Fixtures and Fittings ….

Every Offer To Purchase (‘OTP’) has / should have a specific clause where the Purchaser and Seller agrees on which fixtures and fittings to be included or excluded as part of the Sale Agreement. This is done by mutual agreement on presentation of the OTP. Once the OTP is signed by all parties involved it becomes very difficult to change any clauses or conditions and must therefore be done prior to acceptance. Sellers should, as part of the Mandate Agreement be advised by their agents to specify any inclusions or exclusions of fixtures and fittings in the mandate agreement so that prospective purchasers can be informed accordingly when viewing the property.

To make this process easier, our OTP includes the following items as standard fixtures and fittings thatMAY NOT be removed unless otherwise specified in writing. The specific clause reads as follows ….

“The Property is sold with all fixtures and fittings of a permanent nature, which the Seller warrants are fully paid for, and owned solely by the Seller, including all existing garden trees / shrubs / plants, stove, electrical light fittings / shades and (if any) curtain rails / rods / pelmets / blinds, swimming pool equipment / filters / motors, fitted carpets, fitted kitchen storage units, post box, electrical geyser(s), TV aerial, DSTV satellite dish, burglar alarm system, door-bell / knocker, keys and remotes. All electrical items are to be in working order on date of occupation. The purchaser is aware that the radio transmitter connected to the alarm system (if applicable) is the property of …………………………………………Security Company”, where the radio transmitter is therefore excluded.

The OTP also gives the Seller / Purchaser the opportunity to specify any inclusions / exclusions to this clause. Inclusions would be any NON-fixtures that will be sold with the property. Exclusions would be any fixtures that will be removed are not sold with the property. Apart from the items mentioned in the clause above, fixtures and fittings in general can be understood as being as the following:

Any items that form part of the permanent structure of the property such as built-in cupboards and vanities, mirrors, towel and curtain rails, blinds, shutters, light fittings & switches, light bulbs, security systems, built-in heaters, fans and air conditioning systems, gate / garage door motors & automated systems or anything that is bolted, nailed or screwed onto the property can be seen as fixtures. If, for example, there are bathroom cupboards hanging on the walls of the bathroom with towel rails attached to the cupboards, Purchasers viewing the property could assume that these cupboards and rails are fixtures as they won’t know if the cupboards are bolted to the wall or hanging on screws / nails like portraits / paintings. Sellers might think that these are non-fixtures and remove them causing huge frustration and unhappiness when the new owners take occupation.

According to our OTP the complete DSTV dish or any other antennas / dishes, brackets and cables are also seen as fixtures and therefore, unless excluded, are sold with the property. As previously mentioned, the Seller should exclude all of these items during the listing and mandate process and prior to signing any OTP in order to avoid unnecessary unhappiness and disappointment later on.

Should any items, deemed to be fixtures, be excluded, the purchaser may request that it be replaced by the Seller with a suitable alternative / replacement item. Take the DSTV dish for example: If the Seller has a very expensive, multifunctional DSTV dish and “LNB” combination and he / she would not like to sell it with the property, it should be excluded in writing and replaced with a suitable replacement / alternative system if necessary. The Purchasers may also request that should any fixtures be removed from the walls of the property where it was bolted onto the walls, that the holes be filled and the walls painted, or not, depending on what has been agreed. Purchasers may also decide to include certain items that are non-fixtures such as loose standing cupboards, pot plants, curtains etc. which the Purchasers may or may not agree to.

All the above should be negotiated and written into the OTP prior to finalizing and signing of the OTP to avoid any future misunderstanding.

We hope that you find the information useful. Happy selling. If you need any assistance with the sale of your property in the Roodepoort, Gauteng area, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Marnus Steyn: 072 264 7806 / marnus@steynrealty.co.za

Juanita Steyn: 083 604 1231 / juanita@steynrealty.co.za

To view all out available stock, please visit our website at www.steynrealty.co.za

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