Sellers grab kitchen sink

Friday, 15 February 2008 12:00 AM

House owners are increasingly likely to strip their properties of fixtures and fittings, as fears of a moderation in prices grow, according to new research.

As sellers struggle to achieve the asking price on their property, fixtures - including curtains, dishwashers and even garden sheds - are being transferred to new property as compensation.

In the last six months property sellers have been far more cautious about throwing in fixtures and fittings for nothing, according to conveyancers Convex, and are either taking everything they can with them, or using extras to try and squeeze extra money out of interested buyers.

Convex figures show in the first six months of 2007, 60 per cent of sellers were prepared to leave some curtains or blinds and all light fittings for nothing.

Similarly, 45 per cent of sellers were also willing to throw in white goods such as fridges, freezers and washing machines over the same period.

However, following the slowdown in property prices in recent months - only 35 per cent of sellers were willing to include curtains and light fittings in the second half of the year.

Furthermore, only 24 per cent were happy to include some of their white goods in the price.

"We noticed we were getting more questions from sellers about what they could and could not take and looked back on our records," said Duncan Samuel, managing director of Convex.

"They showed people were certainly getting tighter about what they were willing to include on the fixtures and fittings form - probably because they were not getting what they hoped for the property."

Even permanent items are now up for grabs as the market freezes.

"This can be a difficult area. A fixture is something that is fixed to the property and can't be removed without damage," added Mr Samuel.

"For example a light fitting could only be taken without notice if taking it down was not damaging a ceiling. A kitchen sink would have to stay as taking it out would cause damage."

Technically everything, including the light-bulbs, can be taken, although there are no reported cases of this to date.

"We are finding people will declare that they are taking everything possible and then try to squeeze more money out of the buyer by asking for extra to leave them," concluded Mr Samuel.

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