A bill of sale in real estate is a separate legal document that transfers ownership of the personal property included in a home sale, meaning the movable items that aren’t part of the land or building. The deed handles the house and the land. The bill of sale handles the refrigerator the seller agreed to leave, the patio furniture, the riding mower, and anything else the two parties negotiated into the deal. Both documents are typically signed at closing, and together they account for everything changing hands.
What the Bill of Sale Covers and What the Deed Covers
Real property is the land and anything permanently attached to it: the house itself, a built-in deck, an in-ground pool. Personal property is everything you could pick up and carry out: a dining table, a freestanding bookshelf, a portable generator. Real property transfers through a deed. Personal property transfers through a bill of sale.
The complication lives in between, in a category called fixtures. A fixture is an item that started as personal property but became part of the real estate because of how it was installed. A hardwired ceiling fan, custom shelving anchored to the wall, a water heater plumbed into the house. Fixtures usually travel with the deed, not with a bill of sale.
That gray zone is where most post-closing arguments happen, and it’s the reason the bill of sale earns its keep. Rather than leaving it to a later dispute, you decide upfront. If the seller’s vintage chandelier is staying, put it in writing. If the mounted deer head over the fireplace is going with the seller, put that in writing too. The purchase agreement should match.
Items Commonly Transferred by Bill of Sale
- Freestanding appliances: refrigerators, portable dishwashers, washers, and dryers that aren’t built in
- Window treatments: curtains, blinds, and rods that aren’t custom-fitted
- Furniture, especially in furnished sales
- Detached structures like a portable shed or a playhouse sitting on blocks
- Yard equipment: riding mowers, snow blowers, garden tools
- Entertainment equipment that isn’t hardwired, like speakers or projectors
What the bill of sale does not do: transfer the land, the house, or anything permanently attached to the structure. Those go through the deed.
Key Elements of a Bill of Sale
The document doesn’t have to be long. It does have to be specific. A missing detail can make it unenforceable or create exactly the ambiguity it’s supposed to prevent.
- Full names and addresses of both buyer and seller, matching the names on the real estate documents
- The transaction date, usually the closing date
- An itemized description of each piece of personal property, with enough detail to identify it: brand, model, color, serial number where applicable
- The purchase price for the personal property, stated separately from the real estate price
- Warranty status, meaning whether items transfer with any warranty of condition or “as is”
- Signatures. The seller always signs. Having the buyer sign too confirms both sides agree to the terms
The itemized description is where people cut corners and where disputes start. “Kitchen appliances” is vague. “Samsung French door refrigerator, model RF28R7351SR, stainless steel” leaves nothing to argue about. Take the extra five minutes.
Notarization
Whether you need a notary depends on your state. Some states require notarization for bills of sale involving certain property types or transactions over a certain dollar amount. Even where it isn’t required, notarizing confirms both parties signed voluntarily and are who they say they are. If you’re already at a closing table with a notary handling the deed, there’s little reason not to notarize the bill of sale at the same time.
Warranties and “As-Is” Language
Every bill of sale raises one question about condition: is the seller promising the items work, or just handing them over in whatever shape they’re in?
Warranty of Title
Under the Uniform Commercial Code, which governs the sale of goods in every state, a seller automatically warrants that they own the items being sold and that no one else has a claim against them. This warranty of title exists by default in any sale unless the buyer already knows about a competing claim. It protects you from buying a washer and dryer that turn out to belong to the seller’s ex-spouse or are securing an unpaid loan.
Selling “As Is”
Most personal property in a home sale transfers “as is,” and for understandable reasons. The seller probably hasn’t kept a service log on the refrigerator, and the buyer has seen the items during showings. Language like “as is” or “with all faults” in the bill of sale eliminates implied warranties about condition.1Legal Information Institute. UCC 2-316 Exclusion or Modification of Warranties The seller is still warranting they own the items and have the right to sell them. They’re just not promising the 15-year-old dryer will keep running.
If the seller is willing to warrant condition on a specific item, spell that out individually. A blanket condition warranty on a houseful of aging appliances creates more liability than most sellers want.
How It Connects to the Purchase Agreement and the Price
The bill of sale doesn’t appear out of nowhere at closing. It flows from the purchase agreement, where the parties first negotiated which personal property items were part of the deal. The purchase agreement might say “seller to convey riding mower, patio set, and all window treatments.” The bill of sale then formalizes that transfer with the specificity it needs to stand on its own.
For low-cost items, some purchase agreements simply include them in the overall sale price. For expensive items or a full set of furniture, it often makes more sense to address the personal property in a separate bill of sale with its own stated dollar amount.
Splitting the price has tax consequences worth knowing about. Real estate transfer taxes apply to real property, not personal property, so allocating a reasonable portion of the total price to the items on the bill of sale may reduce the amount subject to transfer tax. The allocation also affects cost basis. When you buy a home and personal property together for a lump sum, the IRS expects you to divide the purchase price among the assets based on their fair market values. If buyer and seller agree to a specific allocation in writing and both have opposing tax interests, the IRS generally accepts it.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 551 (12/2025), Basis of Assets The portion allocated to the home becomes part of your cost basis in the real property, which matters when you eventually sell.
The word that matters here is “reasonable.” Allocating $50,000 to a used refrigerator and some curtains to shrink the transfer tax on a $400,000 home won’t survive scrutiny. The values should reflect what the items would actually sell for.
When You Need One
Not every home sale involves a bill of sale. If the buyer is purchasing just the house and land with nothing else changing hands, there’s nothing for the document to cover. You’ll want one in any of these situations:
- Furnished sales: condos, vacation homes, or estates sold with furniture, artwork, and household goods
- Appliance negotiations where specific items are staying at the buyer’s request
- Ambiguous items that could be argued either way, like a wall-mounted TV or a portable hot tub
- High-value personal property such as pool tables, wine collections, or workshop equipment
The bill of sale is usually prepared by the closing agent or the seller’s attorney and signed alongside the deed. If personal property came up in negotiations but no one has drafted a bill of sale before closing, raise it then. It’s much easier to handle at the table than after everyone has signed and left.
Keeping Your Copy
Unlike a deed, a bill of sale is not recorded in any public office. It’s a private document between buyer and seller, and the signed original is your only proof the transfer happened. Store it with your deed, title insurance policy, and other closing documents. Hold onto it for as long as you own the property, at minimum. You may need it for an insurance claim, a tax question about cost basis, or a dispute over who owns a particular item.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 551 (12/2025), Basis of Assets
Scan a copy and keep it somewhere other than the house. A PDF backup protects you if the paper original is lost to fire, flood, or a determined cleanout.