In the real estate world, real property and personal property are very confusing. Before understanding what personal property is? Let’s first understand what real property and fixtures are. Understanding these things is essential when selling your property or house or buying a house or property from another person.
Real Property
The land or anything attached to it is considered real property. A bundle of rights comes with this property and this land and attachments. The rights of the owner of real property include a lease and the right to possess and sell. Let’s Make it more straightforward; real means immovable, so immovable things are real property.
To understand this term correctly, let’s start with real estate and land. The earth extends upward to infinity and downward to the center and everything that is permanently attached to it naturally, like water, trees, and boulders. And contrary to this, real estate is everything present below, above, and at the land and everything attached to it, artificially or naturally. So, all the permanent improvements to the land like sewers, fences, buildings, and utilities come under the page of real property.
Fixtures
So, let’s look at another necessary term to understand personal property better.
The fixture is personal property, but some reasons like its association with a real property make it real property and sell with real estate. A sink, chandelier, or toilet is the best example of fixtures. Even though they can remove easily, they are now attached to real property; that’s why it is also real property.
What Makes a Movable Thing a Fixture?
The Way it Attaches
To simplify, if anything is attached to real property with cement, nails, or glue, that thing will be immovable and become part of real property. Ceiling fans, toilets, ceiling lights and many other things like this are considered fixtures.
Adaptability of Object
If the object is an integral part of the house, it cannot be removed even if it is movable, like a pool cover specifically for that pool.
Intentions Behind Installation of Object
If the object is installed as a fixed part of a house or property, it will be a fixture.
Personal Property
You must be wondering: what is personal use property? So, personal property is a type of property that includes any and every asset other than fixtures and real property. Unlike real property, personal property is movable and not permanently fixed with a specific location. Personal property is also known as movable property and chattel. It is considered an asset by the creditor or lender when you apply for a loan or mortgage.
Automobiles, clothes, jewelry, home appliances, antiques, or artworks are considered personal property. The value of Jewellery, automobiles, or home appliances depreciates with time. At the same time, antiques and artworks are appreciated with time. The lender may add up the value of the personal and real property or assess the credit worthiness of the borrower before giving him a mortgage or other types of loan.
Types of Personal Property
Personal property is categorized into three categories.
- Tangible personal property
- Intangible personal property
- Listed personal property
Tangible personal property
The physically existing property or things you can touch is Tangible personal property. Boats, collectibles, business equipment, clothing, Jewelry, vehicles, and furniture are considered tangible personal property.
Intangible personal property
The things to them with no apparent or physical value that can be assigned are intangible personal property: digital assets, intellectual property, patents, copyrights, reputational capital, or investments.
Listed personal property
Any property that can be used for either personal purposes or business purposes. Computers, paintings, sculptures, rare books, or works of art.
Personal Property Acquisition Methods
These are the following methods of acquisition by these following ways.
Ownership By Production
This method of acquisition occurs when a person produces something. For example, if an employee did a great job on his job, this will be owned by his employer.
Purchased Ownership
It is one of the most common methods of acquiring property. For instance, if a person buys a good from a seller, the owner of that good will be that person, not the seller.
Gift
A gift is another method of acquiring personal property. It is a voluntary transfer of property as a gift. If the donor intends to give property as a gift, then the recipient must have to accept the gift.
Treasure Trove
It is a precious metal like gold or money hidden by an unknown owner, and the person who finds it will be its owner until the owner comes forward.
Conclusion
Hopefully, it is obvious what personal property is and how it differs from real property and fixtures. And it will be easy to understand which things are personal property you can take away with you and the things that do not come under the definition of personal property.
