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North Carolina Real Estate Law Questions & Answers
1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: should I have to sign a deed of a house the was sold after the passing of my grandmother?

my dad passed away in 2011 and then my grandmother passed away in 2019. my mother and father were still married at the time of my fathers passing and he did not have a will when he passed away. After my grandmothers passing my uncle was in charge of the selling of her house and at first it was said... View More

Anthony M. Avery
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answered on Oct 28, 2020

Since you did not state how the house was titled in your Father. Hire a competent attorney to conduct a title search. You and your Sister may still have an ownership interest. If so, you all will need to get paid for your conveyance.

Or you might demand Partition.

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: My boyfriend owned land in NC left no will deed In his name only. The children do not want the land or pay the delinquen

My boyfriend owned land in NC left no will. The deed In his name only. I have talked to the children and they do not want the land or pay the delinquent taxes due? The city is going to foreclose on the land. If they are willing to gift or sell the land to me what do I need to do to own the land?

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Oct 27, 2020

You need a deed from all the children and their spouses, and to pay the back taxes, probably to both the city and county. Any NC lawyer can draw up the deed, but it would be advisable to get one more local to ensure that foreclosure proceedings haven't been initiated.

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law and Tax Law for North Carolina on
Q: GirlFriend and I bought a house for 280K. Paid 50-50, joint ownership 50-50. If I gift house to GF is there tax issue?

1) Will there be tax liability if I gift the house to GF? Tax liability for either GF or me?

2) Is it possible to gift part of the house annually? For example 10% first year, 20% second year and so on and 5 years later, she owns the complete house?

Nina Whitehurst
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answered on Oct 17, 2020

At the present time the gift tax exemption is more than $11 million per person. You could gift your entire share to her all at once and not incur any gift tax as long as that gift plus prior gifts made by you in the past do not exceed $11 million in the aggregate.

1 Answer | Asked in Contracts and Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: My family's home deed has deceased names on it. Does their children inherit their rights to the home?
Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Oct 19, 2020

It depends on many factors, whether or not the deceased had wills, how the property was titled, what the marital status of the deceased was at their death, and who their legal heirs were. I would hire a local NC attorney to answer these questions, and from there, you can proceed forward.

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law and Landlord - Tenant for North Carolina on
Q: Recently, my father granted a 1-acre lot with a house to myself and my two siblings. We learned that my father made a

verbal agreement with our cousin over five-plus years ago to live in the (questionable habitable) house rent-free. We are not interested in being landlords and very concerned about the habitability of the property. We would like assistance with the rights of both parties.

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Oct 17, 2020

Under your scenario, provided that you are now the owners of the property you have the right to revoke your cousin's ability to live there. There is likely a very minimal landlord-tenant relationship, so I would give at least a 7-day notice and hope that your cousin agrees to moe out otherwise... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: My Aunt added her nephew's name to her house deed. She now wishes to remove it. Is this possible without his consent?

My Aunt added her nephew's name to the deed of her house. She now wants to have her nephew's name removed from the deed so that she can sell the house and move into her family's home house. How can she do this without his consent?

Amanda Bowden Johnson
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answered on Oct 8, 2020

The short answer is she can't - at least not legally. If he will not consent to being removed she will need to request a partition to sell the house and the nephew will likely get 50% of any profit or she can attempt to buy out his interest or sell her interest to him.

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: Is a Right of First Refusal Agreement assignable without Grantors approval
Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Oct 8, 2020

Depends on the agreement, most agreements have the ability to assign spelled out inside the agreement.

Q: I want to avoid having the trees that separate my yard and my neighbor's yard cut down or removed. Is there a way?

They've been there for well over 50 years now and they provide shade and privacy for our yard. We haven't had any issues until new city folk came in and started disturbing land and removing things around the tree line. I just want to keep the trees.

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Oct 6, 2020

It depends on whose side of the line the trees are on. If the trees are on their property, they can remove them, and there is nothing you can do about it. If the trees are on your property, then they are not allowed to interfere with your property.

If you have any questions about where the...
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1 Answer | Asked in Family Law and Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: What do I need to buy my husband out of our home in North Carolina?

We have been legally separated for roughly 5 months and he has signed a Free Trade Agreement. Currently I have the house and pay everything but I want to refinance it to my name and pay him off of the loan. Are there any specific legal documents or procedures I need?

Mr. Albert Loch Saslow
Mr. Albert Loch Saslow
answered on Oct 5, 2020

The only document that you would NEED is a deed prepared that conveys his interest in the house to you. However, I also think you would WANT a Separtion Agreement, which would set forth the terms of a potential buyout and would fully resolve all of your remaining property claims (as well as... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Contracts and Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: Breach of contract? contract to sell property was not transferred from deceased preventing closing.

we signed a contract on 8-17-2020 to purchase property. A week before the closing we were informed of a delay due to probate. The day the closing was schduled our attorney learned the estate was never filed. As time is ticking and the sellers are running out of time, our attorney and sellers... View More

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Oct 5, 2020

The buyers can not give you a clear title until two years have passed since the death of the prior owner, or the notice to creditors has run in the local paper. How your attorney missed this significant detail, I do not know. I can only guess that you were paying cash and did not ask for title... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Tax Law and Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: If one home owner abandoned Are both owners inturned to pay the property taxes and mortgage payments? Who owns home now

Bf and I bought place together. Then he may someone else, and left me to pay for the mortgage on the property, and the property taxes. I paid the home off alone and now he claims he owns this house

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Oct 5, 2020

Because you and your BF are on the deed, you both own the house. This means that both you and him have the right to use the property, and it can only be sold with both of your signatures.

