North Carolina Foreclosure Laws

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North Carolina Foreclosure Laws

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North Carolina Foreclosure is Non-Judicial.

Right to Foreclose or Sell under Power.

North Carolina foreclosure law states that all sales of real property, under a power of sale contained in any mortgage or deed of trust to secure the payment of money, by any mortgagee or trustee, through an agent or attorney for that purpose, appointed orally or in writing by such mortgagee or trustee, whether such writing has been or shall be registered or not, shall be valid, whether or not such mortgagee or trustee was or shall be present at such sale.

North Carolina Foreclosure Sale of Real Property.

(a) Every sale of real property shall be held in the county where the property is situated unless the property consists of a single tract situated in two or more counties.

(b) A sale of a single tract of real property situated in two or more counties may be held in any one of the counties in which any part of the tract is situated. As used in this section, a "single tract" means any tract which has a continuous boundary, regardless of whether parts thereof may have been acquired at different times or from different persons, or whether it may have been subdivided into other units or lots, or whether it is sold as a whole or in parts.

(c) When a mortgage or deed of trust with power of sale of real property designates the place of sale within the county, the sale shall be held at the place so designated.

(d) When a mortgage or deed of trust with power of sale of real property confers upon the mortgagee or trustee the right to designate the place of sale, the North Carolina foreclosure sale shall be held at the place designated by the notice of sale, which place shall be either on the premises to be sold or as follows:

(1) Property situated wholly within a single county shall be sold at the courthouse door of the county in which the land is situated.

(2) A single tract of property situated in two or more counties may be sold at the courthouse door of any one of the counties in which some part of the real property is situated.

(e) When a mortgage or deed of trust with power of sale of real property does not designate, or confer upon the mortgagee or trustee the right to designate, the place of sale, or when it designates as the place of sale some county in which no part of the property is situated, such real property shall be sold as follows:

(1) Property situated wholly within a single count shall be sold at the courthouse door of the county in which the land is situated.

(2) A single tract of property situated in two or more counties may be sold at the
courthouse door of any one of the counties in which some part of the real property is situated.

North Carolina Foreclosure Requirement of Cash Deposit at Sale.

(a) If a mortgage or deed of trust contains provisions with respect to a cash deposit at the sale, the terms of the instrument shall be complied with.

(b) If the instrument contains no provision with respect to a cash deposit at the North Carolina foreclosure sale, the mortgagee or trustee may require the highest bidder immediately to make a cash deposit not to exceed the greater of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00).

(c) If the highest bidder fails to make the required deposit, the person holding the sale may at the same time and place immediately re-offer the property for sale.

North Carolina Foreclosure Notice of Sale and Hearing.

The mortgagee or trustee granted a power of sale under a mortgage or deed of trust who seeks to exercise such power of sale shall file with the clerk of court a notice of hearing in accordance with the terms of this section. After the notice of hearing is filed, the notice of hearing shall be served upon each party entitled to notice under this section of the North Carolina foreclosure laws. The notice shall specify a time and place for the hearing before the clerk of court and shall be served not less than 10 days prior to the date of such hearing. The notice shall be served and proof of service shall be made in any manner provided by the Rules of Civil Procedure for service of summons, including service by registered mail or certified mail, return receipt requested. However, in those instances that publication would be authorized, service may be made by posting a notice in a conspicuous place and manner upon the property not less than 20 days prior to the date of the hearing, and if service upon a party cannot be effected after a reasonable and diligent effort in a manner authorized above, notice to such party may be given by posting the notice in a conspicuous place and manner upon the property not less than 20 days prior to the date of hearing. Service by posting may run concurrently with any other effort to effect service. The notice shall be posted by the sheriff. In the event that the service is obtained by posting, an affidavit shall be filed with the clerk of court showing the circumstances warranting the use of service by posting.

If any party is not served or is not timely served prior to the date of the hearing, the clerk shall order the hearing continued to a date and time certain, not less than 10 days from the date scheduled for the original hearing. All notices already timely served remain effective. The mortgagee or trustee shall satisfy the notice requirement of this section with respect to those parties not served or not timely served with respect to the original hearing. Any party timely served, who has not received actual notice of the date to which the hearing has been continued, shall be sent the order of continuance by first-class mail at his last known address.

Notice of hearing shall be served in a manner authorized in subsection (a) upon:

1. Any person to whom the security interest instrument itself directs notice to be sent in case of default.

2. Any person obligated to repay the indebtedness against whom the holder thereof intends to assert liability therefore, and any such person not notified shall not be liable for any deficiency remaining after the sale.

3. Every record owner of the real estate whose interest is of record in the county where the real property is located at the time the notice of hearing is filed in that county. The term "record owner" means any person owning a present or future interest in the real property, which interest is of record at the time that the notice of hearing is filed and would be affected by the foreclosure proceeding, but does not mean or include the trustee in a deed of trust or the owner or holder of a mortgage, deed of trust, judgment, mechanic's or materialman's lien, or other lien or security interest in the real property. Tenants in possession under unrecorded leases or rental agreements shall not be considered record owners.

