The beginning of the year is often filled with thoughts of the future, personal resolutions you want to keep, and the hope of spring being just around the corner. The last thing you want to think about is property taxes. However, in many North Carolina counties, the New Year may also bring with it higher property taxes. In North Carolina, real property taxes are based on the value of real property on January 1st of that year. Theoretically, that means that the value of your home or real property as it stands on January 1st is the value on which … Continue reading →

So, are you thinking of purchasing property at a foreclosure sale?  Perhaps you think that you can make a lot of money buying a house in foreclosure, and then flipping it.  Certainly some people do very well doing just that.  HOWEVER if it looks too good to be true, then it likely is. Before you bid in a foreclosure sale, there are several things to consider.  First, understand how foreclosure sales in North Carolina work.  The foreclosure sale is going to be set for a specific time between 10 am and 4 pm on a day the courthouse is open.  … Continue reading →

Trusts have become a more common real estate holding tool, as people take a more aggressive approach to their estate planning. Trusts can be great tools for maintaining the privacy of personal finances and avoiding lengthy probate proceedings. Moving real property in and out of trust is typically no more complicated than recording a properly executed deed to or from the trustee of the trust. Selling property held in trust requires a bit more paperwork, but a skilled attorney should be able to easily guide clients through the additional documents required. For many years, the standard practice in transactions involving … Continue reading →

Real estate attorneys are occasionally faced with questions from clients and lenders about correcting typographical or other errors appearing in a recorded document.  It is often suggested that simply filing an affidavit should be sufficient to correct the document, but such affidavits are not always capable of accomplishing the intended result.  North Carolina recently revised its statutes regarding corrective affidavits, and this brief overview is intended to highlight distinctions between the various affidavits currently available. Affidavits for Minor Typographical Errors In the event a recorded instrument contains a “nonmaterial” or other minor error, an affidavit may be recorded to provide … Continue reading →

Whenever I walk into our firm’s lobby to introduce myself to real estate clients who are there to close on a house, I tend to always greet them by stating “Are you ready to buy a house?!” I usually get one of three responses: a nervous chuckle followed by an “I guess so,” a very loud and relieved “Heck yeah, let’s do this!,” or a “Well, I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, so let’s get this over with.” As a real estate attorney and someone who has recently purchased a home, I am fully aware that buying … Continue reading →

To follow up on my last blog post, I have to believe that every attorney who practices has been confronted with the statement “but I’ve never had to do it that way before”.  Please believe that despite the image of attorneys driving up costs for their clients, most real estate attorneys are working off of a fee-based system and generally do not want to create unnecessary work or delays for themselves or others. Disbursements I know there are some attorneys now or in the past who would wink and pass along one or more checks at the closing table before … Continue reading →

Property owners are increasingly concerned about their rights with respect to aircraft overflying their property. The skies are becoming more and more crowded, particularly with the increased availability of unmanned aerial vehicles (e.g., “drones”). Land owners now wonder where their property rights begin and end, and what can they do about offending aircraft. The rules governing the interplay between land owner rights and aircraft rights are complex and, in some cases, unsettled. Traditionally, it was thought a property was owned from the center of the Earth to the Heavens. With the advent of modern aviation, that view has changed dramatically. … Continue reading →

“Drones”, or unmanned aerial systems (“UAS”), have made their into the marketing tool kits for many real estate agents, and for good reason.  A UAS can help produce splendid aerial views of properties for sale and give listing agents the ability to market properties in ways that were previously impractical or cost prohibitive.  Your marketing literature will stand out from the crowd with the photography UASs can provide.  However, obtaining these shots with a UAS can subject you to liability if you do not follow the applicable laws and rules concerns the operation of these systems. First of all, operation … Continue reading →

At Law Firm Carolinas, we handle closings for developers, builders, and investors throughout North and South Carolina.  Too often problems arise when the title to the property has been left in an old, dissolved entity.  Here is how we handle the issue in North Carolina: North Carolina allows business entities to convey property even after dissolution pursuant to statues governing the wrapping up of the business, so long as it is concluded in a reasonable amount of time (It is helpful that the law does not specify the duration, provide a limitation, or define a reasonable amount of time.  I … Continue reading →

As a real estate broker, getting a signed sales contract in hand is one of the most exciting parts of the buy/sell process.  A lot of time and effort goes into bringing a buyer and seller together to agree on the sale terms for a piece of property.  But, getting the contract signed only signals the beginning of the next phase of the process.  Brokers should be well informed of the steps in the closing process to be able to advise of and explain the process to their clients.  Being able to set expectations in advance of closing will help … Continue reading →

  The current real estate market is fast paced and more complex than ever before.  Many sellers of real property want to know they can move their properties as fast as possible without encountering costly delays brought on by unexpected title problems.  Larger institutional sellers (e.g., banks) will attempt to prevent some of these unexpected delays by contracting to convey title under a seemingly less stringent standard in order to get their deals closed in the shortest amount of time possible.  Often, this is done by agreeing to sell “insurable” title to prospective buyers.  But, what is the buyer actually … Continue reading →

The current real estate market in Charlotte has a very low inventory for homes being sold.  One result of low inventory is the increased likelihood of multiple offers being submitted for a single property.  This results in bidding wars where the offers submitted by buyers far exceed the original listing price to ensure that their offer will be accepted over the other offers.  However, what many buyers are not aware of is that their winning offer also exceeds the actual appraised value of the property. When the property appraises for a lower amount than what was offered, who should bear … Continue reading →

If you followed along with me on Part 1, you should know that purchase contracts come in all shapes and sizes.  Drafting a good contract considers not only the buyer and seller, but also everyone else in the closing process who will need the purchase contract for making decisions and producing paperwork. Delays are caused where there is incorrect or an incomplete information.  This blog will look at common legal description errors and suggest how to list a legal description to assist those who will follow in the closing process. Where is this? I have a purchase contract sitting on … Continue reading →