When you buy a home in Washington, the deal runs on the NWMLS Form 21 — the standard residential purchase and sale agreement nearly everyone in this market uses. Most of it gets the attention it deserves: price, financing, timelines. The part that quietly causes more day-of-closing arguments than almost anything else is the small section covering what actually comes with the house. Get sloppy there and you can arrive at your new home to find the fixtures you assumed were staying have driven away in the seller's moving truck. Quick note up front: I'm a broker, not your attorney — for anything you're unsure about on the contract, get your own legal advice.
Fixtures vs. personal property — the line that matters
The old rule of thumb is that 'fixtures' — things attached to the home — convey with it, while 'personal property' — things that aren't attached — go with the seller. A built-in dishwasher stays; a free-standing fridge is a maybe. The trouble is that plenty of items live in the gray zone: a mounted TV and its bracket, a wired-in sound system, the washer and dryer, a shed that isn't bolted down, a hot tub, window coverings, even a chandelier the seller has an attachment to. 'It's attached, so obviously it stays' is exactly the assumption that leads to a bad surprise.
The point isn't to memorize which is which. It's to recognize that 'obvious' isn't a contract — the paperwork is.
Where the contract actually settles it
Form 21 has specific spots to list included and excluded items, and that written language is what governs — not what anyone assumed, and not what a listing photo showed. If you want the washer and dryer, the mounted TVs, or the patio furniture, name them in the 'included items.' If the seller intends to take the dining-room chandelier or a prized appliance, that belongs in the 'excluded items' so you're not counting on something that was never part of the deal.
Vague or blank is where disputes are born. 'All appliances' sounds thorough until you and the seller disagree on whether the garage freezer counts. Specific beats general every time.
How to protect yourself before you sign
Walk the home with an eye for anything you'd be unhappy to lose, and write it down while you're standing there — the mounted screens, the shelving, the shed, the window treatments, the water feature out back. Then make sure those items are named explicitly in the offer, not left to good faith. If something genuinely matters to you, err toward over-listing it.
And if a term is ambiguous or the stakes are high, this is a good moment to loop in a real estate attorney. A careful read before signing costs far less than a fight after closing, when the leverage is gone.
Small section, big consequences
The included-and-excluded lines look minor next to price and financing, but they decide what you literally walk into on move-in day. Spell it out, keep it specific, and you take the whole category of dispute off the table. Our readiness checklist includes a walk-through prompt for exactly this — the items to confirm in writing before your offer goes in.
