If you’re in the market for a new home, it’s an exciting time for you and your family. It might also be a bit stressful, especially if your need for a new home arose unexpectedly. As you begin touring South Carolina homes for sale, you might have specific needs in mind, such as a minimum number of bedrooms or a fully equipped kitchen. It can be helpful to compile a list of the features that you consider essential.
Doing so enables your agents to streamline your search. In conjunction with your list of must-haves for a new home, you might also wonder which items are likely to convey and which will not. While there aren’t formal real estate laws or regulations regarding conveyance, there are unspoken, general rules about items sellers should typically leave behind or take with them.
If it’s a built-item, it should convey
Imagine making an offer on a home that attracted your interest because of beautiful, built-in bookshelves in the family room. Perhaps you’re an avid reader and just couldn’t wait to add your own book collection to the shelves. Imagine further, how you would feel if you later discover that the previous homeowners had dismantled the bookshelves and taken them with them to install in their new home elsewhere.
Built-in items, such as shelves, custom-made doors and other semi- permanent structures are meant to convey with a home sale by default. Other items that can technically be uninstalled, such as ceiling fans, mailboxes and swimming pool or spa equipment or irrigation systems, should also be left behind by the seller. Also, an appliance that is not built-in is usually still expected to convey unless buyers and sellers negotiate otherwise.
Sellers should take these things with them when they move
Just as you should be able to expect the items mentioned in the previous section to convey with your new home, there are also certain things that you can expect to no longer be there when you move in. For instance, when you move into your new home, there should no artwork left hanging on the walls unless you negotiated it into the sale.
There definitely should be no piles of junk, garbage or debris anywhere, unless it is at the curb awaiting a trash pickup day that is pending and you told the sellers it was okay to leave it there. The previous owner’s furniture should all be gone when you move into a new home unless it is an item that you wanted and they agreed to incorporate it into the transaction.
Certain exterior items should always convey with a new home
You might take this for granted, but it’s worth mentioning, especially if you’re buying a home with an extensive, professional landscape outdoors. If there are rare trees, rosebushes or flowers in a bed, these items should always be left behind by the sellers. You wouldn’t want to pull up to the curb in a moving truck only to discover a gaping hole in the ground where the previous owners had an entire tree removed!
If you aren’t sure whether a particular item conveys with a home you’re interested in buying, always ask before making an offer. Your agents can advocate on your behalf if there is a certain conveyance you would like to negotiate into your sale. If you and the seller are negotiating any type of special deal, it’s best to put it in writing to avoid confusion or disputes.