Sell a Fire-Damaged House in North Carolina

What your North Carolina fire policy requires

North Carolina puts the core fire-insurance terms in statute. Under N.C.G.S. § 58-44-16, any policy covering fire on property in the state must conform in substance to the standard fire policy, and where a policy's fire conditions are less generous, the statute's terms apply. These are the ones that matter after a fire:

• Notice and protection: tell the insurer in writing right away and protect the house from further damage. The NC Department of Insurance also says to photograph the damage and not to throw out damaged items before the adjuster sees them.
• Proof of loss: a signed, sworn proof of loss is due within 60 days of the fire unless the insurer extends that time in writing. If you need longer, get the extension on paper.
• Payment: the loss is payable 60 days after the insurer receives the proof of loss and the amount is agreed or set by appraisal.
• Disputes over the amount: either side can demand appraisal in writing. Each picks an appraiser, the two pick an umpire, and a written award signed by any two of them sets the loss.
• Suit deadline: a lawsuit on the policy must be filed within three years after the fire.
• Vacancy: the standard policy does not cover a loss that occurs while the building has been vacant or unoccupied for more than 60 days in a row, unless your policy adds that coverage in writing. A burned house left empty for months can fall into that gap, which matters if it is vandalized or catches fire again.

Replacement cost, depreciation, and selling instead of rebuilding

Many homeowner policies with replacement cost coverage pay in two steps. The NC Department of Insurance explains that the insurer typically pays actual cash value first, which is the repair cost minus depreciation, and pays the rest, called recoverable depreciation, after you repair or replace and send receipts.

That matters if you sell rather than rebuild, because the second payment depends on repairs you may never make. Read the replacement cost conditions in your policy, and when you weigh an offer, compare it with the actual cash value figure rather than the full replacement number.

Your policy itself does not move to a buyer. The standard policy says an assignment is not valid without the insurer's written consent. What a purchase contract can address is the claim money: who keeps payments already made, who receives payments still to come, and how that changes the price.

If you are struggling with the insurer, the Department of Insurance's Consumer Services Division takes questions and complaints at 855-408-1212.

Public adjusters knocking on the door

Public adjusters may approach you after a fire. They work for you, not the insurer, and North Carolina requires them to be licensed by the Department of Insurance. Article 33A of Chapter 58 sets the ground rules:

• The contract must be in writing and state the adjuster's license number and full compensation. If the fee is a share of the settlement, the exact percentage must be written in.
• The contract can make the adjuster a co-payee on claim checks, so a check may carry your name, your lender's and the adjuster's.
• You can cancel within three business days after signing, in writing, mailed or delivered to the address in the contract.
• They may not solicit you between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.
• The 10% fee cap, and the ban on taking money before the claim settles, apply only to a "catastrophic incident," defined as an event causing extraordinary mass casualties, damage or disruption. A single house fire is not usually that, so the fee is whatever your contract says. Read it before you sign.

The mortgage while you can't live there

If your lender is named on the insurance policy, expect claim checks to carry the lender's name as well. The insurance section of your deed of trust says what the lender may do with that money, including whether it can hold it until repairs are done. Read it before you plan around the claim.

The monthly payment is still due on a house nobody can live in. If it stops, foreclosure under a North Carolina deed of trust usually runs as a power-of-sale proceeding before the clerk of superior court. For a home loan on a primary residence, the servicer must mail a pre-foreclosure notice at least 45 days before filing the notice of hearing, itemizing what is past due and naming someone to call about alternatives.

A sale that closes first pays the loan from the proceeds, and the closing attorney deals with any claim money the lender is holding at the same time. The full sequence is in how foreclosure works in North Carolina.

When the inspector posts the house

Two parts of Chapter 160D can reach a burned house. Under the unsafe-building statute, § 160D-1119, an inspector who finds a building especially dangerous to life, whether from fire risk, failing walls, unsafe wiring or similar causes, posts a notice on an outside wall. Removing that notice is a Class 1 misdemeanor, so leave it where it is.

If you don't fix the problem promptly, the inspector sends written notice of a hearing held within 10 days, then can order the building repaired, closed, vacated or demolished. The order normally allows at least 60 days, or less where there is imminent danger, and you have 10 days to appeal it to the city or county governing board. If the local government removes the building, its cost becomes a lien on the lot and can also reach other property you own in that jurisdiction, apart from your primary residence.

