For this post, I thought I would touch on a topic about fixed assets and furniture. I usually talk about the buyer side, however let’s talk about a problem that can arise from the seller side of the argument.  Selling a house can be an emotional decision, you put your heart and soul into the house, making it your home, however you must stop and think, what now become part of the home when you decide to sell? In law, this is defined as what a fixture is and what a chattel is.

A fixture is an object that is firmly in place. For example if you build custom cabinets and shelving and it is virtually nailed in, then you could have an issue if you want to take them with you to decorate your new house. The simplest explanation I try and use is “anything not nailed down or permanently attached for which it becomes difficult or damaging to remove.” Many of us like to design our homes in ways that suit us but be careful, the more additions you do, they might become part of the house. Built is speakers in the bedrooms, or designed specialized light fixtures these are all items. A common area of potential concern that has been a problem has been wall mounted televisions. For example drilling holes in your wall and having a mount would technically classify it as a fixture. In practicality however, is something buyers expect?

A chattel is an object that is defined as personal property, any tangible movable property. For example, your towels, cloths, clothes. Although these items might seem obvious, what defines a chattel versus what is a fixture is one of the most common areas of concern when selling a house. For example, the hot tub in the backyard, now is this a chattel as it could be easily removable if it is not a fully built one? -Or is this a fixture. For example, did the buyers really want a hot-tub as an expectation living in Los Angeles, or is this a desirable? Expensive art, is this mounted to the house and part of the house?  It is not as simple as one might think.

The number one rule to live by is to make sure it’s in the contract! There is nothing stopping you from creating an exclusion list – For example if you want that television and it’s wall-mounted – Do not leave it to chance – Create an exclusion list! Do not leave the sale up to ambiguity if you can help it. List and if you require take pictures of the items you are taking with you if you believe ‘grey-area’ might exist.

I leave you with this interesting thought – You turn your house into a home when you want to live there, try and turn your home back into a house when you want to sell.