Get a free home valuation

State guide

How to Sell a House by Owner in North Carolina

To sell a house by owner in North Carolina, you give the buyer the state's property disclosure and mineral rights disclosure forms by the time the buyer makes an offer, and you close through a North Carolina attorney, because a nonlawyer may not handle a residential closing. You also pay the state excise tax on the deed, $1 per $500 of the price, when the deed is recorded, and seven northeastern counties add a local land transfer tax.

  1. Fill out the North Carolina Real Estate Commission's Residential Property and Owners' Association Disclosure Statement (REC 4.22). Chapter 47E requires residential owners to complete it, with limited exemptions such as a never-occupied new home, and each question takes Yes, No, No Representation or Not Applicable. NCREC form REC 4.22
  2. Complete the Mineral and Oil and Gas Rights Mandatory Disclosure Statement (REC 4.25) as well, and give both forms to the buyer no later than the time the buyer makes an offer. If they arrive late, the buyer can cancel within three calendar days of getting them or of the contract date, whichever comes first, but not after closing or move-in. NCREC form REC 4.25
  3. Put the deal in a written contract, since North Carolina real estate contracts must be in writing to be enforceable. The most common form is the Offer to Purchase and Contract (Form 2-T) approved by the N.C. Bar Association and NC REALTORS, which gives the buyer a due diligence period to terminate for any reason; if no standard form fits your terms, have a North Carolina attorney draft the contract. NCREC Q&A on Offer and Acceptance
  4. Close through a North Carolina attorney. The buyer usually picks the closing attorney, you can hire your own or pay the buyer's attorney to prepare the deed, and the sale is closed once the attorney records the deed and pays out the funds. NCREC Q&A on Real Estate Closings
  5. Pay the state excise tax on the deed, $1 for each $500 of the price or part of $500, under G.S. 105-228.30. The seller pays it to the Register of Deeds in the county where the house sits before the deed is recorded. NC Department of Revenue, Excise Tax on Conveyances
  6. If the house is in Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Pasquotank, Perquimans or Washington County, add the county land transfer tax. Perquimans, for example, charges $1 per $100 of the price (1 percent), paid to the Register of Deeds at recording, and asks for a copy of the sales contract or an Affidavit of Consideration or Value with the deed. Perquimans County Land Transfer Tax
  7. The deed is recorded with the Register of Deeds in the county where the house sits. Wake County's office, for example, charges $26 for the first 15 pages and $4 for each page after that, plus $25 for a document outside its standard format; check your own county's fee schedule. Wake County Register of Deeds fees
Closing handled by
A real estate attorney
Attorney customary
Yes
Transfer tax
The seller pays the state excise tax on the deed, $1 for each $500 of the price or part of $500, to the county Register of Deeds before the deed is recorded. Seven northeastern counties add a county land transfer tax, 1 percent in Perquimans and Camden.
Seller disclosure
Sellers of homes with one to four units must give the buyer two state forms no later than the time the buyer makes an offer: the Residential Property and Owners' Association Disclosure Statement (REC 4.22), where many items may be marked "No Representation," and the Mineral and Oil and Gas Rights Mandatory Disclosure Statement (REC 4.25).

Who runs the closing in North Carolina?

North Carolina is an attorney state. The State Bar’s Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2002-1, which applies the state’s unauthorized practice of law statutes (G.S. 84-2.1 to 84-5), says a nonlawyer may not handle a residential real estate closing. A nonlawyer may present the documents for signing and receive and pay out the closing funds, but the title search, the title opinion and preparing the deed are legal work for a North Carolina attorney. The buyer usually picks the closing attorney, who may also act for the lender and for you, and you can hire your own attorney or pay the buyer’s attorney to prepare the deed. A title company issues the title insurance policy, but it relies on the closing attorney’s title search first. The sale is closed when the attorney records the deed and pays out the funds. Treat the attorney’s fee as a normal, expected cost of the sale rather than an optional add-on.

What must you disclose when selling a house in North Carolina?