Notice shall be in writing and shall state in a manner reasonably calculated to make the party entitled to notice aware of the following:

1. The particular real estate security interest being foreclosed, with such a description as is necessary to identify the real property, including the date, original amount, original holder, and book and page of the security instrument.

2. The name and address of the holder of the security instrument at the time that the notice of hearing is filed.

3. The nature of the default claimed.

4. The fact, if such be the case, that the secured creditor has accelerated the maturity of the debt.

5. Any right of the debtor to pay the indebtedness or cure the default if such is permitted. The holder has confirmed in writing to the person giving the notice, or if the holder is giving the notice, the holder shall confirm in the notice, that, within 30 days of the date of the notice, the debtor was sent by first-class mail at the debtor's last known address a written statement of the amount of principal and interest that the holder claims in good faith is owed as of the date of the written statement, a daily interest charge based on the contract rate as of the date of the statement, and the amount of other expenses the holder contends it is owed as of the date of the statement.

6. The right of the debtor (or other party served) to appear before the clerk of court at a time and on a date specified, at which appearance he shall be afforded the opportunity to show cause as to why the foreclosure should not be allowed to be held. The notice shall contain a statement that if the debtor does not intend to contest the creditor's allegations of default, the debtor does not have to appear at the hearing and that his failure to attend the hearing will not affect his right to pay the indebtedness and thereby prevent the proposed sale, or to attend the actual sale, should he elect to do so.

7. That if the North Carolina foreclosure sale is consummated, the purchaser will be entitled to possession of the real estate as of the date of delivery of his deed, and that the debtor, if still in possession, can then be evicted. The name, address, and telephone number of the trustee or mortgagee.

8. That the debtor should keep the trustee or mortgagee notified in writing of his address so that he can be mailed copies of the notice of foreclosure setting forth the terms under which the sale will be held, and notice of any postponements or re-sales.

Contents of notice of sale.

The North Carolina foreclosure notice of sale shall -

1. Describe the instrument pursuant to which the sale is held, by identifying the original mortgagors and recording data. If the record owner is different from the original mortgagors, the notice shall also list the record owner of the property, as reflected on the records of the register of deeds not more than 10 days prior to posting the notice. The notice may also reflect the owner not reflected on the records if known;

2. Designate the date, hour and place of sale consistent with the provisions of the instrument and this Article;

3. Describe the real property to be sold in such a manner as is reasonably calculated to inform the public as to what is being sold, which description may be in general terms and may incorporate the description as used in the instrument containing the power of sale by reference thereto. Any property described in the instrument containing the power of sale which is not being offered for sale should also be described in such a manner as to enable prospective purchasers to determine what is and what is not being offered for sale;

4. State the terms of the sale provided for by the instrument pursuant to which the sale is held, including the amount of the cash deposit, if any, to be made by the highest bidder at the sale;

5. State that the property will be sold subject to taxes and special assessments if it is to be so sold.

6. State whether the property is being sold subject to or together with any subordinate rights or interests provided those rights and interests are sufficiently identified

Posting and Publishing North Carolina foreclosure Notice of Sale of Real Property.
In addition to complying with such provisions with respect to posting or publishing notice of sale as are contained in the security instrument,
North Carolina foreclosure notice of sale of real property shall-
1. Be posted, in the area designated by the clerk of superior court for posting public notices in the county in which the property is situated, at least 20 days immediately preceding the sale.

2. The notice shall be published once a week for at least two successive weeks in a newspaper published and qualified for legal advertising in the county in which the property is situated.

3. If no such newspaper is published in the county, then notice shall be published once a week for at least two successive weeks in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county.

4. In addition to the required newspaper advertisement, the clerk may in his discretion, on application of any interested party, authorize such additional advertisement as in the opinion of the clerk will serve the interest of the parties, and permit the charges for such further advertisement to be taxed as a part of the costs of the foreclosure.

When the notice of sale is published in a newspaper-

1. The period from the date of the first publication to the date of the last publication, both dates inclusive, shall not be less than seven days, including Sundays, and

2. The date of the last publication shall be not more than 10 days preceding the date of the sale.

3. The notice of sale shall be mailed by first-class mail at least 20 days prior to the date of sale to each party entitled to notice of the hearing whose address is known to the trustee or mortgagee and in addition shall also be mailed by first-class mail to any party desiring a copy of the notice of sale.

Time of sale.

A sale shall begin at the time designated in the notice of sale or as soon thereafter as practicable, but not later than one hour after the time fixed therefore unless it is delayed by other sales held at the same place. The sale shall be held between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. on any day other than Sunday or a legal holiday.

Update

There is a 10-day upset period in North Carolina. An upset bid may be placed any time during that 10-days which must be at least 5% greater than the last highest bid. That can go on and on and often does. Following the conclusion of the 10-day period, the highest bidder then has 30 days to come up with the funds, or the bid reverts to the next highest bidder. This is especially enlightening information for individuals or investors who purchase foreclosures as it takes away a lot of the uncertainty of an auction. A person who becomes courthouse savy can take advantage of a posted bid to acquire some very good deals without having to deal with the bidding process or without being limited to a certain time and date.

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