REINCheck

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VO [00:00:06] You're listening to REINCheck with Andrea Rice, Contracts and Industry Specialist at REIN, where you get the latest member news and information delivered straight from the source, REIN MLS.

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Andrea Rice [00:00:19] Hello and welcome to REINCheck, I'm your host, Andrea Rice. And today we are checking in with two members of REIN Sales Managers' Advisory Committee, Becky Claggett and Lisa Frates to discuss items to convey. So Lisa, Becky, thank you so much for being here today.

Becky Claggett [00:00:36] Thanks for having me.

Lisa Frates [00:00:38] Yeah, I'm happy to be here. Thank you.

Andrea Rice [00:00:42] Yes, we're so happy that you're here. Lisa, this is your first time joining us. And Becky, I think we were talking earlier, this is your third time. So, you're an old pro at it. So, let's talk about paragraph 15 of the standard purchase agreement, which is actually items to convey. And this paragraph allows the purchaser to check common items that are to be transferred with the sale of the property. And you would think this is actually pretty straightforward, but there can be sometimes a lot of confusion around what stays and what does not stay when the property is sold.

Lisa Frates [00:01:17] That's true. The form has a good starting place checklist for items such as like the microwave, the washer, the dryer, the jacuzzi tub. And then we've left a lot of lines there just to go ahead and add in any additional items. And you're right, there is confusion. Sometimes we hear bathroom mirrors, you know, are the buyer is expecting them to stay and they're gone. Mounted TVs, ring doorbells. So, we have those additional lines to add in those kind of items.

Andrea Rice [00:01:54] And do you find that there are specific things that are commonly a source of confusion like you were saying, like the Ring doorbell. Are there some things you find all the time that people just aren't on the same page?

Becky Claggett [00:02:09] Absolutely. There's some things that show up over and over again. And I'll just list a few things, such as start with center islands and a kitchen. If that center island is a piece of furniture, meaning it's movable like you can move a couch, then the buyers are going to be surprised when they show up and it's not in the kitchen. If it was in their intention for it to be there, it needs to go into the contract. Listing agents can help by saying if it's meant to be taken out, they can put that in the listing and let the people know so they can get it in there. Lisa mentioned bathroom mirrors. We're hearing that over and over because there's these large, beautiful decor mirrors. And if they're just hung on the wall like a picture, they're just like any other picture in the house. So again, they need to be included in the items to convey. If they're mounted, then they convey. If they're hung, then they don't convey. Wall-mounted TV's Lisa mentioned, does the TV stay, does the brackets stay? Does the TV go and the bracket doesn't? Does the bracket go and then there's big holes in the wall? Is your expectation for the holes to be patched? Just be very specific about what you want in those situations. It's very, very important. Exterior cameras on the house is another one we see a lot. And do you expect them to stay or are they personal property? Do you expect them to go? Just be clear, again, listing agents can help out by putting those things in the agent remarks about what does not convey. I thought of an annoying one. Satellites on a house. I believe we've seen houses and three satellites from three different companies in the past because they don't remove those. And and the buyer says, why is that on my house? So, if you want it gone you need to ask for it because it's probably going to stay. Keys is another one. We know everybody should rekey, but you kind of would like to have a key to the doors of your house. And so that's important. Which brings in codes, codes for garage door openers, codes for keyless entry. Those are those are all very, very important. Trash and recycle cans is another one. They often end up with the neighbor down the street. So, make sure you check them off in the items to convey. Swing sets that are cemented in is another one. And you often can't tell because the grass is grown around it. So, do you want the swing set to stay or do you want it to go? Make sure you address it. Electronic items is one of the big tickets right now, such as Nest thermostat or Ring doorbells. Do they stay or do they go? Do they happen to be leased? Sometimes those thermostats are leased or those Ring doorbells are leased. And one unusual one we saw recently was smart light bulbs. These light bulbs can have cameras on them. These light bulbs can be Bluetooth, they can play music. They can do colors like a disco in your kitchen. But anyway, so those are things that we have seen over and over again. The item is that the key is just to be clear.

Andrea Rice [00:05:23] Yeah. And some of those things that you know that you're mentioning, I wouldn't have even thought of like the smart light bulbs or but, you know, that's a good point. With technology changing, there's a lot of things to consider. Do you think there's any good rule of thumb that people can apply when it comes to items to convey that they can follow?

