What Conveys When You Buy a Home in Davie, FL
What conveys when you buy a home in Davie, Florida?
When you buy a home in Davie, anything built in or attached to the house usually conveys with it, and the Florida FR/BAR contract also lists everyday items that stay unless the seller excludes them in writing. That list covers the range, refrigerator, dishwasher, ceiling fans, light fixtures, window treatments, garage door openers, and television wall mounts. Freestanding items like a washer and dryer are not automatic, so you name them in the contract.
I have watched a smooth closing nearly come apart over a refrigerator. The buyer walked the house the morning of closing, found the kitchen fridge gone and a bare spot where a chandelier used to hang, and suddenly a happy deal turned into a standoff over a few thousand dollars. None of it was necessary. Almost every one of these fights traces back to one thing nobody nailed down in writing: what actually conveys with the house.
Here is what I tell every buyer and seller in Davie before we go under contract.
Fixtures versus personal property: the line that starts every fight
The whole question turns on one distinction. A fixture is personal property that has been attached to the home so that taking it out would damage the house or leave it incomplete. A built in oven, a mounted light fixture, and a ceiling fan are fixtures. A freestanding lamp, a couch, and a potted plant on the patio are personal property. Fixtures stay with the home. Personal property leaves with the seller. The same logic is why the county carries the house and its attached improvements as real property on your tax record, which you can pull on the Broward County Property Appraiser site.
Florida courts do not decide this on a whim. They weigh a short set of factors that agents remember as the MARIA test: the method of attachment, how adaptable the item is to the home, the relationship of the parties, the intention of whoever installed it, and any agreement the buyer and seller reached. Intention carries the most weight. The problem is that intention lives in someone’s head, which is exactly why you do not want to rely on the test at all. You want the answer written into the contract.
What the Florida FR/BAR contract says conveys
Most Davie homes sell on the Florida Realtors and Florida Bar contract, the form everyone calls FR/BAR. It does the heavy lifting here, and it is worth knowing what it already decides for you. You can read the plain language breakdown in Florida Realtors’ own guidance on the FR/BAR contract.
The contract treats the real property as the land plus the existing improvements and fixtures, including built in appliances, built in furnishings, and attached wall to wall carpet and flooring. Then it adds a specific list of personal property that conveys unless the seller strikes it. That list includes:
- Range, oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, and garbage disposal
- Ceiling fans and light fixtures
- Drapery rods, draperies, blinds, and window treatments
- Smoke detectors, thermostats, and doorbells
- Garage door openers and mailbox keys
- Television wall mounts and mounting hardware
- Storm shutters and hurricane protection items
Because those items are named, they convey by default even though some of them could technically be unscrewed and carried off. The contract also says the personal property is included in the price, carries no separate value, and gets left for the buyer, transferred by bill of sale with warranty of title if you ask for it.
Two gaps cause most of the trouble. First, the washer and dryer are not on the FR/BAR default list, so they do not automatically stay. If you want them, write them in. Second, anything the seller wants to keep, whether it is the dining room chandelier or the mounted flat screen, has to be excluded in writing. A handshake at the showing is not a contract term.
When I write an offer for a buyer, I list the items that matter by name rather than trusting a general word like appliances. A clean contract that spells out washer, dryer, and the primary refrigerator prevents the argument before it can start. This is one of the quieter reasons working with a buyer agent in Davie earns its keep: the agent builds the included and excluded lists so nothing is left to memory.
The Davie items that cause the most fights
Davie is a single family market with a lot of acreage, pools, and equestrian property, so the list of contested items runs longer here than in a standard subdivision. These are the ones I flag for buyers and sellers again and again.
Leased equipment that was never the seller’s to give. Propane tanks, solar panels, water softeners, and alarm systems are often leased rather than owned. A leased item does not convey. The lease either transfers to you or gets paid off at closing, and you want to know which before you sign. I have seen a buyer assume the solar array was included, then learn at closing that a twenty year lease came with it.
Pool equipment. Pumps, heaters, cleaners, and screen enclosures matter in a market with as many pools as Davie. The screen enclosure is attached and was built under a Town of Davie building permit, so it stays. The robotic cleaner and any portable equipment are easy to dispute. If you are buying a pool home in Davie, name the pool equipment in the contract.
Acreage and equestrian gear. On no HOA acreage in areas like Long Lake Ranches (33330) and the unincorporated stretches near Sunshine Ranches (33330), the gray areas multiply. Well pumps and pressure tanks are attached systems that convey. Stall mats, portable feeders, and freestanding fencing panels are not obvious either way. Generators are the classic one: a permanently wired standby generator is a fixture, while a portable generator rolls away with the seller.
