Coming up on this edition of Judica County Radio, your hosts, Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm, the power behind the program, and practicing attorneys here in the state of North Carolina. Get into buying and selling real estate. That's what we're talking about today. A lot of questions from around the area. We'll hit those questions coming up next.
You're listening to Judica County. Whitaker and Hayes. Yeah. Judica County. with Joshua Whitaker and Joseph Hayman.
Welcome into Judica County Radio. Your hosts are Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer. They're the managing partners at Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm, and they're practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. They've placed offices across our great state: Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuquay Verina, Gastonia, and in Moorhead City. I'm Morgan Patrick.
It's a pleasure to jump on with the attorneys and talk about whatever is really on their mind. And we're going to get into some real estate and some questions that they have had come into the firm.
So we'll hit those in just a second. But we always start with how the week went. And it's been a minute since we jumped on.
So, Josh, take it away. Yeah, this week um This this past week, anyway, at my house. We've had to tiptoe around my wife because Dolly Parton died, and she's a big Dolly Parton. Dolly Parton died? Two!
Yeah, she did. Oh man, that's terrible news. The uh So we've been, so that's. I think SiriusXM has a tribute station I've heard a lot of, and then. Just a lot of YouTube videos, but a lot of Dolly Parts.
So I know there's a lot of people out there who really liked. Dolly Parton, but you know, I was reading an article not too long ago. Uh And a lot of those entertainers from the 70s and 80s, you know, they're in their 70s and. And in the 80s.
So there was an article that kind of told how many of these famous people from the 60s, 70s, and 80s are. or kind of aging out. And you know, they kind of predict in the next five years it's gonna be like a who's who. you know, passing away, you know. That's kind of sad.
That's what I like to do: I like to take the people down a notch. You know, when they tune into our radio, when they turn into our radio show, like, you might be having a good Saturday or Sunday time. I would like to. Yeah, I really like to bring you down a little bit.
Well, and uh and you can also take it to the next level, and I know you guys are gonna talk about it too, but the amount of impact that Dolly had um you know, away from her celebrity. The reading programs. I mean, she has so many things that she's involved with that most people don't even know about. but really just an impact person. Not just the star that we saw in TV and Opryland and Dollywood.
I mean, she did so much for. you know, surrounding communities, wherever she was. It really makes you sit down and think: like, what have you been doing with your life, Morgan? Yeah, Morgan. What accomplishments do you have that compare to Dolly Parton's accomplishments?
Well, you know, just to kind of put the mirror up in front and you start talking about things like that, and you start thinking about your parents. And my parents were very and still are very involved in the community. And I used to, I still joke with my sister, I'm like, man, we, there's no way we're going to reach. the heights that they have. Just church, community.
school board, county government, I mean they they they've had impact where where I grew up and Here I'm just hanging out with Whitaker Hamer. That's better than anything that your parents. Or Dolly Park combined have ever done.
Well, that's great accomplishments. That's a big thing in general. Just the, you know, that's a whole different topic for, but, but, you know, the community groups, you know, the Rotor, the Rotarians, the Optimus, the Civitans, like I said, the school boards. Yeah. don't participate in that like that that generation did you know we're at home watching watching the football, you know.
But but there that is that is a big thing. Communities, those groups are all aging out. And there's not really enough young people who participate. And maybe that all changes, I don't know. Shame me for sitting at home watching football.
I'm not going to fight. That's all Joe does, man. That's my civic contribution to society. Um But anyway, it's sad, sad, it's sad to see someone like that pass away.
So that's kind of what we that's kind of. We've got football going on and everything else. But Uh Yeah, that's I don't have anything. I don't have anything profound today. What about you, Joe?
I was feeling great, man. I'm feeling real good.
Now I'm clinically depressed.
So, um,. No, everything's fine, man. The kids back in school, right? That's a thing. Um Yeah.
Did I was going to ask you guys in a completely unrelated manner just because I happened to see it this morning? Do you know when Count Chocula Cereal First started. I don't think that's a good idea. I'm going to say early seventies. Yeah, 71.
So 71, I saw it today. 71 was the debut of Count Chocula. and Frankenberry. Those are the two originals. All right.
Who was next? Who came out next in when in that line of serial? Uh, Captain Crunch, possibly? Kookie Crisps. No, no, no, no, no.
The monster series. Oh, the monster series. Oh, the monster series? Yeah, not. Cereal.
I don't know, man. Should I know? What about blueberry? It's blueberry. It's blueberry, but what year?
No, I have no idea. 72. 72. 72. Very good.
Morgan's doing very good. I think we should transition this into a serial-specific podcast. Yeah. So there's two more. There's two more.
And I didn't know these.
Okay? I didn't know these. Monster cereal? Monster. These are the monster cereals.
So there was another one in 74. Who do you think that was? I didn't know this. I don't know, man. I don't eat a lot of cereal.
I'm fresh out of body. I can't tell. I'm fresh out of monsters. What a choice. What do we got?
It's a werewolf called Fruit Brute.
