We Buy Houses in Haywood County

Fred, then Helene, along the Pigeon River

Fred dropped more than a foot of rain on parts of Haywood County in August 2021, and the East Fork of the Pigeon River tore through Cruso before the main river flooded Canton. Six people died. Three years later, Helene pushed the Pigeon River higher still in places, flooding homes along the river in Canton and putting water across Carolina Boulevard in Clyde.

Some houses along the river flooded in both storms. We buy at any stage: gutted, half-rebuilt, or untouched since the water went down.

Haywood County also administers FEMA-funded buyouts for flood-prone homes, and Clyde accounted for most of the early interest. By the second anniversary of Helene the county had about 80 buyout cases, only some of them approved, and Canton is separately buying floodplain land along the Pigeon. A buyout pays pre-storm value but can take years. If you are waiting on one, tell us, and we can give you a cash figure to weigh against it.

Canton after the mill

Pactiv Evergreen announced the closure of the Canton paper mill in March 2023, and layoffs began that June. The mill had run for more than a century, and much of the housing around it dates from its working years.

Much of that housing is frame construction on crawlspaces with original wiring and plumbing. A financed buyer's inspector will find all of it. A cash sale does not need any of it fixed first.

Slopes, cabins, and the county slope ordinance

Haywood County requires a land-disturbing permit for cut-and-fill slope construction, repair, or stabilization, and the county will not issue a certificate of occupancy until its engineer confirms compliance. Maggie Valley has its own steep slope chapter. A cabin or second home with an unfinished slope repair, an unpermitted retaining wall, or a driveway that slid in Helene is hard to sell through a lender.

We buy those properties as they are. Send any engineering letters or permit paperwork you have.

Haywood County property we buy

• Houses flooded by Fred, Helene, or both
• Mill-era houses in Canton and Clyde
• Cabins and second homes in Maggie Valley with slope or access problems
• Houses with unfinished or unpermitted slope stabilization
• Older houses in Waynesville needing major repairs
• Manufactured homes on owned land
• Inherited houses and rentals, occupied or vacant

Records, courts, and closing in Haywood County

Waynesville is the county seat. The Haywood County Register of Deeds records deeds and deeds of trust, the clerk of superior court in Waynesville handles foreclosure hearings and estates, and the county tax office sets values. Haywood last reappraised in 2021, and the next revaluation is scheduled for 2027.

A licensed North Carolina attorney handles the closing. After two floods, many houses here have had contractors through them. Mention any recent work, since North Carolina mechanics' liens can relate back to when it began.

Frequently asked questions