Fixtures
Fixtures that are included in the sale of a property mean anything that is permanently attached to the house or landscape. Such items would include ceiling fans, chandliers, built-in appliances, window screens and coverings, in-ground trees and shrubs.
There are some items that are usually included which are not considered fixtures. Examples of these are attached satellite dish, pool/spa equipment, garage door opener remotes, free-standing range, fireplace gas logs and grate.
If the seller intends to take anything that may be considered part of the sale, they need to specify that on the purchase contract during negotiations. They can not decide to take something at the last minute while they are moving out. That would be breaching the contract.
jOHNNIE TAYLOR Said,
November 21, 2007 @ 7:16 pm
When you purchase a funeral home are the pews in the chapel considered a fixture. The sellers did not specify selling them in the contract but after the closing of the property they now want to ask the buyers to purchase them or they are thretening to pull them up. Is this legal?
Mike Said,
December 15, 2007 @ 11:43 am
A fixture is something that, due to incorporation or affixation, becomes permanently attached to the real property. So if it is attached in a way meant to be permanent, like hard-wired in, screwed down, set in concrete or plaster, it is considered part of the property.
If it can be picked up and moved, free-standing benches/pews for example, it would be personal property. Any personal property “chattel” in question should be spelled out in the sales agreement, otherwise it’s not part of the sale.
If the funeral home was purchased as a business and not only real estate, the sales agreement should have specified what furniture and equipment are included in the sale. It’s always better to be more detailed, at the risk of being redundant, than to make any assumptions.
Doesn’t seem honest or sincere for the sellers to come back after the sale to ask you to purchase the pews after the sale. If the pews were not included, they should have disclosed this and negotiated it as part of the sale.
If the pews are fixtures and part of the sale, you may want to consult an attorney lay out your legal position in defense against the seller’s claim.
Lane Said,
May 2, 2008 @ 1:24 pm
hi mike, sorry i’m a little late on the discussion. but in johnnie’s example, wouldn’t the pews be part of the sale regardless of how they’re affixed to the property? i thought that if a fixture is essential to the functionality of a property then it was considered to be part of the sale, as removing the pews would render the chapel useless.
Mike Said,
May 2, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
In this situation, Johnnie would have been best served by having a business sales agreement (addressing licensing, furniture & equipment, fixtures and improvements, client lists, and business practices…etc) with sale of commercial property (buildings and land).
It is possible to have a sales agreement without reference or warranty as to intended use. The functionality as a funeral home may not have been part of the sales agreement. It is not unusual for buildings to be converted to other uses after a sale. We simply don’t know the details of how the sale agreement was structured.