Your Mortgage is Paid Off: Now What?

4 Things You Should Do When You Pay Off Your Mortgage but Did Not Sell Your Home

First of all, Congratulations! Paying off your mortgage is a big event. Signing the check for that last payment is every bit as exciting as signing the papers to buy that first house. But, sometimes, it can also be just as stressful. Below are 4 things to consider after you’ve made that final payment.  

When Nature Changes Land, Who Owns It Now?

Is That My Dirt? Riparian Rights, Erosion, Avulsion, and Owning Land by Rivers and Streams

After experiencing Hurricanes Fran and Floyd, like many others, I felt we would never see that much rain again at one time.  I was mistaken.  The sea of water Hurricane Matthew brought to eastern North Carolina is hard to comprehend, but I will say I have a new respect for Noah’s Ark.   All of the water brought many questions about erosion and rights, so I thought now is a perfect time to write about Riparian Rights and… who owns the dirt.  

Resolved, Again: The Border between North & South Carolina

Although we may have thought the border between North and South Carolina was firmly established when the Province of Carolina was divided in 1729, the truth is that the line thought of as the border between the two new colonies contained numerous and substantial errors in its measurements.  These discrepancies in the border have now been resolved through cooperation of the two states by a comprehensive re-survey of the North Carolina/South Carolina boundary line. 

Picked a Date, Ready to Close… But, You Can’t Be There

It’s probably one of the most stressful scenarios when buying a home: you’ve spent months searching and have finally finding the perfect home; you’ve worked with your agent and lender for weeks getting all the documents needed for you to qualify and lock in your loan at a great interest rate; then you get the unexpected news that you cannot be here for your planned closing date. What now?  

Capital Gains Taxes & 1031 Tax Exchange

Capital Gains Taxes: Is a 1031 Tax Exchange Right for the Sale of Your Investment Real Property?

You’re selling your investment property and heard somewhere, from someone, that the sale could create a responsibility on your part to pay capital gain taxes.  Naturally, you’re concerned, especially when you need every dollar from the sale to put into the new investment real property you hope to buy. One option that may be available to you is to participate in a Tax Deferred Exchange under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

Can I Get My Keys at Closing? 3 Things Must Happen First

You have waited weeks or months for this day—the day the real estate transaction closes on your home. All the documents are signed, and you’re ready to get your check, right? That’s not always possible.

Whether you are the real estate agent, the seller or the buyer, the check may not be available as soon as all the paperwork has been signed. You wonder why you have to wait since you’ve prepared everything on your end.

Two Tips to De-Stress Closing and Moving Day

You’ve put an offer on a home, but you still need to sell your house first. That’s ok. Your sellers have a closing date on Wednesday a few weeks away. Timing is everything, so you carefully calculate your own closing date for the day after you’ve sold your home. 

It’s an exciting time, and there’s lots to do: line up the moving vans, contact the utility companies so that power, cable and water can be switched out of their names and into yours, and time the key handoff precisely. 

Buyer Intentions for Land Use & Development

Covenants & Restrictions and Buyer Intentions for Land Use & Development

“What do you mean I can’t raise chickens on the property I recently purchased?” 

It may sound humorous, but little can be more disheartening to a new homeowner than to learn that the use and development of their land - the dream for their investment - may not be possible due to restrictive covenants which affect their land. 

The ABCs of a Title Insurance Policy

I always recommend a buyer of real property spend the money to purchase an owner’s title insurance policy.  If a buyer is getting a loan to purchase the property, 99% of the time the lender is going to require a lenders title policy, and the buyer can obtain an owner’s policy with little or no additional cost. The buyer only pays an owner’s premium once and it covers them and their heirs as long as they own the property.  If an owner refinances, they have to purchase a new policy for their lender, but their policy continues without reissue. 

Restrictive Covenants: Check Before You Have to Write a Check

Almost all subdivisions, at least those started in this millennium have restrictive covenants attached to the real estate.  Restrictive Covenants can dictate what color your house can be or what kind of flowers can be planted around your mailbox and can even dictate the breed of dog prohibited from living in the subdivision.  It is important to know the restrictions that apply, ideally prior to signing the offer to purchase, but realistically prior to the expiration of your due diligence period.  

Eclosings! You Can Buy and Pay for a House Online Today

You can buy anything online nowadays - groceries, flowers, make-up, homes, music, furniture, the list goes on and on.  Yes, I did say homes!  Many of us have bought and paid for something online, however, very few people have bought and paid for a house online.  Oh, sure, there are some that can say they found the home online, and they did all their paperwork to purchase the home remotely via email, fax and overnight mailings.  Those of us in the real estate transaction world are used to seeing this.

8 Tips to Snaring Your Dream Home in Today's Market

There’s some good news in the real estate market.  While there are many homes on the market, homes are selling relatively quickly – some have even had offers the day after they go up for sale.  The smart home buyer will gather his weapons together before setting out for the hunt. Here are 8 tips to help you snare your dream home before someone else does: 

1. Before looking, get Pre-Qualified for a mortgage loan 

Up, Up, and Away: Recording Fees are Rising

UP - The recording fee for a deed of trust in North Carolina is going UP from $56.00 to $64.00 on October 1, 2016. 

UP - The number of pages that are included in the recording fee is going UP from 15 pages to 35 pages.

AWAY – The hope is that this will do AWAY with problems being created because of a change in a recording fee due to requirements of TILA-RESPA INTEGRATED DISCLOSURE (“TRID”).