Buying a lifestyle
Everything is negotiable, especially in real estate, but if your buyer wants your grandmother’s tea pot collection should you include it in the sale? If your home is being marketed as turnkey ready then the answer may be yes.
ZipRealty, an on line real estate brokerage company, defines turnkey as homes that don’t require any major repairs or renovations. In addition, turnkey could mean that everything in the house comes with the sale – furniture, art, silverware, linens, dishes and just about anything else. Basically buyers who want to buy a home that is totally turnkey are actually buying a lifestyle, your lifestyle.
According to the Los Angeles Times, fully appointed homes are the latest fad in the ultra-luxury market, especially celebrity homes, which come with instant bragging rights, convenience and style.
There are plenty of buyers who are looking for homes that they can close on Tuesday morning and sleep in on Tuesday night and are willing to pay the extra money to make that happen. Do these buyers just want a fresh start or are they too busy or lazy to set up a new home? Whatever the reason, turnkey real estate transactions aren’t going away and are crossing over all price ranges.
Certainly sellers are not particularly opposed to selling homes with their contents and are more than willing to leave sheets, towels, drapery, pots and pans, magazines and houseplants. They may look at it as a fresh start, particularly if they’re retiring or relocating to a different part of the country, where shipping household items can become very expensive. Uncle Jack’s grandfather clock may lose its sentimental value once you see how much it costs to move, especially if the buyer just loves the way it looks in the entrance hall.
Vacation and second home properties frequently sell as all inclusive more often than other homes. Understandably, second home buyers tend to own multiple residences and don’t want to take the time to outfit a home. This is certainly the case on Anna Maria Island and in many other areas along both the east and west coasts of Florida. In recent years right here on Anna Maria, there has been an increase in new or renovated rental condo ownership properties, which are sold totally inclusive with all kitchen equipment, linens, outdoor furniture, barbeques and even beach towels.
However, purchasing or negotiating an all inclusive sale can be tricky. It is recommended that each item be inventoried and included in the sales agreement and contract, and don’t leave anything to just a handshake or oral confirmation. Imagine the buyers coming for their final walk-through before the closing and the antique dining room table they thought they heard you say was staying is gone. In the case of a vacation rental property, an inventory of every item may be a little too detailed, but at the very least the sales contract should include a broad range of items being included.
A lot of real estate professionals and attorneys discourage their clients from including the contents of the property in the sales price and recommend contracting separately for these items.
It would make the property sale less murky, and since personal property left in the home is not included in a property appraisal, there is no financial benefit to the buyer.
I guess if you want an instant lifestyle, sleeping in someone else’s sheets won’t seem so weird and will save you the trip to Bed Bath & Beyond, but you should probably draw the line at the gold fish and baseball trophies.