National Real Estate Exam (PSI)Property OwnershipEasy
A homeowner installs custom-built bookshelves that are screwed into the wall studs, intending them to remain permanently as part of the room's design. When the home is later sold, the buyer expects the shelves to be included. How should the shelves be classified?
- AA trade fixture, which the seller has the right to remove
- BPersonal property, so the seller may remove them before closing
- CA fixture, so it transfers with the real property to the buyer
- DSevered personalty because screws allow easy removal
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. A fixture, so it transfers with the real property to the buyer
Courts apply the fixture test (method of attachment, adaptation to the property, and intent) to determine whether an item has become real property. Here the shelves are attached to the structure and clearly intended to stay permanently, so they are fixtures that pass with the sale unless excluded in the contract.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Incorrect — trade fixtures apply to commercial tenants' business equipment, not a homeowner's permanent installation.
- B. Incorrect — items meeting the fixture test become real property, not removable personalty.
- D. Incorrect — ease of removal alone does not override clear intent for permanence.
Fixture Test
An item of personal property becomes a fixture (real property) when it is attached to real estate and intended to remain permanently.
- Test factors: method of attachment, adaptation to use, and intent
- Fixtures automatically convey with the sale of real property unless excluded in the contract
- Trade fixtures installed by commercial tenants are an exception and remain personal property
Memory trick: Screwed in and meant to stay? It's here to stay — a fixture!