Alright, and because I've already started the last one. I can't believe that one didn't make it. That one's. Yeah, I've never heard of that one before in my life. The last one was in 1988.
That was the last monster to debut. Who was that? 1988. No clue. Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Yummy mummy.
Okay. I saw that because I don't remember fruit brute. I don't remember yummy mummy. But we still get Count Chocula. It's still out there.
The kids like it. Staying power. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It's good cereal.
I feel like I've learned a lot today. They should make a line. These monster cereals should make a line. of Zen's. Right, so you need to get a Frankenberry Zen for the kids.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, get them healthy, a good, healthy nicotine, man. Yeah, well, coming up on today's program, we are going to get into some buying and selling real estate questions. And let's hit you with one real quick, guys. We can probably answer it coming back on the other side. We also want to remind you that we have complimentary consults with Whitaker and Hamer in and around estate planning and personal injury cases.
And if you've got questions in those areas, grab one of the consults: 919-7727000. That's 919-7727000. You can also visit wh.lawyer. All right, first question: The survey shows the garage isn't entirely yours. It's interesting.
So, here's the question: We're under contract to buy a house on two acres for about $625,000. We paid for a new survey during the due diligence period, and it shows about three feet of the detached garage is actually over the Neighbor's property line. The garage has apparently been there for 18 years, and the seller says nobody has ever complained. Our lender doesn't seem concerned. Should we probably close anyway?
Well All right, well, so when you buy, so we're going to be talking about buying and selling real property. It's kind of the theme today. And so this question. Just tease it, Josh. I'll tell you what, just tease it and we'll come back on the other side.
I'll tease it for you. This is going to be a really good answer. Yeah, this is going to talk about surveys and what they do for you and what they don't do for you, but it's a good question to start with.
Okay, there you go. All right. So, again, complimentary consults with Whitaker and Hamer are available. Estate planning, personal injury cases you are facing. If you've got questions, grab one by calling 919-7727000.
That's 919-77270000. You can also visit the website wh.lawyer. And remember, Whitaker and Hamer are placing offices across our great state: Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuquay Verena, Gastonia, and down at the coast, Moorhead City. When we return, we'll revisit the question. Again, we're under contract to buy a house on two acres for $625K.
We paid for a new survey during due diligence, and it shows we're about three feet over on the property line with the detached garage. It's actually in the neighbor's yard. The garage has apparently been there for 18 years. The seller says nobody's ever complained. Our lender doesn't seem concerned.
Should we close anyway? That is the question we will get the answer from the attorneys coming up next. You're listening to Judica County Radio. We are back on Judica County Radio. Your hosts are Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, Managing Partners, Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm.
They're practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. Offices located in Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuquay Verena, Gastonia, and Moorhead City. I'm Morgan Patrick. Pleasure to jump on with the attorneys. There are complimentary consults available with Whitaker and Hamer in and around estate planning and personal injury cases that you're facing.
If you've got questions, grab one of the consults: 919-7727000, 919-7727000. You can also visit the website, wh.lawyer. All right, question number one: We're under contract to buy a house on two acres for $625K. We paid for a new survey during due diligence, and it shows about three feet of the detached garage is actually over the neighbor's property line. The garage has apparently been there a while, 18 years, and the seller says nobody's ever complained.
Our lender doesn't seem concerned. Should we probably close anyway?
Guys, pick that up. Yeah. Yes, that's our quick answer. When you go under contract. You know, your agent or your lender, or maybe you have a closing attorney you've used in the past, right?
If that comes into us, that's what's gonna happen, right? You're gonna make an offer. The seller is going to accept it here. It was 625 grand, and we get the signed contract into our office. We're going to leap into action and we're going to do a title search, right?
We're going to search title. See if they're what mortgage liens, tax liens, assessments. Make sure the folks selling it to you actually own it. No one else is out there with owner, so we're going to do all that, but we can't. You know, we don't have eyes on the property, and that's what a survey does.
And thirty-five years ago, forty years ago, It was commonplace, you just got a survey, right? If you're going to buy property, you got a survey. And and that's just that's just how it was. And and nowadays It's not as common, I would say, Joseph. Yeah, it's not.
You know, we recommend it heavily and for this exact reason. But yeah, it's not necessarily as common. And It's not always the case that if you're not going to get a survey, that you're going to have some kind of tragic issue. You know, there's plenty of close-ins that happen every day where there's no survey and there's no problem. But at the same time, There's plenty of closings that happen where there's no survey, and there's an issue like this as well.
So, um,. you know, you're rolling the dice. Ultimately, yeah, and you know, surveys are more expensive than they were 40 years ago, obviously, and they take some time, right? And You know, some people don't feel they need them, and that's fine. You know, if I was buying two acres, I'd definitely want to get a survey here.
The survey shows you a potential problem, and it's a big problem, right? This is the biggest problem you can have is your Your house or the outbuildings or the deck or whatever go over onto somebody else's. property. Um And that's a big issue, right? You don't own arguably that three feet of your detached garage.
You're violating setbacks, right? Setbacks, you can only build on certain places in your property.