The minimum housing route in Article 12 applies to dwellings unfit to live in. After a hearing, the public officer orders repair if it can be done at a reasonable cost compared with the house's value, or removal if it can't, and a local ordinance can set that percentage. Before the city demolishes a house itself, the governing board must adopt an ordinance naming the property, and that ordinance is recorded at the register of deeds under the owner's name.

So a demolition ordinance shows up in the title search whether you mention it or not. A posted notice or an open order does not stop a sale. Send us the case number and any paperwork, and the closing attorney pays recorded liens from your proceeds. The common North Carolina liens are explained in liens and title problems on North Carolina property.

Local rules in Charlotte, Raleigh and other cities

Every North Carolina city works from the same state statutes, but each adopts its own ordinances, and two local examples show why the details matter right after a fire:

• Charlotte: the City says owners of boarded-up homes must register them with the City within 48 hours under its boarded-up structure registration ordinance.
• Raleigh: Section 11.5.2 of the Unified Development Ordinance lets an inspector declare a building unsafe if it is unoccupied and not adequately secured against entry. An open, burned-out house fits that description.
• Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem, Fayetteville and smaller towns: call the inspections or code enforcement office, ask whether a case is open on the address, and write down the case number. That one number tells us most of what we need to know about the city's side.

Property tax on a house that burned this year

North Carolina sets the value of real property as of January 1 (N.C.G.S. § 105-285). A fire in April or September generally does not cut that year's bill, because the bill is based on the value the house had on January 1, when it was still standing.

Outside a revaluation year, the assessor can lower the value for a physical change to the buildings, but under § 105-287 that change takes effect as of January 1 of the year it is made and is not retroactive. Damage after January 1 is normally picked up in a later listing, so tell the county assessor about the fire. Any unpaid or delinquent tax is paid from your proceeds at closing; see North Carolina property taxes and tax foreclosure.

If restoration work started and stopped

Fire jobs often stall. The mitigation crew tears out drywall and dries the house, the claim slows down, and the contractor leaves. Under Chapter 44A, an unpaid contractor or supplier can file a claim of lien with the clerk of superior court up to 120 days after last working on or supplying the job, and that lien relates back to the day they first furnished labor or materials at the site. They then have 180 days from their last work to sue to enforce it.

That means a lien can appear after you thought the job was finished. Tell us every company that worked on the house, including board-up and water-extraction crews, and whether each was paid. If a lien agent was designated for the job, include that name too.

The disclosure statement when the damage is obvious

Most sales of one-to-four-unit homes in North Carolina fall under Chapter 47E, the Residential Property Disclosure Act. The seller gives the buyer a disclosure statement, and the statute lets you either disclose the conditions you actually know about or state that you make no representations about the property's condition.

No Representation is a choice not to answer, not permission to answer wrongly. Anything you do state has to be accurate. And if a fire happens after you have already delivered a disclosure statement to a different buyer, § 47E-7 requires you to deliver a corrected statement promptly.

With us, the fire is the starting point, not something to hide. What helps is everything around it: the fire department's report, the adjuster's estimate, any engineer's letter, and what you know about the house from before the fire.

Burned mobile and manufactured homes

We buy fire-damaged mobile and manufactured homes too, and the first question is how the home is titled. North Carolina treats a manufactured home as real property only if it is a residence with the hitch, wheels and axles removed, set on a permanent foundation on land the home's owner owns, or leases for a primary term of at least 20 years (§ 105-273(13)). Otherwise it is personal property titled through the NCDMV.

If the DMV title was surrendered when the home became real property, under § 20-109.2, it transfers by deed with the land. If it still has a DMV title, that title has to be signed over, and any lender shown on it has to be paid. Find the title or the county tax record before we talk, because it decides the paperwork.

Selling it as it stands

We buy fire-damaged houses in any condition, from smoke damage in one room to a lot with only the chimney left. You don't need to clean, gut, board, haul debris or demolish anything to sell to us, and there are no commissions. That includes older frame and mill-village houses, rentals, and inherited houses that burned while empty. While you own the house, your city's rules still apply.

We have bought as-is property for more than 10 years. When the title is clear we can close in as little as 10 days, and you choose the date. We buy before or after the claim settles, with the claim money handled as a term of the contract. To get started, send us what you have:

• The address and the date of the fire
• The claim number, what has been paid, and what is still open or disputed
• Your lender and an approximate payoff
• Any posted notice, hearing notice, order or case number from the inspector
• Every contractor or crew that worked on the house, and whether they were paid
• For a manufactured home, the NCDMV title or the tax record showing it as real property

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information about selling property in North Carolina, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Laws change and every situation is different, so talk with a qualified North Carolina professional about yours.