Gordon Lane - selling homes in Yolo, Placer, El Dorado, Sacramento Counties

When an agent is working on getting a seller's home ready for market one of the things we ask our clients to consider is if they wish to keep any of the attached items. Sometimes a seller is determined to take their drapes or blinds, one buyer in Davis discovered that the seller had removed all of the custom light switch plates in the house. Adding insult to injury they didn't bother to replace the light switch plates! But the most common horror story involves chandeliers. A chandelier is attached to the house and will be sold with the house, unless it is specifically excluded from the sale. It doesn't matter if you inherited it from your grandmother and it has tremendous sentimental value - unless it is excluded in the contract it is legally the buyers.

And what if a seller tries to exclude the chandelier and the potential buyer threatens to cancel the deal because of that? How much simpler to prevent this in the first place - if the seller has such a chandelier the best thing to do is to replace it before the house is put on the market.

When the revised California Residential Purchase Agreement was released by the California Association of Realtors this spring there was a change that reflected technological progress and the resulting conflicts.

The previous contract and the current contract specify that fixtures and fittings that are attached to the property are included in the sale. However that became part of the California Residential Purchase Agreement *before* wall mounted flat screen TVs! Now imagine that a buyer makes an offer on a house, with the contract stating that fixtures and fittings that are attached to the property are included. Does the buyer have a right to expect that the TV remain - after all it is attached to the wall. How does this get decided?

The new contract clears up the confusion. The wording is clear:

Unless otherwise specified, audio and video components (such as flat screen TVs and speakers) are excluded if any such item is not itself attached to the Property, even if a bracket or other mechanism attached to the component is attached to the Property.

So brackets or other mounting mechanisms are attached to the property and need to remain. TVs and speakers may be removed from their brackets and mounting mechanisms and go with the seller.

A common area of dispute in a home sale is what stays with the house and what can the seller take with them when they move. The California Residential Purchase Agreement from the California Association of Realtors (used in most home sales in Yolo County) is quite specific about that in an attempt to prevent disputes.

The level of detail can seem absurd but I'm sure that for every item mentioned in the list of items that are to stay there has been at least one serious dispute. (Ask any agent in Yolo County and I'm sure they have their own horror story.) The contract specifies that the following remain with the house:

Existing electrical, mechanical, lighting, plumbing and heating fixtures, ceiling fans, fireplace inserts, gas logs and grates, solar systems, built-in appliances, window and door screens, awnings, shutters, window coverings, attached floor coverings, television antennas, satellite dishes, private integrated telephone systems, air coolers/conditioners, pool/spa equipment, garage door openers/remote controls, mailbox, in-ground landscaping, trees/shrubs, water softeners, water purifiers, security systems/alarms. Whew! Quite a list.

Additionally, there are boxes to be checked for stoves and refrigerators.

Note what is not on the list - washers and dryers.

So what happens if the agent writing the offer doesn't check the box for the stove or refrigerator? Those *don't" come with the house and the seller is within their rights to take them with them. And if you hope to get the washer and dryer be sure your agent writes that into the contract.

The latest revision to the California Residential Purchase Agreement was released in April of this year - and has an addition that was made necessary by technological progress - that's in Part 2.

Thursday Sept 2nd I hope to break free from showing real estate and get a chance to drop by Rominger West Winery in Davis to listen to jazz vocalist Natalie Armstrong, performing with her guitarist Nahum Dyzbel. Rominger West "Happy Thursdays", from 4-7 pm, are a chance to listen to music and taste wine from grapes grown in the Winters area of western Yolo County.

Appetizers are provided, the music is free and the special by the glass prices on the wine make it possible to inexpensively taste some of Yolo County's own wines. Check out Rominger West's event calendar or learn more about their winery and wines.