So, this has got a lot of problems.
So, this one is: the seller needs to, you know, if I represented this buyer, I'd be like, if you want this property, that's fine, but the seller needs to figure out how they're going to fix this because it's not an easy fix. No. That seller and their neighbor are probably, he's probably going to have to buy some acreage from his. The next-door neighbor, if that's available, and if it's not available, he's got some. He's a he's got some things to to figure out, so This is probably one that the deal would would probably go South, and the seller's got a little homework to do to figure out how to fix it.
But that's not the easiest fix, too. Yeah, that's but that's why you get a survey. You might not have been able to, you know, the naked eye, you're not gonna be able to pick this up. A title search, your closing attorney is not gonna probably pick up this error. a survey would.
So this is this question is kind of designed to To show the importance of a survey, even in the modern era where surveys aren't as. Common. And and It's important to note that saying it's been like that forever or it's been like that a really long time is not. a valid legal defense that i is oftentimes gonna work for you. All right, we've got question number one in the books.
Here is question number two: the seller gets a better offer after you're under contract. That's the category. Here's the question: We signed a contract to buy a home for $500,000 and paid a $5,000 due diligence fee and $5,000 earnest money deposit. Three days later, the seller received a $550,000 cash offer.
Now the seller says they'll refund all our money plus $10,000 if we agree to terminate. We don't want the money, we want the house. Can the seller probably just cancel?
Well, this question is not very difficult. This is one of those short-answer questions, Joseph. Yeah. Yeah. No.
How about that? How you like that one? That's good. That's good. If you have a valid contract, you have a valid contract, and so the seller can't go sell this to someone else.
They can't do what they're doing here. They can offer the buyer incentives to terminate the contract. That's a free $10,000, right? If the buyer. wanted to walk away.
Um but the buyer wants the house um The buyer is going to get the house, right? The seller can't. There's no. real way to unilaterally terminate. A contract in this situation.
The seller would be in breach, and it'd be a nice big lawsuit. That's what would happen. A nice big lawsuit. The best kind.
Okay. All right. Well, let's move to our next question. And the category is: septic permit says three bedrooms. Here's the question: We're buying a rural home advertised as a five-bedroom house.
It's 4,200 square feet and has five rooms currently being used as bedrooms. During due diligence, we pulled county records and discovered the septic system was permitted for only three bedrooms. The seller says they've had five people living there for 15 years without a problem. Is this probably a big deal?
Well, it it is. Um You know, uh, this this uh this house shouldn't be advertised as a five-bedroom. Um If you have a three bedroom septic system, then this This house should be marketed as a as a three. three-bedroom house, you know. I don't know how much you know about.
septic systems. I know just enough. Um But That's an important distinction, right? Septic systems are built for water flow to manage wastewater, and the difference between Five bedrooms, five people living there, and three bedrooms, three people living there. That's a big, that's a big deal.
That's a big challenge, yeah.
Now I will tell you, you know, if you ever get into this situation And I hope you don't. But if you ever get in a situation, you want to make sure You've got somebody who knows what they're doing looking at The septic system, right? You know, if you're buying a house, your real estate agent or whoever will probably say, Hey, you should get a home inspection, that's good advice. Your licensed home inspector will come in and check everything out. They usually look at the septic, and they'll be one of the first ones to say, Hey, I pulled the county permit.
This is what I found. They don't install septic systems, right?
So if you run into that, the next person you should talk to is somebody who installs septic systems, right?
Somebody who has that. knowledge. That's a real specific You know, knowledge set, someone who knows about that, but um. Here, I think the seller is probably in a little bit of a pickle, right? They've advertised this as a five-bedroom.
By the letter of the law, it's a three-bedroom. And um the parties are going to have to come together and figure out how this is going to get handled. Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic answer, man.
You're really on fire today. Yeah, well, there have been some easy ones so far. Judica County Radio, we have Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer law firm, and they practice law right here in North Carolina. Offices in Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuque Verina, Castonia, and in Moorhead City. Complimentary consults are available with Whitaker and Hamer in and around estate planning and also personal injury cases.
If you've got some questions, grab one of the consults. Again, no cost, no obligation. 919-7727000. That's 919-77270000. You can also visit the website wh.lawyer.
When we return, more questions in and around real estate, buying and selling. And here's the next one: the seller dies five days before closing. That's the category. We'll ask the question coming up next. Judica County Radio, hosted by Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer law firm, and practicing attorneys here in North Carolina.
Offices in Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuqua Verena, Gastonia, and down at the beach, Moorhead City. I'm Morgan Patrick. Pleasure to jump on. We are in the middle of questions in and around real estate buying and selling of, and there are also complementary consults in and around estate planning and personal injury cases you might be facing. Stay tuned.
We'll open those up here in just a little bit.
So, the category, we teased it going into our last break. The seller dies five days before closing.
So here's the question, guys. We're scheduled to close Friday's $700,000 house. The stellar unexpectedly passed away Sunday night. The house was solely in his name. His adult daughter says she has his will and is the executor.
