Anything that is screwed in or bolted into the house is considered part of the house. When you sell the property all the "attachments & improvements" come with it. This includes ceiling fans, wall mounted televisions, their brackets and many other items to the home like the dishwasher, stove and faucet head in the master shower. Anything the home seller doesn't want to leave behind must be excluded on the contract. Simply excluding it on the MLS is not enough. And for the record, the refrigerator, washer and dryer are NOT fixtures.

Almost every home that sells on the MLS has a wall mounted television. They're very common. I almost never see wall mounted televisions excluded on our contracts.

How would you like to have yourself in a corner because you and your agent forgot to exclude these items on page 1 of the contract? What if the buyer assumed they stayed with the house?

To avoid this problem simply make sure you enter in the correct verbiage on the contract. Make sure the buyer and their agent are made aware (in writing) that ALL WALL MOUNTED TELEVISIONS AND THEIR BRACKETS ARE EXCLUDED.

It is just as important for a home seller to repair the holes damaged by the wall brackets.

Thinking of leaving that 6 year old plasma behind? I typically advise my sellers to use the items they don't want as bargaining chips for negotiations after inspections are done. If that doesn't work, you can offer to sell them to the buyer or to someone on Craig's List.

Your home won't sell for more because you opted to leave behind your 32 inch LCD and 4 year old refrigerator. These types of items do not increase property value or more importantly, appraisal value.

The information contained in this blog is believed to be reliable and while every effort is made to assure that the information is as accurate as possible, the author of this blog, and its comments disclaim any implied warranty or representation about it's accuracy, completeness or appropriateness for any particular purpose. All information is copywritten and the property of Greg Nino.