Buy and Sell in the Piedmont Triad

To buy a house any buyer would need to: get pre-approved for a loan/make sure they have enough funds to purchase a property in cash (it's more than just the downpayment), find the house/property that will best suit their needs, negotiate the contract through the preferred Realtor®, go under contract, get on the attorney's schedule to close on the contracted date, inspect the property, negotiate any requested repairs, attend closing, and get the deed recorded in the correct county! Easy peasy!

North Carolina is an Attorney State instead of a Title State. This means that any property sale must be done through a real estate attorney instead of a title company handling the closing. Attorneys still work closely with title companies in North Carolina to make sure that every title/deed transfer is “free and clear” of any parties that are not immediately involved in the current transaction. The attorney usually recommends the buyer purchase title insurance just in case something shows up after closing that could affect the title.

Earnest Money is a fee (historical evidence suggests a median amount of around 1% of the purchase price that is negotiable within the Offer To Purchase form) paid to the attorney/escrow agent at the beginning of the contract. This fee is held for the seller of the property after the Due Diligence Period has ended as a pseudo “promise to close” while the property is pending. This is deducted from the money a buyer is responsible to bring to closing as a credit for already being paid out and NOT an additional fee on top of the purchase price. Additionally, the Earnest Money Deposit can go back to the buyer if they elect to withdraw from the contract during the Due Diligence Period for any or no reason.

Similar to the Earnest Money Deposit, the Due Diligence Fee is a fee paid directly from the buyer to the seller. It historically hits at around the 1% range of purchase price offered and is a negotiation point in the Offer. Unlike the Earnest Money Deposit, however, the Due Diligence Fee is almost never refundable to the buyer. In some instances of gross misrepresentation the funds can be released back to the buyer, or the buyer can sue the seller in civil court for the funds back. An example PMR experienced was a seller who had knowingly hidden the evidence of fire damage, a material fact, and the buyer took them to court to gain back the money they paid for Due Diligence and some other incurred fees. In this case the buyer won and the seller had to pay back funds and expenses.