So she plans to come to closing and sign his deed. Can we probably still close on Friday? Yes. It's Labor Day weekend, isn't it? Yeah, it is, man.
It is.
So we change your answer. You can put more into it. It just occurred to me that we don't have to work Monday. It's crazy how big of a difference. one extra day off Makes yeah.
Well, it's nice when you're experiencing it, but then it also sandwiches the following week. That's always fine. I feel like the next presidential election, if someone would come out and say, hey, we're going. We're going to a four-day work week.
Now, you can work more than four-day weekday. Labor Day weekend is every weekend. That's right. Every Monday. Every Monday is just a Sunday now, and you get like two Saturdays.
I think it's a slippery slope, man. The next guy's going to come out three-day workweek where eventually no one's working. But you gotta work those four days, you gotta work twelve hours. They gotta be twelve, twelve and a half hour days, Monday, Tuesday, no, excuse me, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. And then you got Saturday, Sunday, Monday.
Every week. Yeah. Let's see how it goes, man. I'll s I'll support you. You know, I'll write you in on the ballot.
That's all. We got a closing. This one, everybody's under contract. Everybody's been working towards closing in our cellar unexpectedly Dies, right? North Carolina has a very specific statute about this when it happens, right?
So, um, Normally, when someone passes away, the property is going to go to their heirs. Their heirs are the new owner. You don't really have a contract with the heirs, right? That's what happens when someone dies normally. In North Carolina, there's a statute that says when this thing happens.
This happens. I've seen this happen. More than five times, less than ten times, right? In the last week. Touch of death if you're selling a house and you're doing.
The seller passes away. You still got to get an estate opened, right? You need, you know, here there's a will, which is really great. Again, this guy, you know, this guy had a will in place. His daughter was named executor.
Or executrix of the estate.
So all I gotta do is get the estate opened. Once they get it open, that's when you become the executor. Just saying in a will somebody's the executor doesn't make them the executor. The will has to get accepted by the clerk. It has to get probated, and the executor has to get letters of testamentary from the clerk, and then they're the executor.
In North Carolina, with that statute, once they're the executor, they can just sign. You don't need the heirs, you don't need the spouses of the heirs. Um So there's a statute for this exact situation, and it comes in very handy because this is a thing that happens. Questions that come up buying and selling real estate right here in North Carolina, talking about it with Whitaker and Hamer here on Judica County. We're going to be right back after a short break.
If you want a complimentary consult in and around estate planning or personal injury, call the number 919-77270000. That's 919-77270000 or visit the website wh.lawyer. More at Judica County coming up. We are back on Judica County Radio, hosted by Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer. They're the managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm, right here in North Carolina, where they're located, and that's exactly where they practice law.
They have offices located down at the coast, Moorhead City, over near Charlotte, Gastonia, and right here in the Triangle area, Fuquai Verina, Goldsboro, Clayton, Garner, Cleveland, and the Cap City, Raleigh, North Carolina. I'm Morgan Patrick. It's a pleasure to be on with the attorneys and hit questions today about buying and selling real estate. And these questions come in on a daily basis.
So stay tuned. You're going to get some knowledge. Also, there's an opportunity for a complimentary consult, estate planning or personal injury case you're facing. If you've got some questions, again, it's no cost, it's no obligation. 919-7727000, just sign up for one of those complimentary consults.
You can also go to the website, wa. Again, the number 919-772-7000. All right, next category: the buyer finds a $40,000 problem on day 29.
Alright, so here's the question. We have a 30-day due diligence period. On day 29, our structural engineer discovered a major foundation movement and estimated repairs at 40,000 to 60,000. The seller is refusing to make repairs to reduce the pro or reduce the price. We already paid $12,000 due diligence fee.
If we terminate before midnight tomorrow, do we probably lose the $12,000? Yeah, probably. Yeah. It's a media attribution. We need to do one of these shows where we do like a question a minute.
Yeah, and I can that's where I'll really shine. That's the just rapid fire. Yeah, you paid the due diligence fee for the, you know, in theory, for the seller to take the property off the market and to give you the opportunity to do your. inspections and you know figure out you know, if it's worth it for you to continue, but Yeah, it It's It's rare that that due diligence money is going to be refundable. There's a more narrow set of circumstances.
Whereas an earnest money deposit that's paid to an escrow agent, you know, a third party. That's that is is a lot easier for you to get back than than the the due diligence funds in the absence of fraud or some kind of other breach by by a seller. You know, it's kind of the market, the market always shifts, right? The market, The real estate market's like a river, and it's always shifting.
Sometimes it's busier, sometimes it's slower. Right now, we're kind of in what you would say is a buyer's market, right? Where there's a There's a lot of listings there they're sitting longer, there's less buyers out there in the market, and usually. 12,000 in due diligence, that's kind of a lot of due diligence. Um But yeah, you're paying to be able to walk away.
