This week questions on what you can take with you and what you can leave when you're house goes on the market are answered

What can we leave?

We will be putting our house on the market in September and feel that we know how to present it to its best advantage. However, much of what makes the house really nice - the decorative chandelier in the livingroom, the appliances in the kitchen and the built-in bookcases in the hall - are things we want to take with us. What are we obliged to leave?

This column was at an auction some years ago of a multi-million euro house and the sale included, among other things, the stables, the V'soske Joyce carpets - the list went on and on but excluded the dishwasher. There can be no rational explanation why the seller would want to hang on to an appliance worth only a few hundred euro but there it is. It is largely up to you what you want to include (or exclude) in your house sale - just make it clear from the start in the sale details - once there is no legal reason for not removing something. You can't, for example, take a fireplace from a listed house. And in a non-listed house, if you wanted to remove the fireplace, you should signal your intention from the start and the buyers could insist that you replace it with another fireplace. You shouldn't simply leave a hole in the wall. The main thing is to be clear in the sales details. Taking the items you have mentioned: buyers won't assume that the chandelier will stay, although you should replace it with a working light. If the kitchen is listed as "integrated", buyers will expect that it will include appliances. If not, only mention appliances that are included in the sale. As for built-in furniture, be explicit in the sales details that these are not staying, as built-ins are by their nature perceived as being part of the property.

Can I make my neighbour. . .

Our house backs on to another house and there is a wall of about three feet at the end of the gardens. For as long as I have been here (20 years) there has been a hedge of trees that has given us a great deal of privacy. However, last week our neighbour cut the trees down and now we can see directly into their garden and I feel the open situation is a security risk. Can I make my neighbour reinstate a dividing hedge?

If the trees were on his side of the wall then he was within his rights to cut them down. You might be panicking a bit unduly and talking of "making your neighbour" do something is not the way to go. Once relations get strained between neighbours, it's very easy for the situation to escalate into all-out war. Think of it reasonably. If you can see into his house, then he can see into yours and that is something that he probably doesn't want either. There may be several good reasons why he chose to cut down the trees - they may have got dangerously tall or started to take over his garden. It's likely that if he is so proactive in his garden as to cut down trees, he intends either planting other trees, a hedge or putting up a fence. Would you like to plant a hedge? Ask your local garden centre for advice. The simple thing to do is to put your happy face on, stick your head over the low wall and simply talk to your neighbour to find out his intentions.

• Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, 10-16 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail propertyquestions@irish-times.ie.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions received. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.