Surprise! What did the seller take with them that you expected would stay with the house?

[Anonymous]

Our sellers took the kitchen island - ? - but, luckily, left a junky old tv bolted to the wall.

I always thought window treatments were supposed to convey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our sellers took the kitchen island - ? - but, luckily, left a junky old tv bolted to the wall.

I always thought window treatments were supposed to convey.

Shutters convey, other window treatments do not That's why shutters are the only window treatment that effects your home value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, anything screwed in is a fixture and the norm is for that to convey. Shelves, curtain rods, etc.

Again, this talk about "the norm" as if every screwed-in fixture is of no further interest to the owner who purchased it. If the owner bought rods or closet shelving which the owner wants to use again--then the owner can say in writing that it does not convey. Why would people spend thousands (and some do) on special shelving or rods or arty light fixtures just to leave it all behind, if they can use it in their next home? Is it supposed to be a gigantic, expensive gift to the new owner? If an agent or better yet, a house stager says to do it, sure, the owner should just replace the items he wants to take with cheap plain ones from Home Depot before showing the house, or label those closet shelves "Does not convey." But it's nuts for a potential buyer to assume that every fixture you see on a house tour would be yours if you buy the house. Do people really fall so hard for curtain rods and closet shelving that they are shattered when told they don't come with the house?

The issue is not that they are in love with them - it is that DC area standard housing contracts state that they convey and when the owner takes them it is not what was expected.

Let's use curtains and rods for example purposes.
Let's assume you close on the house and have the movers coming the next day to unload.
You are planning to sleep there - but now you have nothing on the windows. You may not have loved the design - but it was good enough to get you through the transition. Now you are in a bind. Your contract said they conveyed so you did not plan on getting window coverings for the 25 windows that are a part of your home - but now you need to do something.

Ours didn't come with curtains or window shades. We went and got the $5 paper ones till we got them. Curtain rods and curtains are part of the decor. If you have standard white blinds then yes, it makes sense those convey but not curtains and rods. When you buy a house you need to buy curtains. How hard is that? I would not expect curtains or rods. Nor would I want the old curtains.

It does not matter what you want - it matters what the contract states. DC area contract standard language is that they convey. If you do not want them - throw them away. But to have a contract that states they convey and to take them is a surprise.

Why on earth would you leave curtains behind when they match your decor? That makes no sense. I would not leave ours.