North Carolina

Full Session Law This legislation, effective October 1, 2010, provides basic protections for North Carolinians against foreclosure "rescue" scams, and abuses related to option-to-purchase and contract-for-deed contracts. Violations of this law constitute an unfair trade practice and the injured party may sue to recover damages, obtain declaratory or equitable relief, or rescind the transaction, in addition to any other remedy...

Full Session Law This legislation has two major components: (1) it extends the reach of the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project, and (2) it modifies the points and fees trigger for determining that a mortgage is high-cost. Extending the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project (SHFPP) Since 2008, the SHFPP has helped over 4,200 homeowners with subprime loans avoid foreclosure in...

Full Session Law This act, which became effective October 1, 2009, increased the amount of home equity protected against creditors. This "homestead exemption" was raised from $18,500 to $35,000 per individual. Since the exempted amount is per individual, $70,000 is protected for a married couple. For homeowners aged 65 or older who previously owned the home with their deceased spouse...

Full Session Law As in the past, a homeowners association may impose liens on properties if the owners have balances that are at least 30 days overdue to the association. However, this law, effective October 1, 2009, adds the requirement that they first notify the homeowner. The homeowners association must make reasonable and diligent efforts to ensure that its records...

Full Session Law This legislation makes it unlawful for a local government to discriminate against affordable housing in its land use or permitting decisions, whether through action or inaction. Either the intent or effect of discriminating against housing developments with units for those with less than 80% of the area median income is a violation of the law. However, it...

Full Session Law This bill clarified what constitutes a violation of reasonable accommodation requirements under the Fair Housing Act. While the required accommodations are not new, the modified structure of the bill clarifies that discriminatory intent is not required to establish unlawful housing discrimination. The amendment went into effect on October 1, 2009. The following are accommodations are required, under...

Full Session Law This law rewrote the NC Mortgage Lending Act to conform with new federal legislation. Though the bulk of the law remains the same, some new protections were added, including: An increase in the bond required for mortgage brokers, to between $75,000 to $250,000 depending on the broker's activity. Previously the bond requirement was a flat $50,000 An...

Full Session Law This bill made technical and clarifying changes to anti-predatory lending laws for high-cost and rate-spread mortgages. The law became effective October 1, 2009. High-Cost Loans For high-cost loans, the bill clarified the definition of points and fees to include costs paid by the borrower "at or before closing". Rate-Spread Loans After the updates made through this bill...

Full Session Law This act, which became effective October 1, 2009, prohibits deficiency judgments on predatory home loans in North Carolina. A deficiency judgment is a lender's way of recovering the balance owed on a loan in the event that the proceeds of a foreclosure sale do not fully cover the amount owed. Under this law, deficiency judgments are restricted...

Full Session Law This law, which went into effect October 1, 2009, strengthened consumer protections in the areas of foreclosure and debt buying activities. Foreclosure Protections Under this law, the clerk of the court may delay foreclosure hearings for owner-occupied residences by up to 60 days, if the clerk finds good cause to believe the additional time has a reasonable...