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 potentially life-changing financial and legal decisions.

While there are no laws in Waynesville, North Carolina against individuals buying or selling real estate on their own, this is rarely the best 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 retain 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.

Some Waynesville, North Carolina real estate brokers charge a flat fee, but most take a relatively small percentage of the sale price of a house they help a client sell.

Getting a Mortgage in Waynesville, North Carolina

If the buyer asks the seller a question about the physical condition of the home, the seller is legally bound to answer it honestly. If the seller lies when asked a direct question, they have committed a serious form of fraud, and, if sued by the buyer, will incur considerablet liability.

In addition to disclosing any material facts the buyer directly inquires about, most "latent defects" in a house or other piece of property should be disclosed whether the buyer asks or not. Typically, any defect that the seller knows about and that the buyer can't be expected to discover through a reasonable inspection, it has to be disclosed.

Of course, buyers are also expected to conduct due diligence. In a lawsuit for nondisclosure, courts won't reward a lack of diligence.

Typically, buyers have a duty to conduct a reasonable inspection of the property before buying it. Therefore, buyers normally can't recover for defects that could have been discovered via reasonable inspection, unless the seller actively conceals them.

Can a Waynesville, North Carolina Real Estate Attorney help?

If you are buying a home in Waynesville, North Carolina, there are probably things you want to focus on other than paperwork and required inspections, such as the process of moving in, checking out schools, etc. A brilliant real estate attorney can make it much easier to focus on the aspects of home ownership that matter to you.