North Carolina Real Estate Legal Questions

The mortgage company will not approve the loan unless they have ownership interest in the property. They can give you a partial interest, or they can give you a life estate with right of survivorship. Your parents need to ahve a consultation with a local real estate and/or estate planning attorney for specific advice concerning their financial situation and yours to determine what the best method will be.... Read More

My first question is are you really on the loan (did you sign a promissory note) and are you sure you are not on the deed. You may have agreed to have the mortgage company take the payments from your checking account but not be an obligor on the mortgage loan. If you really did sign the promissory note at the closing of the home purchase, it would be highly unusual for you not to be listed on the deed. Assuming that you are correct, signing the mortgage loan as a co obligor without being a part owner of the real estate was a very costly mistake.  You have absolutely no ownership interest in the house, and you have no rights to the house at all because you are not married. What you might be entitled to get back, if anything, depends upon what your agreement was with your fiancee when the home was purchased as far as who pays for what. If you pay the mortgage payment but he pays the utilities and home upkeep and that was your agreement, you probably won't get anything back. If you had an agreement but you have actually paid more than what your agreement required you to pay, you may possibly be able to get something back. I don't think you have any recourse for the rent that you paid before you bought the house.  Take the mortgage loan agreement and the deed to a local real estate attorney. More details are needed about who spent what on the house to see if you possibly could recover anything from your fiancee.... Read More

There's no reason to do that and there is some risk. You need to have a will anyways and adding them to the deed is unneccessary if you leave the house to them in your will. The risk is that if one or both of them have financial problems and get sued for debt, or they get sued for any other reason and a money judgment is entered against them, that's a lien on their portion of the house which will have to be paid upon sale or refinance of the property. The other risk is they would be free to convey their portion to whomever they choose. You may trust them completely, but you never know what might happen. Just because they reside there with you does not mean they have to be owners of the property.... Read More

It is true that a person in America can sell his/her property or give it away as he or she chooses.  But if the purpose in making such a transfer is to avoid the requirements of Medicaid laws, care must be taken.   Medicaid law basically says that we all have to spend our own assets down to pretty much nothing before we can make application for public assistance -- that's what Medicaid is.  It would be considered a fraud on the government for a person to give his/her property away and then apply for Medicaid assistance.  But if the gift was made more than 5 years prior, then there is no such presumption.   So, if she is willing to give up her ownership interests now, she has the right to do so.  But you will have to wait and seen then whether she can make it for 5 years before there is a need for Medicaid help.  (And this assumes, of course, that the 5 years threshold will not be changed in the future.)  ... Read More

You may need to consider filing for bankruptcy protection.  You should speak with a local bankruptcy attorney to determine if bankruptcy would be an appropriate option for you. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.... Read More

A contract for the sale of a house is like any other contract:  it binds the parties to their deal.  Neither party can back away from their commitment (their contract) unless the contract itself gives them an out.  Sometimes, a party is allowed to back out by the other side because the non-canceling parties simply do not want to get into a controversy - especially one that might end up costing them money. Your own contract will spell out the liability that you might incur if you fail to go through with the sale.  If the contract allows the buyers a period of time to investigate the property, run tests, etc, that usually is at their own expense.  Your asking if you can back out should not change the terms and make you liable.  Read the contract to see what it says about costs you (as sellers) are required to pay.  Now, if you fail to go through with the sale and the buyers sue you, they will likely get an order from a judge ordering you to sign the deed and do whatever else the contract requires of you -- and may order you to pay the buyer's legal fees.  You should confer with a good real estate lawyer in your area to learn what liabilities you will have if you refuse to go forward.  It is my guess that you will find it prudent to go forward with the sale.  '  ... Read More

The answer to your question depends upon the facts.  Probably, there is an easement for a double purpose.  One is to maintain the drainage ditch to control surface water, and the other would be to permit the power company to maintain electrical lines at essentially the same place -- but up above.  The text of the easement would tell whether the power company cut outside its easement.  Ordinarily, power company easements allow the trimming or cutting of growth that is inside the easement area and many also allow the trimming/cutting of growth that threatens the wires even if outside some specified boundary.  Such easements are intentionally vague so as to allow some discretion on the part of the power company to decide what might threaten their lines.  If you truly feel the trimming was excessive, make an appointment to see a good real estate attorney and ask him/her to review the power company's easement.  If the power company has cut outside its easement boundaries, you may have a cause of action against it.  In such event, the big question will probably be proving the "financial" amount of your damages.  In order to be successful in court, you must not only prove that the adversary is guilty of some wrongful conduct, but you must also prove that it damaged you to a specified amount -- and that the amount in controversy is large enough to justify the costs of litigation. ... Read More

You are wise to begin asking questions now.  There are several difficult issues.  The easiest solution to the concern would be for your dad and step-mom to simply convey the property to you subject to the mortgage --- but they can't do that for the following reason.  The first issue arises from the fact that there is a mortgage on the property.  It is almost certain that there is a "due on sale" clause in the mortgage.  That means the transfer of any interest in the property by your dad and step-mom to you would be a violation of the mortgage terms and would give the mortgage holder a basis for foreclosing -- unless you could obtain a written consent from the lender to allow the transfer.  Getting such consent is unlikely but, if the lender is a local bank, it might be worth a try if your dad and step-mom are willing to make the conveyance.  It is likely that even a contract to convey the property in the future would be deemed by the courts of your state as a violation of the "due on sale" clause.  Any other approach (short of an outright conveyance) would be uncertain, but may be all that you can reasonably get.  For example, your dad and step-mom could have wills prepared whereby they leave the property to you.  However, a will can be changed by either of them at their whim.  We don't know whether their deed is prepared in such a way that, if either of them dies, the title shifts entirely to the survivor.  If they have such joint ownership, your dad's death would leave the title entirely to your step-mom even if he has a will saying you get the property.  And if your step-mom dies without a will, her property (which would then include your home) would go to her heirs.  You are not an heir to her.  I recommend that you see a good real estate attorney in your area and ask him/her to research the title to your home to see exactly how the title is vested presently and to then advise you on what you can and should do to better protect your interests.  The cost of a limited title examination and a couple of conferences should be modest.   ... Read More