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Should it stay or should it go?

Posted In: General thoughts

Last week I was in Charlottetown PEI for a day and I tell you, if there was one city in the Maritimes other than the Kennebecasis Valley that I could live in, it would be there. It’s full of art, culture, history, great restaurants and beautiful parks. The people are second to none as well. I highly recommend Charlottetown for a nice weekend trip for the family. Also, despite the snowfall the KV real estate market is still chugging along. Watching the daily hot sheet I see new listings, sales, and closed deals everyday. It would also appear that on average, houses are selling close to their asking price which is good news for sellers.

The topic of chattels and fixtures is often covered in real estate articles, because it’s something that home owners really want to pay attention to when selling their home. So many problems can arise between sellers and buyers when what is or is not included with the house is not clearly indicated in the listing. This can result in lost time, money, a deal and even legal proceedings. So what are chattels and fixtures?

A chattel is an object that can be moved and is not attached or “annexed” to the home. For example, a microwave is a chattel. A built in over the range microwave is not. Other examples of chattels would be window curtains (but not the rods in some cases), free standing book cases, fridge, stove, or any other personal property that is moveable.

A fixture generally refers to anything that is nailed, screwed, glued or in some other way attached to your home. For example, Your ceiling fans and chandeliers would be considered fixtures. As would your water softener, central vac, and curtain rods. Like someone once said to me “If it takes a tool, that’s the rule”.

Sounds easy, right? Well, sometimes the line between what is a chattel and fixture can get a little fuzzy. In many cases, there will be some degree of fixation of a chattel to the property. But if it’s only temporarily affixed for the purpose of it’s intended use it is a chattel. If it’s meant to be a permanent attachment or improvement to the home it’s a fixture. How you protect yourself from making a mistake is by making clear distinctions in your listing as to what is and what is not included in the home sale with your REALTORĀ®.

This doesn’t mean, however, that your grandmothers chandelier or your expensive window shades are goners. If there are fixtures in your home that you absolutely must have, go to a home improvement store and buy replacements and put them away in storage for your new home. Just make sure to do this before buyers are touring your home so they don’t come to expect that what they saw when they toured the house is what they’re going to get when they close.

As always, thanks for reading!

Matt Connolly
mconnolly@royallepage.ca

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