If you've ever been out house hunting you know that the way the interior is set up definitely makes a difference. Some home sellers pay for professional staging to have their house looking as good as possible. If you see the perfect room set up, you may be wondering if you can actually buy the furnishings along with the house. So, can you ask for the furniture when buying a house, and is it common practice?
Furniture and personal belongings can be included in a home sale contract. You can ask during negotiations that not only appliances and fixtures but also specific pieces of furniture or home goods be included in the sale of a home, but it is not common practice and is subject to both the buyer and seller agreeing on what to include. Things that are permanently attached or affixed to the house are included in the sale of the home by default.
If you still have some additional questions about buying furniture along with the house, don't worry. For your convenience, we laid out all the rules and practices of negotiating furniture when buying a house. Read on to learn more about how the process works!
Objects Of Negotiation
The rule for whether something is expected to be included in the sale of a home is based on how it is attached to the property. Anything that is permanently attached to the property is called a fixture. Fixtures include anything built-in, part of, permanently glued, or fastened to the home.
These fixtures always go along with the sale of the home unless the contract specifically excludes them. Since most furniture is not permanently attached, it is not automatically included in a sale.
That does not mean you can't add them to the contract, however. An offer to purchase a home can include many different provisions and clauses. The home buyer can include the furniture or any specific piece of decor with the purchase.
This can affect the negotiations going forward for both parties. The buyer may be willing to offer more for the home if additional personal property is included. In effect, they would almost be buying the furniture by increasing the price offered for the home.
When selling, it's best to just remove the headache entirely and either have the home empty or vacant while it's on the market. That way, buyers can engage with the home price as it is and not be worried about accounting for furniture.
You should also not leave anything very valuable to you like curtains or rugs in a home because a buyer may see them and then feel like the home would be incomplete without them. Then you would have to either let go of it in the sale or lose the deal entirely.
Do Rugs Count As Furniture?
Rugs, like most furniture, are not permanently attached to a house so they don't automatically transfer with a home sale. Whether rugs are classified as furniture or not would depend on who you ask. An area rug that truly fits a room can make a big difference, and buyers who see it may ask for it to be included. Curtains, rugs, and things that can be considered not furniture by some are more commonly asked for in a sale.
Should You Buy Furniture Before Buying A House?
There are some possible drawbacks to buying furniture before moving into your new home. If you haven't measured precisely yet, then the pieces may not even fit. You may also think something will look great but then you realize it doesn't fit well in the flow of the home. It is often best to wait until you are more comfortable with a home, how it feels, and how the light changes it throughout the day.
If you're trying to get a good deal on new furniture for your home, check out this guide: Can You Haggle At Furniture Stores?
You may be wondering how to fill up all the empty space at first if you don't buy any furniture before moving in. If you're in the middle of buying the house and it is vacant, you can visit it and figure out what furniture would work.
Make good measurements, and ensure you have a good feeling for the space before committing to buy furniture. Try to make sure that what you buy will fit in with the old furniture that you'll be bringing over.
After the delivery of your old furniture, check out this guide for best practices: Should You Tip Furniture Delivery Drivers?
Is It Better To Sell A House With Or Without Furniture?
It is best to sell a house with no furniture. There is no way of knowing the personal style and taste of the buyer who ends up purchasing the house. They may not like the furniture and request you exclude it so they can pay less.
Including furniture also changes the price, and makes it more difficult for buyers to determine the true value of the home. Including furniture at the start is also uncommon and may make buyers question why you're doing it; the buyer might think the furniture is old or that it has issues.
You can try staging a house instead and giving buyers an option to buy the staged furniture. This way you can present the home in the best light with modern decor, while not necessarily including it as part of the sale. If the buyers want to buy it, then you don't have to worry about losing some of your furniture, as the staging company is the owner of the furniture.
Is It Better To Stage A House Or Leave It Empty?
Staged homes generally sell for more and spend less time on the market. Good neutral staging will let any buyer imagine themselves in the homes. Empty rooms or outdated styles can leave an impression on buyers that is hard to undo.
Realtors who sell homes mostly agree that staging helps to increase the offer price of homes by some percentage of the total cost. Staging can even be done only in specific rooms to bring more attention to the good qualities in a home.
Though it takes some effort to move furniture into and out of a home for staging, the returns can be well worth it. Homes that are staged often bring in more people, attract more attention, and ultimately bring in a better offer for the seller. Empty houses can seem abandoned or uncared for.
Ask And You May Receive
You can ask for furniture or basically anything you want when putting in an offer to buy a house. It's up to you and the seller to come to an agreement on what gets included with the home during the sale. You can negotiate with the seller and pay more to include the furniture, or ask that furniture not be included and offer less.
The most important thing with the home buying process is to ask for what you want, and then see if you can make it happen.