That's what due diligence is. And here, the seller, you know, it's important here in the facts, the seller didn't have any prior knowledge of this, right? 'Cause things change if the seller was, you know, um Hiding stuff, and that's going to be one of our questions today. Here, the seller didn't know anything about it, it comes up organically during due diligence, and that's that's why you have a due diligence. But, yes, if they walk away.
They're going to be out 12 grand. But hopefully, their real estate agent or their attorney counseled them ahead of time: like, this is what you're paying for. You're paying to be able to get out of this contract and just walk away.
Now, $12,000 is pretty. Pretty strong in a perfect world, that'd be a lot less. You'd be walking away from a couple of thousand dollars. Um That's what the due diligence is. Buying and selling real estate, these are questions that come up, and again, this may be something that you're going to have to deal with somewhere in the future, or maybe you've dealt with it in the past and taken your lumps there as well.
But these questions percolate up, and we're answering them today here on Judica County with Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, the managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm, and they practice law right here in North Carolina. All right, next question up, guys. And the category is: the seller covered up the crawl space.
So, here's the question: We bought a home. Six months ago, during our inspection, the crawl space looked dry and had brand new plastic installed. After several heavy rains, we discovered standing water and extensive wood rot. A contractor says the damage existed for years. We then found an old invoice showing the seller had previously paid a waterproofing company to investigate the exact same problem.
Do we probably have a case here?
So, this question is taking our last question a step further. Here, you've discovered. an issue that arguably the seller already knew about. And I guess didn't fix, right?
So the seller. It appears the seller knew about this problem, didn't fix it, and didn't disclose it. You know, in real estate, You always have a duty. To disclose a material fact, and I would argue. Joseph, I would argue that that is a material Fact, this this you know, this standing water in the crawl space that the seller knew about, you know.
Yeah, I'd argue that is a good argument. Because that's what you you know so in our in our previous question the the issue was just discovered organically and it sounded like The buyer and seller, neither one of them were really, you know, the seller wasn't aware of it until the buyer found it. Here, the buyer is kind of discovering it.
So, here. I think the argument would be if you walked away the seller You know, the seller should give back everything, right? Any earnest money, any due diligence. Like, if this, if, you know, or the seller should just fix the, you know, fix the issue. Um.
But yeah, you can't hide a material fact. You got to disclose the material facts. You're not allowed to hide the ball there. And if you know something and you don't disclose it and it comes up later, I mean, that's arguably fraud. Yeah, any time you're hiding a material fact or you're dealing with fraud, you're dealing with a much.
You know, you're dealing with a much worse situation as the party who's perpetrating that and much stronger damages and. you know, applying that to our our last due diligence related question. you know, you're looking at a return of that due diligence money plus potential you know, substantial sums above that. And so don't do it. You know?
I would add, too, when we talk about this kind of thing, we're not talking about like criminal fraud where like the sheriff's going to come out and charge you. This is. This is civil fraud, and so this is where if you get sued for this kind of fraud, you're you know, the judge can get. Punitive damages, right?
So the judge can give the buyer damages just to punish you for committing the fraud. You end up paying the other side's attorneys' fees. You know, fraud, civil fraud's no joke. That's a scary. That's a scary complaint to have filed against you, so you don't want to do that.
Nothing to sneeze at, right. Buying and selling real estate questions. We are hitting this today here on Judica County Radio. I want to remind you, too, we do have complimentary consults on estate planning or personal injury cases you're facing. You can grab one at any time.
919-772-7000, 919-77270000, or visit wh.lawyer. All right, next question up, gentlemen. Let's get to, I believe it is. Yeah, appraisal. The appraisal comes in low.
And let's say we offered a $675,000 in a multiple offer situation. The bank appraisal came back at $600,000.
So $75,000 lower. We didn't include an appraisal contingency because our agent said that would make our offer less competitive.
Now the lender will only lend based on the six hundred thousand dollar value. Can we probably terminate and get our money back? Yeah you know um So, when you your lender is very important, right? If you're going to buy a home and you're not in a position where you can pay cash, right? That's the best position to be in.
You want to buy a house, you're just going to. You're just going to stroke a check. You don't care about any of this stuff, right? There's no appraisal. There's nothing like that, right?
But if you're like most people, and you're going to be getting a a mortgage. Your lender is very important, and so you agree, you and the seller have agreed this house is worth $675,000. But the lender who's providing you your mortgage. Isn't going to take your word for it, right? They're going to hire, they're going to make you hire an appraiser who's going to go out and appraise the home.
using uh comps in the same area over a Certain time period, and so here. The appraiser came back and said, No, this home is on the current market is not worth $675, it's worth $600. And so the bank's going to treat that home's value as $600.
So all of your. You know, your lender is going to proceed.
So basically, you're going to be making up the 75 grand difference, right? Right, Joseph? You're going to be paying that out of pocket. Yeah, in the absence of some kind of a contractual agreement that stipulates this, you're. That is not.
Something that's going to help you ultimately. And certain loan programs, like the VA, right? If you're a veteran and you're getting a VA loan, the VA loan has a mandatory clause that says you can get out, right? If the house doesn't appraise, you can get out.
