The Register Is County by County
The practical trap out here, and a quiet one because searching the wrong county returns a clean result rather than an error.
An ordinance adopted under section 160D-1203 is recorded in the office of the register of deeds in the county where the property is located, and indexed in the name of the property owner in the grantor index. A property in Durham County does not appear in a Wake County search. The full position is on our page covering the fifty per cent determination.
How Do I Confirm Which County Holds My Parcel?
The Statute Does Not Change At All
Worth stating because owners assume a county line means a different regime. Article 12 of Chapter 160D is state law and applies throughout North Carolina.
The unfitness finding, the hearing, the two branches of the order, the fifty per cent threshold measured against then current value, the 90 day demolition requirement, the abandonment of intent to repair provision, the recording requirement and the lien for costs are the same in Durham, Chapel Hill or anywhere else in the state.
Then Why Does the Ordinance Matter?
We publish no ordinance details, enforcement positions or values for the individual Triangle jurisdictions. Each will state its own position for an address.
Values Vary More Than Anywhere Nearby
Across this region finished values range widely, from strong markets to considerably weaker ones within a short drive. Since value is the denominator in the test, that variation moves properties between the two branches of the statute.
It is worth establishing what your house would be worth repaired using local sale evidence rather than a regional impression, because that number is doing half the work in the determination.
Stock Varies Too
Building eras across the wider Triangle run from genuinely old to very recent. Earlier dimensional framing chars and can frequently be retained where it has been kept dry; later engineered roof trusses and floor systems come out whole once heat has reached the connections.
The build year predicts more than the location does, and it is on the county property record.
Distance Widens the Offers
Away from the core, contractors price travel and buyers price uncertainty about access. That widens the spread of offers on the same property, because those who have visited price accurately and those who have not guess.
Getting somebody to the property is worth more here than in the denser neighbourhoods where a buyer can form a reliable view from the street.
The Triangle in Context
Where a dozen town offices administer the same article, see our page about the Wake County towns. Where the historic route is available, see our page for downtown Raleigh and Oakwood.
The Sections That Do Not Change By County
Article 12 of Chapter 160D applies statewide. Section 160D-1203 carries the 50 per cent threshold against then current value, the 90 day demolition requirement, the recording and grantor index provisions, and the lien for costs.
Section 160D-1203(6) adds the 1 year abandonment provision and section 160D-949 the historic district route, identically in every county.
Triangle Questions
Which Register Holds My Records?
The one for the county your parcel is in, which the county property record names. A mailing address does not settle it.
Is the Fifty per Cent Figure the Same Everywhere?
It is the figure the statute uses and the one ordinances commonly adopt. Read your own jurisdiction's ordinance rather than assuming.
Will You Buy Outside Wake County?
Yes, across the Triangle. We will come and look rather than pricing from a map.