Home Sale Law in North Carolina
Buying or selling a house can be an exciting but stressful time in a person's life. It also requires a person to make a large number of possibly life-changing financial and legal decisions.
While there are no laws in Raleigh, North Carolina against persons buying or selling real estate on their own, this is rarely the ideal way to go, given the many legal issues surrounding the sale of property.
One good way to help a real estate sale or purchase go smoothly is to hire a real estate broker. These professionals can help you find the right house within your budget, or help you find suitable buyers for a house you're selling.
Raleigh, North Carolina real estate brokers are usually paid by taking a pre-determined portion of the house's sale price.
Getting a Mortgage in Raleigh, North Carolina
Any direct questions asked of the seller by the buyer must be answered truthfully. This is particularly the case if the buyer asks about defects in the property. If the seller lies in response to such questions, they have just committed a very significant form of fraud. If the buyer later discovers this defect (after buying the property) he can sue the seller for any physical or financial harm caused by it.
Most significant defects (those which have any effect on the value or safety of the home) should be disclosed even if the buyer doesn't ask about them. If the seller knows of a defect, and a reasonable buyer wouldn't be able to know it through a normal inspection, the seller must disclose it.
Buyers, nonetheless, are not off the hook in this matter. If they ignore defects that they could have quickly discovered, they probably won't be able to recover for them.
Therefore, if a buyer fails to conduct a reasonable expectation of the property, he or she cannot recover for any harm caused by defects that such an inspection would have revealed.
Can a Raleigh, North Carolina Real Estate Attorney help?
As you can imagine, there are many more legal and financial issues that can affect the outcome of a real estate transaction. However, buying a house is also a very exciting time for most people. A reputable Raleigh, North Carolina real estate attorney can help you focus on the positive aspects, and avoid dealing with the most difficult and tedious (but nonetheless necessary) aspects.