Your best option to recover your BF's portion of the mortgage is to refuse to sell unless he...
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1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: My ex boyfriend and I bought a home together in 2012, he abandoned it shortly after. Question is ownership

He has not paid anything on the home since the day he left it. No property taxes, no mortgage payments nothing. Now 5yrs plus later. After I paid the property off on my own including all property taxes and insurance. Now he says he owns this house.

Anthony M. Avery
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answered on Oct 5, 2020

Apparently you are both Tenants In Common. But maybe not, and you need a lawyer to advise you about your Deed. In a Partition Action, you can claim your contributions, and should recover some. But just paying bills does not make you the owner. Get a lawyer to search the title.

1 Answer | Asked in Land Use & Zoning and Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: Can you sell land you recently started paying on?

My sister and her husband are buying property for a very good price if they somewhat rush the deal. This property has 45 acres. We plan on buying 5 of those acres and building a home. We also plan is to give them the down payment they need to make the purchase. Which pays for the land we're... View More

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Oct 2, 2020

What you are asking is easily doable. I suggest that you join in the purchase, get the 5 acres surveyed off of the larger tract, and make sure the bank does not include it in its mortgage documents. Then the seller deeds you the 5 acres, and your sister the 40 acres, with the bank loan being... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: I know that every state is different. We have a home in North Carolina listed with a realtor.

A person made an offer through their realtor that we declined explaining that their offer needed to be higher in order to cover the realtors fees. My question is...do we have to wait a period of time after our seller/realtor agreement expires before we could sell by owner to this individual?

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Sep 29, 2020

Depends on the contract that you and your realtor signed, likely you would be able to sell it individually as soon as the contract expires, but some contracts might contain additional constraints.

1 Answer | Asked in Divorce and Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: I divorced my ex-husband about a year ago in Tennessee. He owned a home in North Carolina at the time of our divorce.

My lawyer put in the divorce paperwork that he needed to give me a quit claim deed for this property. My ex told me I don't have to sign a quit claim deed because my claim to the property only existed while we were married. Is that true? Should I sign one anyway since my lawyer included that... View More

Amanda Bowden Johnson
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answered on Sep 23, 2020

Assuming you mean you want to sign a quit claim deed to him - why bother with the time and expense of doing that? If he wants or needs one - he will ask you. If you divorced in North Carolina and if the property was only in his name and you made no claim for the property then yes, very likely any... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: What rights do The other owwners have if property is part owners with one person owning majority of property?

3 owners, 2 own 20 percent each and the 3d owner owns 60 percent?

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Sep 23, 2020

The rights and responsibilities do not change just because the ownership percentages are not balanced. The only thing that changes is that the smaller percentage owners would receive less from a sale or any income from the property.

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: We are under contract on home and one features a built in fire place was covered up and not disclosed to buyer.

We discovered on walk thru of property that the outdoor fireplace was gone stoned over only days before home inspection. It was in home listing and included pictures. We asked what happened they said it needed repairs so cheaper fix was to close it up. Is this even there right while under contract... View More

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Sep 22, 2020

Ask for a modification of the agreement to cover the removal of the stone. If you are that far into the process it will likely be granted. If not you could threaten to sue to get your costs reimbursed, a pending lawsuit should prevent the house from closing until after it has been resolved.

1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: Siblings selling house that's under contract. Brother is out of the country. Necessary legal documents needed.

My brother and I jointly own a mortgage free home in NC that is under contract. Is a POA required from my brother in order for the closing to go forward? If so, is it mandated to be sent to me by mail to sign and have notarized and sent back to the lawyer? Or are there other means of his sending/... View More

Ben Corcoran
Ben Corcoran
answered on Sep 23, 2020

Yes in order for the property to be sold your brother will need to execute a POA. While virtual notarizations are currently acceptable in NC, they are only allowed for reasons related to COVID and this does not meet the requirements. It sounds like you are going to have to push everything back... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Probate and Real Estate Law for North Carolina on
Q: If my dad is divorce from my mom if both names are the land he owned, am I entitled to the property

My dad lived in North Carolina mom and dad have been divorced for over 10 years of my mom's name is on the lean is she entitled to the property or am I or can I benefit from the sell

Mr. Albert Loch Saslow
Mr. Albert Loch Saslow
answered on Sep 21, 2020

If your mother's name is on the deed (not the mortgage, the DEED), then she has an ownership interest in the property regardless of whether she has divorced your father. So it seems like your mother and father still might own the property, each having a 50% interest.

Unless either...
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1 Answer | Asked in Land Use & Zoning, Real Estate Law and Tax Law for North Carolina on
Q: I have property that was left to my family. I want to Put the property in my name.

The property wasnt left to one person so there is no clear way to use the property. I have been the onlyh person to pay taxes on this property for 15 years and i would like to put it in my name so i can live on it. What do i do?

Anthony M. Avery
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answered on Sep 14, 2020

Cannot understand your facts stated. But hire a competent attorney to draft an Affidavit of Heirship, which will record a source of title. Then you need a Quit Claim Deed from the other heirs over to you. If they will not convey, you may have to file a Partition Suit.

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