North Carolina · Statutes and NCREC rulesNorth Carolina real estate closing laws: a checklist for transaction coordinators

A North Carolina resale usually runs on the Offer to Purchase and Contract (Standard Form 2-T), plus statutes and Real Estate Commission rules. In the order a transaction meets them: the seller's three statements under G.S. 47E – the Residential Property Disclosure, the Owners' Association and Mandatory Covenants Disclosure, and the Mineral and Oil and Gas Rights Disclosure – are due no later than the buyer's offer; if they arrive late, the buyer may cancel by written notice until the end of the third calendar day after receiving them or after the contract was made, or settlement or occupancy, whichever comes first. The due diligence period ends at 5:00 p.m. on its date, and weekends don't move it; the due diligence fee goes to the seller and is separate from earnest money. A broker holding earnest money other than cash deposits it in a trust account within three days after acceptance, may pass it to the closing attorney no more than 10 days before settlement, and holds disputed money until a written release or court order (21 NCAC 58A .0116). For homes in an association, the statement of unpaid assessments must be given within 10 business days, binds the association and has a fee cap (G.S. 47F-3-118, 47C-3-118). For improvements of $40,000 or more, the owner names a lien agent, and claimants must notify it within 15 days of first furnishing labor or materials, or before a sale is recorded, to protect lien rights against a buyer (G.S. 44A).