Lisa Frates [00:05:43] Yeah, and I think that if you refer to the contract, it talks about you're selling the land and all the improvements on in any fixtures. And usually, and I think Becky said this, too, if it's attached to the property, that has been a rough rule of thumb that it's going to stay. And Becky and I were chatting about this earlier and she was saying that she had one seller that wanted to leave the mounted floodlights on the outside of the house, but not their cameras. And so maybe what we're best practices is trying to counsel our sellers to remove some of these items before they put their house on the market. And then it's not an issue. That can help save a lot of negotiating and stress at the time of the contract or the walk-through.

Andrea Rice [00:06:35] Yeah, that's a good point. So, both of you have been in real estate for a while, so I'm sure you have experienced some funny, or amusing, or peculiar situations where there is confusion over an item that maybe the seller thought should go and the buyer thought should stay. Do you have any amusing stories you can share with us?

Becky Claggett [00:07:01] Well, I have one. I don't know how amusing it is but we had a buyer and seller that were at odds with each other, which sometimes happens not all the time, but it does happen. And the contract clearly asked for the curtains to convey. And when the buyer got there, the to the walk through the curtains were neatly folded up and under each window, but all of the rods and the hardware for it was gone, which was not the expectation. It would have been a simple to say curtain and curtain rods to convey. And so that would be one thing. I do have a story that is is kind of delightful, I think. I call it the best conveyance ever. And it was an individual who was selling their home and going to a retirement home. And he was just so distraught because he didn't have anything to do with his pet. The buyers found out about it and they asked for the kitty to stay and it became part of the contract. And the way they addressed it to the seller is we would like your kitty to become part of our family. And it was it was very heartwarming

Lisa Frates [00:08:07] That's a great story.

Andrea Rice [00:08:10] Yes, I love that.

Lisa Frates [00:08:13] Yeah. Yes. I don't know that. I think if you're on a walk-through and the buyer is expecting something to be there and it's not and I don't know how amusing it is, but I will say we had in the contract that all the window treatments are to stay. And when we got there, the bedroom curtains were gone. And we're calling the seller trying to get these curtains back. And the sellers like it matched my bedspread. The whole set came together. I'm not leaving my curtains, you know, so that’s happened. I've also had where we walked in and the fireplace mantle was missing. And when we tried to track that one down, they said, "no when we bought it it didn't have a mantel and it was a decorative shelf that was not really the mantel." So, you know, again, I think you just have to be really careful and list everything out and just make sure it's in your contract.

Andrea Rice [00:09:06] Yeah, good point. If there can be confusion and make sure it's in that in the contract. Well, I think that clears up a lot with items to convey. And I know that we, you know, we all get questions on that sometimes about what should stay, what should go. Before we sign off, do you have any last parting thoughts or anything you'd like to add?

Becky Claggett [00:09:30] Absolutely. I think the biggest key is to communicate with the other agent, make sure you have what your client expects to convey. So, communicate well with your client, and make sure whatever conveys is clearly outlined in the purchase agreement. So often people in this market especially are in a frenzy to get everything done. So, make sure the expectations are clearly outlined in the contract. And listing agents, you can help out too by putting in the remarks, you know, the Nest thermostat will be replaced or the Ring doorbell will be replaced. Those are things that would be easy enough to do to identify the seller, considers those their personal property.

Andrea Rice [00:10:16] Good point.

Lisa Frates [00:10:18] I would just add that oftentimes, what's in the listing doesn't show up in the purchase agreement. And so, I've had agents go back and say, hey, the washer dryer was offered in the listing. If it's not in the purchase agreement, they do not have to stay. So, you need to make sure you list everything out. And I'll just give a best practices but sometimes it has in our contract the number of ceiling fans or the number of trash cans, and I just recommend, I think best practices is putting a number in there, not all. The word all or existing. And then sometimes you have to sit if you have some forward-thinking and you can do that when you're showing the property to count everything out, that's great. If not, hopefully, you got some good photos. You can go back in and add those in and count them.

Andrea Rice [00:11:08] Good tip. Thank you. Lisa, Becky, thank you so much for coming on today and talking about items to convey. And of course, you can check out all previous episodes of REINCheck by going to REINMLS.com/podcast. And in the meantime, if you have any suggestions for our REIN Sales Managers' Advisory Committee, be sure to send those suggestions to SMAC@reininc.com and we will make sure that your suggestion gets on an upcoming meeting agenda. Thanks again and have a great day.

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VO [00:11:42] You've been listening to REINCheck with Andrea Rice. Stay in the know from those who know. Delivered straight from the source, REIN MLS.

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