A seller can take all the light bulbs before closing. I have heard tale of sellers doing just that to be spiteful. Is it an urban myth? I cannot say for sure, since it never happened to any of my clients. Real estate has its own norms, which basically conform to law and common sense. But some things defy logic, unless you understand the overarching rule.
When I write an Offer to Purchase, there is a section where I can add in anything that is not real estate that my client wants included in the sale. This section is usually used for refrigerators, washers and dryers. I also add anything that is in the “grey area” between personal items and real estate.
Personalty or chattel is everything in the house that was not built into it or built specifically for it. Chattel includes washers, dryers, refrigerators, furniture, chairs, bookshelves, rugs, curtains, and such.
Realty is everything that is attached to the house, wired in, or built specifically for it. So chandeliers are realty, dishwashers are realty. So are the counters, cabinets, sinks, fireplace mantles, walls, floors, wall-to-wall carpets, and such.
The “grey area” is anything that seems to be attached, but is not or things that seem to be not attached, that are. Common examples of this are large, heavy mirrors over mantles. If the mirror is bolted into the wall, it is real estate. If it is hanging on a brace, it is chattel; but, the brace is real estate. Same thing for big TVs. Curtain rods are chattel, but the braces that hold the curtain rod are realty; that’s the kind of thing that everyone should agree about before closing.
Another wrench in the works is that Massachusetts law requires that all residential properties have a stove. So, the stove does not have to be written into the offer. Every once in a while, a seller will exclude a specific stove, but will also promise to install another one before closing. Get it?
I am beginning to wonder whether people are going to start taking their light bulbs. The new LED bulbs are rather pricy. They are being advertised as $10 a bulb, but the bulbs will last 20 years.
Starting January 1, 2014, the old energy-hog incandescent light bulbs are no longer available. Instead, you can get the first-generation CFL lights or you can have $10 bulbs in all your fixtures.
The CLF bulbs have their problems. First, some people hate the white light. Second, they are polluters; they have mercury in them and make a mess if broken and are a mess for landfills.
I did a quick look around my house. In the overhead fixtures, I have 19 bulbs.
If I were selling, would I be spiteful enough to take nearly $200 worth of bulbs that I can use in my next place? Unlikely. But that may be just me.
If I were renting, would I be annoyed at a landlord that didn’t replace overhead bulbs? Likely. Would I go out of my way to take my bulbs with me when I left. Hummm… It would depend on the landlord.
I have twice had sellers take all light bulbs, blinds, ouside window covers and every scrap of toilet paper. And of course the ones who do this also leave behind lots of weeds and debris and junk in the yards and filthy houses. This has happened twice in the last three houses we have purchased in the last 7 years. One primary residence and two rentals. Home sellers often let their emotions and their own personal greed and needs over rule logic.
In both of the cases listed above, I had to involve real estate lawyers in order to get agreed to repairs and closing dates adhered to. It isn’t my fault that they get sellers remorse over the contract price or the new house they were having built has been delayed. But I’m also the type pf guy who honors his word and the contracts I sign and doesn’t try to inconvenience or work over someone else just because some undesirable unrelated thing happens to me.
Now I make sure to include an extra page of terms in any offers and also just accept/expect I will need to spend an extra $2k after closing to get the property acceptable.
Tony, I am glad you are the kind of guy who honors his word. Not everyone is like that. Some people are not honest, or get petty, or get lazy, or something. Generally, any problem can be resolved with money. But, it is disappointing that people are not good to their word. Our practice is to be specific in the offer document about chattel that is in the grey area. We also always do a walk-through just before closing, so that we can check for our clients that what should be gone is gone and what should stay is still there. A couple of times a year, there has to be a hold-back so that the buyers can repair damage or remove leftover trash that the sellers did not do per the contract they signed.
Additional advice to buyers: take pictures at the walk-through; this avoids denial of the problem at the closing table.
My light bulbs cost $50 each… I think the landlord can either pay me a depreciated rate for said light bulbs or go buy some lights and pay someone to install them. It is not petty because It is my money and she never had to pay for a light bulb or anything for the last ten years. Perhaps it is petty to never repair or replace anything…
Did the property have light bulbs when you moved in? Then there should be light bulbs when you move out. They do not have to be the high-quality ones you have in there now. They belong to you. You are required to leave the place as you found it. Sounds like you should consider leaving soon. You don’t like your landlord. There are better people out there to pay rent to.
Common courtesy. I wouldn’t leave a buyer in the dark. I’d also make sure there is toilet paper in every bathroom; I’ll even leave the free-standing toilet paper holder for the bathroom that doesn’t have a holder mounted to the wall.
That said, I’d probably take my stock of incandescent bulbs languishing in the back of the closet and swap out my more expensive efficient bulbs. Only the ones in easy reach.
All this assumes the buyer has been an honest upstanding guy. You can call it petty, but frankly it’s delicious revenge for a seller that has been bullied and lied to by a buyer.