So there's some loan programs that you're going to be able to get out. Here, there wasn't one. These people are kind of stuck. Maybe they can get the lender to reappraise. But yeah, that's how the appraisals work.
Judica County Radio going to continue on the other side. Again, complimentary consult available for you. Estate planning or personal injury case you're facing, 919-7727000. 919-77270000. That'll get you in.
Also, WH.lawyer, go there and check it out. We are talking buying and selling real estate. These are questions that come up every single day. Oh no. We are back.
It's Judica County Radio. Your hosts are Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, managing partners at Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm, practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. And they put offices all over the state for you for your convenience in Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuquay Verina, Gastonia, and in Moorhead City. I'm Morgan Patrick. It's a pleasure to jump on with the attorneys.
We want to remind you, too, there are complimentary consults with Whitaker and Hamer, estate planning, personal injury cases. Give us a call. This is no cost, no obligation. 919-772-7000. 919-7727000.
And also visit the website, wh.lawyer. That is a good resource for you. All right, next category, gentlemen. The property has no legal access.
So here's the question: We're buying 30 acres to build a home. There is a gravel. Road from the highway to the property, and the seller says his family has used it for 40 years. Our attorney's title search shows the road crosses two neighboring parcels. But nobody can find a recorded easement.
Should we probably close? Yeah. I like how these questions say that. Should we probably go? The house is on fire.
Two people were murdered. Hurry up. Um Yeah, you you gotta you gotta have access to a public road, right? And that's not usually a huge problem, kind of in urban areas where there's a lot of public roads, but the the more the more rural you get, um the more this this seems to come up. But yeah, this is a We're looking for a recorded easement, right?
A recorded easement is basically like a document saying, yes, you know, this property can use. the gravel road over my my property. And usually you want a deed of easement, right?
Some kind of private road agreement. You want something on record showing that your property that you want to buy, this 30 acres, has the right The deeded right to access the main road, and without it. You know, we say you're landlocked, right? Which is about as bad of a thing as you can be. It's a.
less than ideal situation for you. Yeah, so here, you know, if you bought this property and then the next day the people who own the parcels between you and the road decided to put up a gate. And you don't have a recorded easement, you got a problem. And, um, You know, we've talked about it before on the show. Maybe there's an adverse possession argument, maybe there's a prescriptive easement argument.
The courts don't like for people to be landlocked, there's probably a way to get access. But you want your seller to fix that, right? Before you. buy the property. You buy the property, now it's your problem.
Um And that's what this is.
So, this is one where. Your closing attorney is going to do a title search, and this, yeah, this doesn't come up. That often, but it does come up a lot. And, you know, I've had to tell people: hey, this parcel is landlocked. Um Surveyors are helpful here.
Surveyors are really helpful at trying to track down like older easements because sometimes, you know, we're in the We're in the 1910s, you know, trying to track down the easement from this farm to this farm. looking at all the deeds that are handwritten and cursive. Um But yeah, you don't. You gotta have access.
So if your closing attorney is telling you there's no access, that's a big problem. You should probably. Not close until everybody gets together and figures that thing out. Yeah, your property is worth substantially less in the absence of access, without a doubt. And I think it's probably important to point out here, too: you know, title insurance is kind of a confusing issue if you don't deal with it every day.
When you buy a property, More than likely, you got title insurance, you got a title insurance policy. A lot of times, title insurance will cover. Over small defects that we find in a title search. You know, there's certain things that title insurance will come in and say, hey, we'll insure over that, we'll make sure you never have a problem. Um Nobody's insuring over something being landlocked, right?
So that's just a. A pro uh that's just a problem that there's no easy solution to. Buying and selling real estate. These are questions that come up, and the attorneys, Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, are handling it. They are practicing attorneys here in North Carolina and managing partners at Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm, the power behind the program.
And again, offices are all over our area for your convenience, right here in Raleigh, also Garner, Clayton, Cleveland, Goldsboro, Fuquay Verena, Gastonia, and down at the coast, Moorhead City. The complimentary consults that we open up each and every week are in and around estate planning or personal injury case you're facing. You can call and grab one at any time, 919-7727000. It's 919-7727000. You can also visit the website, WH27.
All right, next question up, gentlemen. The seller wants to stay after closing. That's the category. Here's the question: our sellers are building a new house. They won't be ready for six weeks.
They want to close as scheduled. Give them the sale proceeds and let them remain in the house for 45 days rent-free. They say this happens all the time. What's the risk? They say it happens all the time, man.
You know, isn't that enough for you? I don't like how pushy the questions are from the buyers. It's fine. Don't worry about it. Just close.
Yeah. It happens a lot, right? I mean, it happens, you know, where the seller. Usually, it's under two weeks, right? Usually, the seller just needs another week to get moved or.
Um You know, and it's up to the buyer. If the buyers aren't in a hurry, right? A lot of times a buyer's buying a home and they've already paid rent for. All of September, right? And they close on the 15th, so they got two weeks, you know, things like that.
You definitely can. The seller has to The seller pays you for that, right?