Smart home and mounted electronics. Mounted televisions, Ring style doorbells, security cameras, and smart thermostats blur the line. The FR/BAR form now lists doorbells, thermostats, and TV wall mounts as items that stay, but the television itself and the camera system are worth naming so there is no confusion.
If any of this surfaces during due diligence, it belongs on the same list you build from the common inspection issues in Davie resale homes. Catch it early, while you still have room to negotiate, not at the walkthrough.
With Davie’s single family median at $893,000 (single-family median, trailing 182 days ending Oct 19, 2026, based on 192 listings, per BeachesMLS), these are homes where the appliances, systems, and pool equipment carry real value, which is exactly why what conveys gets contested in the first place.
How to protect yourself before you sign
Whether you are buying or selling, the fix is the same. Put it in writing. Here is the sequence I walk my clients through.
1. Tour with a list. As a buyer, note every item you expect to stay, down to the refrigerator, washer, dryer, and any mounted electronics. As a seller, decide now what you intend to take.
2. Name items in the contract, not in conversation. Use the included and excluded sections of the FR/BAR contract. Write the specific item, not a general category.
3. Flag anything leased. Ask directly about propane, solar, water softeners, and alarm monitoring, and get the lease status in writing before you are under contract.
4. Photograph the home at showing. Pictures of the chandelier, the fixtures, and the appliances give you a dated record if something disappears later.
5. Verify at the walkthrough. Confirm every named item is present and working before you sit at the closing table. If something is missing, that is the moment to raise it, and a repair escrow holdback or a credit can keep the closing on track rather than blowing it up.
Sellers have a duty too. Florida’s seller disclosure requirements and the general duty to deal honestly mean you should not quietly swap out a listed fixture for a cheaper one after the buyer has seen the home. If you want to keep the antique dining room fixture, take it down before you list, or exclude it in writing from the start.
Every situation is different, and the only way to know for sure what should convey on your specific Davie home is to build the list against the actual contract. That is exactly the kind of detail I walk my clients through before we ever sign, and it is worth confirming when you read your closing disclosure so the money and the property match what you agreed to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the refrigerator convey when I buy a home in Davie?
Under the standard Florida FR/BAR contract, the refrigerator is on the list of personal property that conveys unless the seller excludes it in writing. A freestanding fridge is easy to dispute, so name the specific refrigerator you expect to stay in the contract rather than assuming. If there is a second fridge in the garage, list that one separately.
Do the washer and dryer stay with a Davie house?
Not automatically. The FR/BAR contract most Davie homes use does not include the washer and dryer on its default personal property list, even though another Florida form does. If you want them, write them into the contract by name. A verbal promise or an MLS note is not enough on its own.
Can a seller take the chandelier or light fixtures after we are under contract?
Only if the contract excludes them. Light fixtures and ceiling fans are listed items that convey by default. If a seller wants to keep a specific fixture, the clean path is to remove it before listing or exclude it in writing from the start. Swapping it out quietly after the buyer has seen the home can create a dispute and a disclosure problem.
What happens if the seller removes something that was supposed to convey?
If a named or default item is gone at the walkthrough, raise it before closing while you still have room to negotiate. Options include asking for the item back, a price credit, or a holdback. Document it with your showing photos and the contract language. Once you close without addressing it, your options narrow, so the walkthrough is the moment to act.
Does pool equipment convey with a Davie pool home?
The screen enclosure is attached and stays. Pumps and heaters that are wired or plumbed in generally convey as part of the system, but portable cleaners and detached equipment are worth naming in the contract. In a pool heavy market like Davie, I always list the pool equipment specifically so there is no gray area at closing.
Talk to a Davie Real Estate Expert
What conveys on your home is a contract question, and the answer is only as good as the list you build against it. If you are buying or selling in Davie and want to make sure nothing walks out the door that should stay, the best next step is a direct conversation. Schedule a strategy call and we will build the list together before you sign.
Anthony Spitaleri
Broker Associate, REALTOR® | Coldwell Banker Realty
Creator of Living in Davie, Florida
Davie, Florida | Serving Davie, Weston and surrounding Broward markets
954-235-5783
Florida License BK3281907
@livingindavieflorida
Written by Anthony Spitaleri, Broker Associate, REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Realty and a Davie native. More about Anthony
