My wife and I were representing a buyer to purchase a remodeled home in the county on well and septic.  After our buyer entered into a contract to buy their home, we discovered through a septic inspection that the seller had a non-permitted septic system.  Needless to say, this was a big surprise since we had pulled a copy of a septic permit on file for this home and that the seller represented on the North Carolina Residential Property Disclosure Statement that there were no problems with the septic system.  

After notifying the listing agent of our findings, the seller called us all out to meet about it at his home.  What we learned was that a septic system had been installed in a different location than the permit on file showed, and had not been permitted by the Alamance County Health Department.  The seller said the septic system backed up just over a year ago and that he had it repaired.  It was at this time that we believe he was made aware that his septic system was not permitted (he probably bought the home without getting the septic system inspected and his agent only pulled the original existing permit on file at the time of purchase).  He contacted the Alamance County Health Department about repairing the septic system and getting it permitted. The seller decided to have an unlicensed friend make the septic repairs and bypass obtaining a permit, due to the cost involved in going through the permit process.  We were shocked to find out that this seller had willingly and knowingly failed to disclose to his listing agent and all prospective buyers on the open market, the material fact that his home had a non-permitted septic system.  

Luckily for the seller, our buyer still wanted to buy his home at the time if the seller could get a new permit issued for a three-bedroom septic system, which he agreed to do.  As it turned out, this seller tried to get the Health Department to issue a permit for the existing septic system which they declined to do. As a result, the seller did not obtain the permit, breached his contract, and negotiated a settlement agreement refunding most of the buyer's incurred expenses.  

Fortunately for this seller, our buyer decided not to sue him for breach of contract preventing him from selling his home to any other buyers.  He also could have faced legal problems for failing to disclose on the North Carolina Residential Property Disclosure Statement that his septic system was not permitted, which he knew and was a Material Fact and a Willful Omission.

If you are ready to buy or sell, call  Mary Staton or Bert Ward - they’ll be happy to answer any questions.  

A common dilemma many buyers face is whether to buy their new home first or sell their existing home first. If you don’t need to sell your home in order to buy your next home, then buying first is the most convenient option. If you sell first you may not be able to find your next home right away and may have to rent an apartment or home before you do. If neither of these two options are appealing to your situation, there is a third option, making a contingent offer to buy your next home.

In this situation, the contingent buyer should have already put their home on the market and identified a new home they would like to buy with the intention of closing on both their existing home and new home simultaneously. This can be tricky because it is risky business for any seller to accept a contingent offer without the buyer at least having their home under contract. If the buyer doesn’t have their home under contract, sellers are not inclined to accept a contingent offer since they don’t know when or if the buyer will get their home under contract. For the purpose of this article, we’ll assume that the contingent buyer has their home under contract.

So what happens next? Once the contingent buyer enters into a contract to purchase their next home, the seller is entitled to receive a copy of the contract on their buyer’s home in which they may or may not share confidential information such as names and purchase price. The reason to provide a copy of the buyer’s contract is to demonstrate that they do indeed have a contract on their home, showing the due diligence expiration date and closing date. Since a buyer can back out of the contract during the due diligence period for any reason, or no reason, it is important for sellers to know how long this period is. The shorter the period, the more attractive the offer, since time is of the essence. Once the due diligence period lapses, the earnest money comes into play and the chances of the contingent buyer backing out are less likely. In other words, the contingent buyer’s contract on their home is more likely to close giving the seller a greater peace of mind. Notice how I said more likely to close. There are still instances where your contingent buyer may not close, such as the buyer losing their job and having no choice but to breach their contract. Generally speaking, the best offers are the ones that are not contingent upon a buyer having to sell their home in order to buy your home. Having said this, if you don’t have any other offers or the contingent offer is substantially higher than the other offers, it may be worth the risk of entering into a contingent contract.

If you are ready to sell and buy but you have questions about the process, call Mary Staton or Bert Ward - they’ll be happy to answer any questions about the Contingent Buying.