If you're just getting started in the process to buy a home, you might not have thought about this potential problem.

When you buy a home, you pretty much are buying the physical structure as well as anything nailed down or attached to the property.

A refrigerator is not nailed down.

Neither is a washer. Or a dryer.

Neither are drapes or shades.

You might only realize this after you close on your new purchase, and walk in the door, only to realize that the grand bookcase in the living room is gone, like the wind.

It can happen. And, it does, often. It's all legal.

During this peak home sales season, when thousands of houses and condominiums will be sold, buyers and sellers need to be aware of what is legally included and excluded from their sale.

Most home buyers and sellers, and even their real estate agents, often do not understand the simple law of fixtures.

A "fixture" is moveable personal property, which, by means of bolts, nails, screws, cement, glue, or other attachment method, has been converted to real property.

Plants and trees growing in the ground are considered to be fixtures because they are permanently attached to the land by roots.

To sum it up, when in doubt, include the items you want the sellers to leave behind, listed one by one.

More: Home for sale: Rose garden not included - By Robert J. Bruss, Inman News, by way of The Boston Globe