So if the seller wants to, they're basically your tenant. you're becoming a landlord because you're going to own the property. The day of closing, your insurance will be in place. You're going to be the owner of the property. And, you know, so if the sellers want to stay a week or two, there'll be a written.
Possession agreement or a lease, right? Because that's they're going to pay you rent. Do you see um uh I guess a a stay this long, like forty-five days? I think I think under 30 days is kind of more. Normal.
Two weeks is probably the most common. Two weeks or under is probably the most common. Occasionally, it's like a month. You know, when you get to 45 days, you're talking about probably needing a real lease. Right, because you've got all the problems a landlord has, right?
What if the tenant doesn't leave in 45 days? And it's substantially worse because you likely don't have the terms that a lease would give you, you know? And our question says rent-free, and I don't. I don't ever see that happen, right? 45 days rent-free.
There'd be usually a daily rent, right? You'd be paying daily rent. And a lot of times you. you know, if you're the seller in that situation, you prepay it at closing. Right, you go and say, Hey, I'm going to be here for 45 days.
You're charging me $100 a day. Here's $4,500, you know. Um But no, I don't think it's common. Over 30 days is not that common, and rent-free is not common at all. No, I've never seen it.
Um you know, you they they have to pay you for that that time and and um I don't know, it's up to the buyer because the buyer doesn't have to allow it. The buyer can Just say no. Yeah. And they got to figure something else out.
So, as a buyer, you don't have to do that. A lot of times, people will do that because they've got the time and they get some money for the. From the sellers, but it's you know. The risk is, just like any other thing, you're a landlord and now you have a tenant for 45 days. Buying and selling real estate questions here today on Judica County Radio with Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer law firm, practicing attorneys here in North Carolina.
We are going to tackle the next category in our next segment. And the category is the new HOA assessment arrives before closing. That's the category. We'll find out what the question is when we come back. Want to remind you: we have complimentary consults in and around estate planning, but also a personal injury case you might be facing.
Maybe you got some questions there. Grab one of the consults, 919-7727000. That's 919-7727000. You can also visit the website wh.lawyer. We're back with more Judica County right after this.
We are back on Judica County Radio. Your hosts are Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm, practicing attorneys right here in North Carolina. And again, Offices located Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland. Clayton, Goldsboro, Fuque Verena, Gastonia, and in Moorhead City. I'm Morgan Patrick.
Pleasure to jump on with the attorneys. Want to remind you, too, that during the course of the show, you can call at any time or jump on the website and grab one of our complimentary consults about estate planning or personal injury case you're facing. The number to call is 919-7727000. That's 919-77270000. You can also visit that website, WH.lawyer.
All right, so the real estate questions are coming in. And these happen for buyers and for sellers. And the next category, we teased it, the new HOA assessment arrives before closing.
So here's the question, gentlemen. We went under contract on a condo for $425,000. Two weeks before closing, the HOA approved a $30,000 special assessment per unit. for roof and structural repairs. The seller says the assessment wasn't approved when we signed the contract.
So it should should it be our responsibility after closing and who probably pays this? You know, this is This is something that's probably different in every state a little bit. North Carolina. And again We probably don't say it enough, but me and Joseph, we're only licensed to practice law law in the in the great state of North Carolina and nowhere else. But the the contract the standard contract addresses this issue, and the language is important.
you know, when did the HOA formally Assess it. But there's language in there. Here, the sellers are probably going to be responsible. For it, but the language. the HOA uses is very Very important.
And normally, when the HOA does stuff like this, it's not 30,000 lump sum. It's You know. Payable in payments over time. It's very rare where you see a condo. do a a one-time assessment for something, you know, that large.
But Yeah, the the condos, you know, that's a big thing right now in in the condo world is how much insurance is going up and things like that and what your condo dues are, you know. Um But yeah, this is all that's all taken care of in the contract.
So if that happened, We would get documentation from the HOA, we would look at the meeting, and then there would be. You know, there would be a specific answer there. We don't have quite all the facts we need to, but I would guess the seller's probably paying that. Yeah. Yeah.
Next question up, gentlemen. And this is like almost real time. The stock market this past week, uh, real roller coaster.
So here we go: the buy earth category. The buyer wants out because the stock market dropped.
So here's the question: selling our house for $1.1 million. The buyer paid $25,000 due diligence. and twenty thousand earnest money. Due diligence expired two weeks ago. Yesterday, the buyer said his investments dropped sharply and he no longer feels comfortable buying the house.
He wants to walk away. Can we probably or can he probably just lose the earnest money and be done? Yes, so this question is the due diligence period, obviously, right? We've talked about that, right? If you're in your you're buying a home and you're in your due diligence period that you negotiated for, that you paid for, you can walk away at any time.
You're going to get your earnest money back, right?
So, here. If he walked away during due diligence, our buyer loses 25 grand due diligence, but he'd get his 20,000 earnest money back. But we're We're outside of due diligence, due diligence has already happened.
