Once you list your house on the market, things start happening real fast; from listing to the actual signing of contracts, the time flies. It can be difficult to know what stays behind for the next owner and what you get to take with you.
Curtain rods will stay behind for the next owner of the house and generally do not get taken by the previous owner. All objects of appliances that are permanently fixed to the walls or floors will stay.
Before you know it, you will be packing your stuff to move to your new place, but here comes the confusing part, what to leave behind.
There is a whole debate about what you can leave behind and what you can take. There is an extensive list of things that stay and go when you move houses.
So, what rule applies to this list of items? Let’s consider the real estate laws about fixtures.
Real Estate Laws About Fixtures
According to real estate, anything that is a fixture stays, and anything that isn’t a fixture can leave with the previous owner of the house.
This means the rooted trees stay, while you can take the potted plants to your new home.
While this law is mostly easy to understand, there are still a few grey areas like mirrors, paintings, and curtain rods.
Compared to the rods, the curtains are easy to determine; as they slide on and off the rod and are not fixtures.
They are also pretty expensive, so the owner can take them when they sell the house. The rods, meanwhile, stay with the house.
Exceptions To The Rule
There are always exceptions to the rule, and you can check for these expectations in your state’s real estate lawbook.
For example, in the state of Texas, the curtains are also considered fixtures, so they stay behind with the rods.
Other states have such exceptions as well. So before you move, make sure you know the rules and the exceptions to the rules.
If you need an item to be included in the “take with you” list, you need to take it to your real estate agent and add that to your agreement before negotiating with the buyer.
Can You Still Negotiate The Fixtures?
Unless stated clearly as the inventory, the rods are considered fixtures, thereby staying behind.
If you’d like to take the rods with you, you will need to list them as inventory and then negotiate it with the buyer of the house. This also applies to other fixtures of the home.
Can Removing Curtain Rods Negatively Impact The Deal?
Yes, it might. Being petty serves no one; it’s better to let the rods go than have a negative impact on the sale of the house.
There are people who might call the whole deal off just on this tiny disagreement of the curtain rods.
It’s not about the rods, though; it’s more about the new owner’s right as per the laws.
Most of the time in real estate, sellers take out their resentments on the buyer by taking things that are no longer theirs as per the real estate laws.
They do so more often when the deal doesn’t go as per their wishes.
How To Keep The Rods When Selling the House
There are always ways to fix an argument in real estate; as they say, “when there is a will, there is a way.”
If the curtains and their unique rods are very dear to the seller, they should remove and replace it with a simpler one even before they put the house on the market.
This way, the buyer never sees them and can’t claim them.
When you take out window fixtures, it leaves holes and damage to the walls, so make sure you get that repaired as well.
Ways To Negotiate Without Causing a Rift Between Buyer and Seller
If you can’t take and replace the fixtures in time, there is still a way to negotiate this if the buyer agrees.
List all the things you wish to negotiate before closing the deal. Let the buyer assess the situation and accept or negotiate the factors you bring up.
Curtain rods aren’t that big of a deal, but when people move in, they like to have some privacy; hence the curtains and their rods have become an issue.
More sellers assume the fixtures are theirs to take, especially if they have been living in the hose for over a couple of decades.
However, the buyer often assumes the seller knows the law. It’s the duty of the real estate agent to educate the seller and nip the issues of fixtures and fittings in the bud.
Conclusion to Taking or Leaving Curtain Rods
You are allowed to take the curtain rods with you if you negotiate about them in the agreement before the buyer signs it. However, most commonly, curtain rods are a fixture and will be left behind for the new owner of the home.
This is called the real estate law of fixtures, and means other things bolted into the home will also be left behind.
