ᐅ Property Sale – Separating Fixtures and Fittings from the Residence?
Created on: 17 Jun 2020 21:18
T
Tarnari
Hello everyone,
First of all, I wasn’t sure which section of the forum to post this in, as to my knowledge there isn’t one specifically for discussing not only purchase questions but also questions about selling.
Background:
We are going to sell our current single-family home.
A potential buyer has been found.
In addition to the kitchen, there are several high-quality built-ins, lighting fixtures, etc., that the buyer also wants to purchase.
The buyer is offering amount X. We agree with this amount and want to finalize the deal.
Now, understandably, the buyer wants to reduce the property transfer tax by excluding the movable inventory from the purchase price of the property and handling it through a second, separate sales contract.
From our point of view, this isn’t necessarily required because the inventory can be itemized with costs within the main purchase contract, and the buyer would then only pay tax on the total property price minus the inventory.
We suspect that the buyer is concerned, on the one hand, that including the movable inventory in the purchase agreement will increase the notary fees payable by them, and on the other hand, that the tax office might later question the price assigned to the inventory, which could have a negative outcome for the buyer.
This is all understandable.
The question we have:
Assuming we agree to carry out a property sale with the offer amount minus the inventory and sell the inventory separately under a second contract for the remaining amount…
What consequences for us might this have that are not immediately obvious?
We have this worst-case scenario in mind where the buyer ends up with the house based on the valid notarized contract but doesn’t pay for the furniture, and in the worst case, we might have to go through a civil court dispute to recover the money for the furniture.
I hope I was able to explain the situation clearly enough.
First of all, I wasn’t sure which section of the forum to post this in, as to my knowledge there isn’t one specifically for discussing not only purchase questions but also questions about selling.
Background:
We are going to sell our current single-family home.
A potential buyer has been found.
In addition to the kitchen, there are several high-quality built-ins, lighting fixtures, etc., that the buyer also wants to purchase.
The buyer is offering amount X. We agree with this amount and want to finalize the deal.
Now, understandably, the buyer wants to reduce the property transfer tax by excluding the movable inventory from the purchase price of the property and handling it through a second, separate sales contract.
From our point of view, this isn’t necessarily required because the inventory can be itemized with costs within the main purchase contract, and the buyer would then only pay tax on the total property price minus the inventory.
We suspect that the buyer is concerned, on the one hand, that including the movable inventory in the purchase agreement will increase the notary fees payable by them, and on the other hand, that the tax office might later question the price assigned to the inventory, which could have a negative outcome for the buyer.
This is all understandable.
The question we have:
Assuming we agree to carry out a property sale with the offer amount minus the inventory and sell the inventory separately under a second contract for the remaining amount…
What consequences for us might this have that are not immediately obvious?
We have this worst-case scenario in mind where the buyer ends up with the house based on the valid notarized contract but doesn’t pay for the furniture, and in the worst case, we might have to go through a civil court dispute to recover the money for the furniture.
I hope I was able to explain the situation clearly enough.
A quick update here:
The buyer was not willing to consider any of the following options:
1. Inclusion in the notarized contract
2. Advance payment
3. Payment into an escrow account with the real estate agent until the notarization
The bottom line? We said we would under no circumstances agree to payment after the notarization appointment. Under these conditions, he did not want to proceed with the purchase contract. He said, okay, then I’m no longer interested xD
So, tough luck. There are already others lining up at the door.
The buyer was not willing to consider any of the following options:
1. Inclusion in the notarized contract
2. Advance payment
3. Payment into an escrow account with the real estate agent until the notarization
The bottom line? We said we would under no circumstances agree to payment after the notarization appointment. Under these conditions, he did not want to proceed with the purchase contract. He said, okay, then I’m no longer interested xD
So, tough luck. There are already others lining up at the door.
P
pagoni20206 Jul 2020 19:05Good decision, the trouble probably would have come!!!
Definitely!
The buyer had already been very demanding beforehand. Wanted this and that, an unbelievable number of details. Mind you, all after(!) submitting the offer.
At some point, both we and the agent started feeling that he suspected someone behind every bush trying to take advantage of him.
We already anticipated that he would cause trouble over every little thing later on.
Maybe it’s because he’s a well-earning young person (really young) who was supposed to be financed by his dad.
No idea.
The fact is, we were in a bidding process. The buyer made the highest offer. Now we have set a fixed price above the offer. And the first interested parties showed up after just one day.
So apparently, everything was done absolutely right.
The buyer had already been very demanding beforehand. Wanted this and that, an unbelievable number of details. Mind you, all after(!) submitting the offer.
At some point, both we and the agent started feeling that he suspected someone behind every bush trying to take advantage of him.
We already anticipated that he would cause trouble over every little thing later on.
Maybe it’s because he’s a well-earning young person (really young) who was supposed to be financed by his dad.
No idea.
The fact is, we were in a bidding process. The buyer made the highest offer. Now we have set a fixed price above the offer. And the first interested parties showed up after just one day.
So apparently, everything was done absolutely right.
P
Pinkiponk7 Jul 2020 15:05Tarnari schrieb:
End of the story? We said we definitely will not agree to any payment after the notary appointment, under these conditions he does not want to sign the purchase contract. He says, okay then I don’t want it anymore xDGood decision on your part. To me, this clearly sounds like he had fraudulent intentions. No “normal” person would give up their desired property for such a reason, especially since you offered him plenty of alternatives. Great that you didn’t fall for it.