Chapter 47E, the Residential Property Disclosure Act, covers sales of homes with one to four units, whether or not a broker is involved. The seller must give the buyer two forms from the North Carolina Real Estate Commission no later than the time the buyer makes an offer: the Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement (REC 4.22) and the Mineral and Oil and Gas Rights Mandatory Disclosure Statement (REC 4.25). On REC 4.22 each question takes Yes, No, No Representation or Not Applicable. “No Representation” lets you decline to state a condition, but a Yes or No answer must match what you actually know, and the form warns that failing to disclose a hidden defect can still lead to civil liability. The mineral rights form is still required in some sales that are exempt from REC 4.22, such as the first sale of a never-occupied new home or a sale where both sides agree not to complete REC 4.22.

If the forms arrive late, the buyer can cancel by written notice within three calendar days of receiving them or of the contract date, whichever comes first, and loses that right at closing or move-in. If something changes after you deliver them, for example the roof starts to leak, G.S. 47E-7 requires you to deliver a corrected statement promptly. A house built before 1978 also needs the federal lead-based paint disclosure.

What transfer taxes do you pay in North Carolina?

G.S. 105-228.30 levies an excise tax on the deed of $1 for each $500 of the price, with any part of $500 counted as a full $500. That works out to $2 per $1,000, or 0.2 percent. The law puts the tax on the seller, who pays it to the Register of Deeds in the county where the property sits before the deed is recorded. Seven northeastern counties, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Washington, add a county land transfer tax on top. Perquimans and Camden both charge 1 percent, five times the state tax, so check your county’s rate before you estimate your net proceeds. Recording the deed costs extra, though the buyer normally pays that fee. Wake County charges $26 for the first 15 pages and $4 for each page after that.

Can you sell without an agent in North Carolina? The bottom line

Selling without an agent works here, but plan around the closing attorney from the start, since an attorney handles the closing by rule in North Carolina, not as an option you can skip. Your part is pricing the house, the two disclosure forms and a written contract that an attorney drafts or reviews. The state excise tax is small for most sellers, though the seven land transfer counties change the math. This is general information, not legal advice.

Every state's disclosure rule sits side by side, with a CSV, in seller disclosure requirements by state.

What is your home in North Carolina worth? Get a free estimate from your ZIP code, with the agent fee on that price. No email, no account.

Where can you list a home for sale by owner in North Carolina? See how the US for-sale-by-owner sites compare on cost and MLS access.

Selling by owner in a neighbouring state: Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia.

Sources used on this page

Every legal, tax, and process claim on this page traces to one of these. We re-check them on a schedule and date the page when anything changes.

  1. Chapter 47E, Residential Property Disclosure ActNorth Carolina General Assembly · ncleg.gov
  2. Residential Property and Owners' Association Disclosure Statement (REC 4.22)North Carolina Real Estate Commission · ncrec.gov
  3. Mineral and Oil and Gas Rights Mandatory Disclosure Statement (REC 4.25)North Carolina Real Estate Commission · ncrec.gov
  4. Questions and Answers on Offer and Acceptance (REC 3.17)North Carolina Real Estate Commission · ncrec.gov
  5. Questions and Answers on Real Estate Closings (REC 3.56)North Carolina Real Estate Commission · ncrec.gov
  6. Authorized Practice Advisory Opinion 2002-1, laypersons in residential real estate closingsNorth Carolina State Bar · ncbar.gov
  7. G.S. 105-228.30 (Excise tax on conveyances)North Carolina General Assembly · ncleg.gov
  8. Statistical Abstract, Table 51, Excise Tax on ConveyancesNorth Carolina Department of Revenue · ncdor.gov
  9. Land Transfer TaxPerquimans County Tax Administrator · perquimanscountync.gov
  10. Land TransferCamden County Tax Department · camdencountync.gov
  11. Recording and Document FeesWake County Register of Deeds · wake.gov

Free checklist

Your FSBO prep checklist

Enter your email and your checklist downloads as a PDF.

We send you the checklist and nothing else. We never sell, rent, or share your email, and we add you to no mailing list. Full details in our privacy note.

What is your home worth?

Free, no email, no account