[TheNextGuy]

If I choose to short sale my house could I take everything I put into the house that I paid for with me? Like fancy ceiling fans, potted plants, hdtv antenna, and such?

[Corey1023]

Unfortunately no. When you install items like that into your home, they become fixtures or in legal jargon "appurtenant" to the property.

Some items are fine, some are a grey area. For example, the potted plants are not affixed to the property permanently so they are not fixtures. However if you built custom planters, those are. Ceiling fans are definitely fixtures. HDTV antenna is a grey area. If it were me and it was pretty pricy id feel ok taking that. Its VERY very small probability that they would ever take issue with you removing your antenna.

There was a case here in Utah 2 years ago where a guy stayed in his home while it was in foreclosure, stalled the sale for 18 months with repeated BK filings and then at the last minute stripped the place down to the sheet rock. The police were called in by the bank when it was ultimately foreclosed upon and he is currently serving a 3 year sentence for what he did.

Its not worth the risk to take items that while expensive when installed, are now depreciated and certainly less valuable than your freedom, and credibility/character.

Hope this helps!

Corey Vandenberg
Utah Foreclosure Advocates
801-645-6466