The running around naked thing is worth whatever effort and financial
jiggering you have to do. My GF doesn't like living way out in the sticks,
in a house that's completely shielded from the road by masses of shrubs and
trees. Too far from some of what she likes in the city. But...the naked
advantage....that's the main selling point. Her only problem occurred about
3 weeks back, after a major storm ripped through the area. While sunbathing,
she was reminded that the electric company sometimes uses a helicopter to
located downed power lines.

Doug Kanter wrote:
Based on this logic (and you KNOW I'm kidding), fake leaves should be
glued to the trees if the buyer made the purchase offer before autumn.

I'll accept that you're kidding, but I don't get what you're saying at all.

paghat wrote:

When we sell our place I'm taking as much of the garden with me as
possible. It's over-planted by most peoples' standards anyway & it'll
still look like a jungle even if I take my favorite least replaceable
perennials & half to two-thirds of the rhody collection (other big shrubs
probably won't be moved as it'd be too hard & some of them might not
survive uprooting, but rhodies are easy to move). The house is so big that
it'll probably sell to a family that wants more lawn for children & a dog
to play, & some of the gardens would be sacrified even if I left
everything behind. But it'll be discussed with potential buyers so that
nobody's unhappy with what happens.


Yep. It's that simple! That's all I'm saying. The buyer should be aware
whenever a fixture isn't going to stay, and if it's planted in the ground
(even only part of the year like a bulb or tuber that gets lifted), it's a
fixture.

Your sales contract can simply state certain elements of the landscaping
will be removed as per discussion. How well you document the discussion may
depend on the buyer, although in the current state in most real estate
markets, if you don't like the buyer, and have any hint that they're going
to be litigious, you can reject their offer, and someone more reasonable
will come along soon enough.

Still, someone's love can be undocumented, but their commitment may only be
as good as the documentation that goes with it.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Have an outdoor project? Get a Black & Decker power tool::
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker/

"Warren" wrote in message
...
Doug Kanter wrote:
Based on this logic (and you KNOW I'm kidding), fake leaves should be
glued to the trees if the buyer made the purchase offer before autumn.

I'll accept that you're kidding, but I don't get what you're saying at
all.


Warren, your explanation of your viewpoint is legally and logically
beautiful, and it sounds like you're either a lawyer or an experienced
realtor. But, even the law allows for the fact that logic doesn't jive with
reality. If we're talking about a climate like mine, where cannas are
virtually guaranteed to die if left in the ground through the winter, you're
saying that they should be left in the ground. Or, maybe I should dig them
up, put them in a box, and give them to the buyers with a photograph of
their previous location, and planting instructions.

But, based on that logic, a buyer (albeit an intensely stupid one) could go
to court and say that when they put in their purchase offer, in early
September, there were leaves on the trees. However, when they finally took
possession in mid-October, the trees were bare and they now want some sort
of compensation. After all, those leaves were as much a part of the
landscape as the cannas.

"Warren" wrote in message
...
paghat wrote:

When we sell our place I'm taking as much of the garden with me as
possible. It's over-planted by most peoples' standards anyway & it'll
still look like a jungle even if I take my favorite least replaceable
perennials & half to two-thirds of the rhody collection (other big shrubs
probably won't be moved as it'd be too hard & some of them might not
survive uprooting, but rhodies are easy to move). The house is so big
that
it'll probably sell to a family that wants more lawn for children & a dog
to play, & some of the gardens would be sacrified even if I left
everything behind. But it'll be discussed with potential buyers so that
nobody's unhappy with what happens.


Yep. It's that simple! That's all I'm saying. The buyer should be aware
whenever a fixture isn't going to stay, and if it's planted in the ground
(even only part of the year like a bulb or tuber that gets lifted), it's a
fixture.

Your sales contract can simply state certain elements of the landscaping
will be removed as per discussion.

Now I *really* think you're a lawyer! Squirrels move 20% of the bulbs
around, or completely away from my property. Should I put a waver in the
sales contract when I sell this place??? That's really catering to a stupid
buyer.

Doug Kanter wrote:
Warren, your explanation of your viewpoint is legally and logically
beautiful, and it sounds like you're either a lawyer or an experienced
realtor.

I am a Realtor (r).

