing fixtures can alter the fair market value of the property.
3. Landscaping plants
Houseplants and plants placed in containers may require direct inclusion in negotiations if the buyer intends to retain them. However, any plants in the ground in the yard generally transfer with the property. If sellers intend to retain a vampire lily or other rare specimen, they usually need to indicate their intent to remove landscaping in the listing paperwork or in the agreement that they negotiate with the buyers.
While window treatments, fixtures and plants don’t necessarily change the value of the property by tens of thousands of dollars, they can influence how a buyer views and values residential real estate. Being able to advise clients on what will stay with the property and what will leave can help those who stage properties for viewing and those who assist buyers as they make an offer.