Short answer: Yes! And we will guide you through how exactly you can close on a home if you live out of state.
But first, the why: North Carolina is one of the hottest destination for transplants in the entire country. North Carolina is the 28th largest state in terms of area, but 9th largest in terms of population. In 2019, 361,000 moved to NC, 308,000 were from out of state (Source).
Out of state transplants are coming here for more affordable housing and job opportunities. There were 6700 jobs added in NC since 2021, since then, North Carolina has ranked #3 in terms of ‘in-migration’ behind only Texas and Florida (Source).
New residents are coming from the top markets in the U.S.; 3 states account for ~30% of inflow into North Carolina from out of state. Of all searches for moves into North Carolina from other states in 2022, those from California made up 13.5%, Florida 9.3%, and New York 7.1%. 13.5% of North Carolina’s moves come from Californians trading coasts (Source).
At the height of activity in our market in the Triangle in late 2021 and early 2022, it was not uncommon to see out of state buyers touring homes virtually, their agents wandering around homes with a phone aloft, so the buyers in San Francisco or Manhattan could get an idea of what they were about to bid on. It was also not uncommon to see these buyers put down offers sight unseen, for 10-20% over asking price.
But with banks requiring notarized, wet signatures on loan docs it begs the question, how can you do an in-person closing from the other side of the country?
The first piece of the puzzle is to work with an experienced REALTOR® from Rich Realty Group who has experience with relocating folks from other major markets around the country.
Once you have a broker you can trust, it’s time to start shopping. After securing a great home in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill or anywhere else in the Triangle, the real work begins on getting you to a remote closing table.
In North Carolina, real estate attorneys are required by law to handle closing transactions. This makes the process a lot smoother and provides check and balances between both your closing attorney and your lender. Our preferred closing attorney here in Raleigh, NC is City of Oaks Law because they’re easy to work with and their team makes the remote closing process as smooth as possible!
To close remotely from say an office in the Bay Area, a condo in New York City, or a beach house on the Florida coast, both closing attorney and lender need to be on the same page to make sure that your closing documents find their way to you in advance of the settlement date.
When the documents have been finalized and balanced by both parties, they are sent to what we call a mobile notary — and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The mobile notary company sends a notary public directly to your location at the agreed upon date and time with said finalized documents in hand. After signing and getting a hand cramp, the notary will take your completed package to be scanned directly to the attorney/lender and then sends the hard copies via overnight mail.
Now you’re almost there! You’ve signed from the comfort of your out of state location, and your documents have been processed an approved by your lender. The next and final step after approval is for the closing attorney to send the package to the county for recordation. After the package has been recorded, you have officially closed!
Congratulations! It’s time to load up the Uhaul and get your move started, or, hire our firm to fill that investment property with qualified tenants.
Wherever you are coming from, our brokers are here to help you achieve your North Carolina real estate goals. We invite you to connect with us to go over your questions and to discuss your needs.
Call, text or email when you’re ready:
(919) 697-5320; info@richrealtygroup.com
It’s a great day to buy real estate!
