THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 6, 1994 TAG: 9411030178
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Real Estate
SOURCE: Chris Kidder
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
The fourth edition of the 1974 textbook, ``North Carolina Real Estate for Brokers and Salesmen: Fourth Edition,'' was released a few weeks ago.
Most state-approved real estate licensing courses in North Carolina use this textbook. Everything a sales agent should know about real estate - well, almost everything - is in this book.
The real estate commission also publishes a 70-page booklet covering license law, commission rules, trust account guidelines, and the state's Fair Housing Act that licensees must study to pass their exam.
Note that the book's title refers to ``salesmen.'' When North Carolina drafted its real estate law in 1957, few people in politics or business were gender sensitive: the law, the license, and the book, are all written in the masculine.
This year, at the commission's recommendation, legislation backed by the North Carolina Association of Realtors was introduced to change ``salesmen'' to ``salespersons.''
The change, however, was tacked on to another, more controversial, bill and was defeated.
``North Carolina Real Estate for Brokers and Salesmen'' is a readable book as textbooks go. And while the book's 900 pages and $39 price tag may discourage the average consumer from picking up a copy, it's fascinating information for anyone interested in real estate.
Simply looking at the differences between the fourth edition and the third, published eight years ago, provides some pretty good clues about what's happening in our real estate markets.
Several of the changes address issues specific to the coast and its resort real estate markets.
The previous edition of the book barely mentioned the special conditions attached to land bordering water (also called riparian land). The new text introduces the concept of erosion and accretion in the context of property ownership.
It points out that while common law would allow riparian owners who lose land during a storm to ``reclaim'' it, environmental laws like the state's Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) may restrict their ability to do so.
Environmental protection legislation gets more play in this new edition. Real estate agents are expected to be familiar with a host of acronyms: NEPA (National Environmental Policy), CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act), RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) among others.
The North Carolina Leaking Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Act provides that owners of polluted properties may be charged with the clean-up costs even though they had nothing to do with the discharge.
Environmental problems caused by leaking tanks on barrier islands are magnified by salt water corrosion, high water tables and sandy soil. Buyers of properties that might harbor underground tanks, beware.
The impact of this law is used to make a new point about valid deeds in another chapter of the book. A deed transfers ownership of property and to be valid, the deed must meet certain criteria.
A deed must be written, the person transferring ownership must have legal capacity, the grantor and grantee must be identified on the deed, and the property must be adequately described and conveyed.
And, just as Stevie Wonder wailed years ago, possession begins when the thing is ``signed, sealed and delivered.''
In past textbooks, a deed's essential elements stopped there, with the rock 'n' roll promise. This time, one final requirement has been added: the deed must be delivered.
``Acceptance of delivery of a deed is presumed because deeds usually benefit grantees,'' write the authors. ``But a proposed grantee can refuse to accept a deed by specifically rejecting delivery.''
They use an example of ``Sam and Sarah Slick'' who own an old gasoline station with leaking underground storage tanks. The couple deed the property as a gift to their nephew.
The deed is valid in all other respects, but the Slicks' nephew refuses to accept it because of the environmental problem. His refusal makes the deed invalid; the Slicks still own it whether they want to or not.
The North Carolina Sediment Pollution Control Act makes its debut in this edition of the textbook.
This act requires special construction measures for almost building along the water which will disturb the land ``by altering natural vegetation of topography.''
The new textbook also mentions flood hazard areas and the National Flood Insurance Program for the first time, although the program existed long before the previous text was written.
Brokerage relationships and agency contracts have undergone major changes in the last couple of years.
The book has nearly doubled the chapters dealing with buyer brokerage, dual agency and the legal and ethical issues raised by these new ways of doing business.
The book provides a new look at property value assessments, real estate financing, land use controls, subdivisions and restrictive covenants.
We'll look at some of these other changes in future columns. MEMO: Send comments and questions to Chris Kidder at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head,
N.C. 27959.
by CNB