Is disconnected water softener real or personal property for a home sale?
December 12009
A home listed for sale had a water softener completely disconnected before the buyers saw the property for the first time. The softener was kept in the basement – disconnected – while the potential buyers made 2 separate visits to the home. After the buying contract was signed by both parties, the buyers decided they wanted the softener. The home was never listed in the MLS as having a water softener – because the sellers disconnected it to take with them when they move out. Who gets the softener?
When you are showing the house anything that is not included in the sale MUST be clearly marked.
We planned to take our children’s Swing set with us because it wasn’t concreted in and had to leave it, we asked for our Curtians in the kitchen because it matched our entire kitchen set and I didn’t know I need to remove them before listing.
But yes, when you put your home on the market, if you want to keep the watersoftner or the Fridge or the Curtians, you must clearly mark it and state that in the paper work that the Fridge, curtains, water softner are not included, then lets say they wanted the water softner, you could negotiate to leave it, as some owners do with pools and pool tables.
To include the purchase in the sale and they pay for it in the purchase price by upping the purchase price.
Another thing is that you can’t sell something you are making payments on. For example, we had bought a Furnace and we were not done paying for it, we had to pay it off before we could sell the house.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:31 pm
personal property
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December 1st, 2009 at 5:00 pm
The sellers. Unless they had it listed, it’s their property. It’s not like a water heater or anything.
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December 1st, 2009 at 5:20 pm
well…if the house sold and the deal has been closed, the buyer should get it. everything that doesn’t stay needs to be moved out before the sale, unless it’s written in contract that it doesn’t come with.
ask your realtor. they’ll know best.
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December 1st, 2009 at 5:42 pm
The seller.
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December 1st, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Anything attached to the house is a fixture and belongs to the home owner… A disconnected water softener is an item in the house belonging to the OCCUPANT.
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December 1st, 2009 at 6:44 pm
The water softner is the recent home owners to keep. If it wasn’t listed in the contract as for the buyers property the seller is free to take what is rightfully his.
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December 1st, 2009 at 7:13 pm
When you are showing the house anything that is not included in the sale MUST be clearly marked.
We planned to take our children’s Swing set with us because it wasn’t concreted in and had to leave it, we asked for our Curtians in the kitchen because it matched our entire kitchen set and I didn’t know I need to remove them before listing.
But yes, when you put your home on the market, if you want to keep the watersoftner or the Fridge or the Curtians, you must clearly mark it and state that in the paper work that the Fridge, curtains, water softner are not included, then lets say they wanted the water softner, you could negotiate to leave it, as some owners do with pools and pool tables.
To include the purchase in the sale and they pay for it in the purchase price by upping the purchase price.
Another thing is that you can’t sell something you are making payments on. For example, we had bought a Furnace and we were not done paying for it, we had to pay it off before we could sell the house.
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December 1st, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Because the water softener was never listed as a feature of the property and because it was disconnected, I’d say it was real property of the owners at the time.
A water softener is an appliance, like a stove or fridge. The prospective buyers should have asked if the water softener was staying as part of the property, just as they would likely have asked about kitchen appliances not specified.
[The real estate agent should have advised the sellers to remove the water softener from the premises before showing the house. The buyer's agent should have been on top of it, too.]
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