So, if he walks away, he's going to lose his $25K in due diligence. He's going to lose his $20,000 in earnest money. Um But can he walk away I mean, y the the contract is set up. in a way in North Carolina where Yeah, the buyer Can't unilaterally terminate, but it's hard for a seller to sue a buyer. For damages in this situation, because the contract presumes the earnest money.
isn't is enough to compensate the the seller for damages.
So Can the buyer probably just walk away and lose the earnest money and be done? Probably. Probably. Yeah, probably. you know, the the the seller can't sue you and We call it specific performance.
The seller can't sue you and make you get a mortgage and make you buy a house. The court can't force those kind of things. And so the contract's kind of designed for the seller to, when they go under contract, to know they've got enough DD or they've got enough earnest money. to make it worth their while if it were to if it were to fall apart. Judica County Radio, Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer.
They're the managing partners at Whitaker and Hamer Law Firm right here in North Carolina. Offices: Raleigh, Garner, Cleveland, Clayton, Goldsboro, Fugua, Verina, Gastonia, and in Moorhead City. The complimentary consults with the attorneys: estate planning and personal injury. If you're facing issues in those areas, grab one of the consults: 919-7727000. Got some questions, get some answers, 919-77270000.
Also, visit wh.lawyer. All right, so we handled the stock market.
Now we go to this category. The house comes with tenants. Here's the question: We're buying a duplex and plan to live in one side. The seller told us the existing tenant was month to month and could easily be removed. During due diligence, the tenant produced a signed lease, giving him another 18 months at rent, far below market value.
If we buy the property, are we probably stuck with that lease?
Well, that's a that's a lot going on in that one. Um Did the uh Go ahead. explanation is You know, if you buy a property from someone you don't magically wipe out whatever the tenant of that property's rights were. that that lease doesn't just magically terminate because the owner changes.
So You can't just come in say there's a new sheriff in town and just dropkick the person out of their house. Yeah, the law is going to kind of turn on what you had notice of, right? If you had notice of the lease. Um again I would make the seller before the transactions closed, I would make the seller compensate me for that, right? Right.
It's the seller's issue until you buy the house and then it's your issue. Yeah. So if you think if you think that's the bad part of the deal, then maybe the purchase price needs to come down. Like if you're gonna let this tenant stay for that rent far below market. But yeah, once you bought the house, It's your issue, and you can't just evict them because they don't have a lease with you directly.
You had. Yeah, knowledge of it, but there's There's arguments to be made on both sides, but again... You know. The longer you do this, the longer you deal with real estate, real estate closings. There's no reason to rush to closing, right?
If you got an outstanding issue like this, Let's not rush to closing. Let's get everybody talking about it and make sure. Because once you close, things change. The seller's gone, the seller has their money, the real estate agents are all done. I want to ask this question just from outside the attorney realm.
The way it's phrased, the seller said that the tenant was month to month, but then the tenant. produced an 18-month lease.
So, I mean, is that considered a month-to-month, 18-month lease? Or when I hear month-to-month, it's like, well, I mean, they could be out at the end of the month or the next month. Meaning if the new owners wanted to vacate the property, if it's month to month. I'm just asking because I don't know. Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I've seen the question.
Sorry, I missed that. That's good. That's a good eye there. Yeah, the seller told us the existing tenant was month to month. But the tenant produced a lease.
Okay, so this is something where they're saying maybe the seller didn't disclose the nature. Let's I mean if you don't have notice of it.
So here we're gonna have an argument between the tenant and the new owner. The new owner didn't really have notice. But again, you're not just going to wipe away the tenant's interest that easily. Seller has possibly committed fraud. Yeah, I think you got a dispute between the buyer and the seller.
And there's a good argument there on the buyer's part, you know, that the seller has misrepresented the situation. We get back into that kind of fraud realm. But as to the tenant, You know, if the tenant produces a good lease Yeah. One thing that we've talked about several times on the show is the law tends to be pretty favorable. when it comes to to to tenants versus landlords, just as a general principle.
Yeah. Well, gentlemen, we have wrapped a full show on buying and selling real estate questions. You're listening to Judica County, Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer, managing partners, Whitaker and Hamer law firm and practicing attorneys here in North Carolina. Offices located at Raleigh-Garner, Clayton, Cleveland, Goldsboro, Fuquay, Verina, Gastonia, and in Moorhead City. Another edition of Judica County is in the books for Josh Whitaker and Joe Hamer.
I'm Morgan Patrick. We'll see you on the radio next week. I don't know what it is. Yeah. Yeah.
Judica County is hosted by attorneys licensed to practice law in North Carolina.
Some of the guests appearing on this podcast may be licensed North Carolina attorneys. Discussion on this podcast is meant to be general in nature, and in no way should the discussion be interpreted as legal advice. Legal advice can only be rendered once an attorney, licensed in the state in which you live, has the opportunity to discuss the facts of your case with you. The attorneys appearing on this podcast are speaking in generalities about the law in North Carolina and how these laws affect the average North Carolinian. If you have any questions about the content of this show, you can direct such inquiry to Joshua Whitaker at jmw at mwhlaw.lawyer.
