I know when I bought my first house in Weston before I was in the real estate business, I was surprised and caught off guard by an exclusion that was thrown in at the last minute…..  It involved a tree that was sentimental to the sellers, was not listed as an exclusion, was mentioned to us after the Purchase and Sale Agreement had been signed, and then was taken and replaced before we had even had a chance to have a conversation about how it should be handled.  Wow!  And as you would guess, it didn’t make us feel especially good about the sellers or about the rest of the transaction.

So….if you are selling your home and want to have a smooth, nice, conflict-reduced real estate transaction (or at least as much as possible), one of the things to do – before you list your house – is to determine which interior and exterior items you want to exclude from the transaction and bring with you.  Of course you would take anything that is not attached to the house – your furniture, table lamps and area rugs, for example.  But this can get complicated with some items.  RealEstateABC.com sums it up perfectly, “If you have to unscrew a screw, claw out a nail, detach anything from the interior or exterior structure, or uproot anything from the ground — and you want to take it with you when you move — put it in the contract. That way there are no possible misunderstandings later.”  These items are called exclusions, and the ones you see most frequently listed are window treatments, light fixtures (i.e., chandeliers), TVs and stereo equipment, trees/bushes and swing sets.  As a listing agent, I write the exclusions onto the MLS listing sheet, AND I also tell the interested buyers, and their buyer’s agent, about the exclusions as well.  This way, chances are that everyone will know about the exclusions at the outset.

My recommendation to my seller clients is to exclude anything that they want to take with them, even if they aren’t completely sure.  I always tell them to err on the side of caution.  It’s much easier to decide you aren’t going to take something and leave it for the new owners than it is to decide you want to take something at the last minute and take it out of the sale.  At that late point in the transaction, the buyers may have their hearts set on the window treatments in the child’s bedroom that you weren’t planning to take and so you didn’t exclude, but now you’ve changed your mind….  This can create quite a bit of conflict between the buyers and sellers especially if there have been some earlier conflicts as well.

Another confusion can set in with regard to the way the MLS listing sheet is written.  For example, if the seller is planning to take the washer and dryer, which are plugged into the wall and therefore are not built into the house, and they are listed as appliances on the MLS listing sheet, it can be confusing to the buyers when they show up for the final walk-through, and the washer and dryer are gone.  Because the washer and dryer were listed as appliances, the buyers think they are part of the sale.  On the other hand, because the washer and dryer are not attached to the house, the sellers do not have to technically disclose that they are taking the appliances and list them as exclusions….  The bottom line is that this can result in confusion and discontent, which therefore adds conflict to the transaction.

Here are some of the items that seem to create the most confusion with regard to exclusions:

• Window Treatments – the first lesson I learned in real estate is to use the all-inclusive term – “window treatments.”  If you use the word “curtains,” buyers may think that the hardware (curtain rods and wall hooks) are staying.
• Refrigerators – since many refrigerators these days are built-in, people may assume that these are included in the transaction.  And for this reason, in an effort to be safe rather than sorry, I would list the plug-in refrigerator as an exclusion AND I wouldn’t list it in the Appliances section on MLS.
• TVs and Stereo Equipment – with the plethora of built-in TVs and stereo equipment these days, you need to make sure you exclude these if you are planning on taking them.
• Carpet Runners – most people don’t take carpet runners or carpets that are fastened to the floor, but if you are planning to take these items, definitely list them as exclusions.
• Washer and Dryers – as mentioned earlier, many assume these items are staying especially if they are listed as appliances.
• Safes and Workbenches – in the circumstance when these items are not built-in, people assume they will stay given how heavy and hard to transport they are.  So make sure to exclude these items if they are not attached and you want to take them with you.
• Swing Sets – though these aren’t usually attached to the ground, they are also so heavy and hard to move that it’s worth listing them as exclusions if you plan on taking them with you.

Have you ever been surprised, confused or caught-off guard by an exclusion?  I hope the answer is no, but I think more times than not, it will be yes….