But, even the law allows for the fact that logic doesn't jive with
reality. If we're talking about a climate like mine, where cannas are
virtually guaranteed to die if left in the ground through the winter,
you're saying that they should be left in the ground.

I NEVER said any such thing. I never even implied or infered such a thing.
In fact, I think I implied the oposite.

Leaving the cannas in the ground when they should have been lifted would be
neglecting normal maintenance. You don't get to stop maintaining the
property upon acceptance of an offer. You still have to mow the lawn. You
still have to vaccuum the carpet. You still have to fix a roof that starts
leaking. You're still the care taker of the property. Not lifting the bulbs
when they should be lifted is neglecting your responsiblity to maintain the
real property.

Or, maybe I should dig them up, put them in a box, and give them to the
buyers with a photograph of their previous location, and planting
instructions.

Just like storm windows, if you seasonally remove a fixture, the fixture
should remain on the property. Whether you bother to give the new owner
instructions is up to you. Plenty of homeowners have discovered that each
storm window only fits over a specific window, and the previous owner left
no instructions. It's not a very nice thing to do to the next owner, but
it's not required that you're nice. It's only required that you not take
fixtures with you unless you have an agreement to do so.

But, based on that logic, a buyer (albeit an intensely stupid one) could
go to court and say that when they put in their purchase offer, in early
September, there were leaves on the trees. However, when they finally took
possession in mid-October, the trees were bare and they now want some sort
of compensation. After all, those leaves were as much a part of the
landscape as the cannas.

I'm not following why you think falling leaves has anything to do with the
discussion.

The tree is a fixture. If you cut down, removed, or significantly damaged
the tree, there's a problem. But I don't understand how that has anything to
do with falling leaves. I don't follow how you can even twist the theory of
what's real property and what's personal property around to something as odd
as this. Your thought is definitely not following any kind of logic.


How did this become such a big deal? Plants are fixtures. Fixtures are part
of real property. When you sell the real property, the fixtures go with the
property. If a seller wants to remove a fixture, that needs to be part of
the agreement with the buyer. The property and the fixtures need to be
properly maintained by the seller between accepting an offer, and turning
over possession after closing.

If maintain the plant involves lifting the bulbs, then that process
continues regardless of what's happening with any sale of the property. The
seller continues maintaining the property as long as they own the property.
Once the buyer takes possession the buyer can do whatever they want with the
landscape (within the laws and CC&R's). At that point they, the new owner,
can dispose of any of the fixtures as they see fit.

There's nothing complex about this whole process. The problem comes when the
seller doesn't recognize a fixture is a fixture. And plants, with the
exception of the harvest from annual crops, are fixtures.

Remember to treat your cannas as fixtures. That is, if you intend to take
them with you, it needs to be part of the agreement with the buyer. If you
don't intend to take them with you, they need to be properly maintained. If
that includes lifting them for the season, so be it. The loose bulbs are
still fixtures just as storm windows are fixtures in the summer. Very
simple.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Have an outdoor project? Get a Black & Decker power tool::
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker/

(paghat) expounded:

When we sell our place I'm taking as much of the garden with me as
possible.

Same here, for mostly the same reasons. I'll write it into the P&S.
And leave some of whatever is dividable.

We've only recently been giving these things consideration as we have a
lot of equity in the house due to skyrocketing values, & we're thinking we
could sell it & buy a serious country property & run a specialty nursery &
have chickens & wander about naked on the land if we want

Sounds like fun. Nekkid garden raindancing )

stuff that's
hard to pull off on a city-suburban property. Plus my sweety wants to work
for a certain super cool non-profit that's an hour away, & land is still
relatively cheap halfway there. She works for a pretty good non-profit now
but they're always struggling financially & the politics of the joint are
getting un-fun. But maybe it's all pipedreaming & we'll stay right here.

Sounds like lots of good reasons. Prices around here are
unbelievable, and the taxes are equally unreal. I dream of moving up
to Maine, hubby would be thrilled if I did finally sell here, but it's
so hard to leave 27 years of gardening and family memories......We'll
see.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

"Warren" wrote in message
news
The loose bulbs are still fixtures just as storm windows are fixtures in
the summer. Very simple.

I doubt that very much, but....oh well.