Blog

By: Kat Valentine

Category: Panorama

Posted: October 11, 2006 9:37 PM

Tags: COMMUNITY, GENERAL

Moving Etiquette

My life is so focused on moving these days it's like living in tunnel vision. Tomorrow our buyer will do the final walkthrough of our place before we close on the sale, and so tonight we are rushing around like crazy. It's difficult to make our half-packed, messy moving zone resemble the cozy bungalow it once was, back in the days when a night at home meant dinner, TV, maybe getting ready for some fun event. Lately, it's been nothing but clean, pack, store, and mess it all up again in the process. Which leads me to an etiquette question I thought I'd throw out there for you. What constitutes included items, other than the obvious stuff (appliances, built-ins, etc.)? For instance, I want to take down a set of two decorative floral wall sculptures that also happen to serve as hooks near our back entrance. I think they fall under the category of art, and therefore personal property we should take with us. Hubby thinks that since they are screwed into the walls, they ought to stay. (His screwed-in argument worked in the kitchen, where a heavy-duty metal wall shelf / pot rack is installed above the stove to hang pots, utensils, cookbooks etc. That will stay.) Obviously this is one of those only-important-right-this-second discussions, but we can't really seem to reach an agreement on this. Can I get a second (or third, fourth) opinion on my little household dilemma?

Comments

You might consider using a rule of thumb that is legally used to determine what a fixture is (used in landlord-tenant law and secured interest transactions). Basically, if it can be removed without damaging the structure, it is most likely not a fixture (there are some exceptions, like refrigerators that have cabinets custom-built around them). As a result, an electronic thermostat probably shouldn't be replaced with a traditional thermostat, but something that is nailed/screwed into the walls is probably okay to take down (note that a screw and nail will leave a very similar result -- hence, if the screwed argument made sense, your photographs should stay as well). Ask your real estate agent, or just paint-over the holes -- they'll probably not be the wiser, if it's just etiquette you're concerned about. Finally, check your contract for any available definitions.

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