Annual Meeting Report from the Real Property Section Chair
By Dear Real Property Section:
We had a wonderful time in Asheville at our Real Property Section Annual Meeting and CLE! It was our first in-person meeting in two years! If you weren’t able to join us – we missed you! Please plan to attend next year.
As we always do, we had our last Real Property Section Council meeting on May 19, 2022, while we were in Asheville. Below is a summary of the Council’s activities since our February meeting.
Officers and Council Members
With the new fiscal year, we’ll have new positions in leadership of the Council. Lindsay Parris Thompson will be Chair of the Council in 2022-2023. Matt Waters will be Co-Chair and David Martin will join the Executive Committee as Secretary/Treasurer. Brian Byrd ends his service as Immediate Past Chair with our sincere thanks for a job well done. I will take his place as Immediate Past Chair.
The following Council members’ terms are expiring:
Jimmica Cofield (BridgeTrust Title; NCLTA Representative)
Peter Kanipe (McGuire, Wood and Bissette)
Nick Long (Holler Law Firm)
Paula Murray (State Employees Credit Union)
Brian Register (Adams Howell)
Jeremy Shrader (Carruthers & Roth)
We thank each of them for their service to the Real Property Section.
In addition, we welcome the following new Council members:
Michele Callaway (Adams Howell)
Paul Fogleman (Womble Bond Dickinson)
Kevin Lockett (First American Title Insurance Company; NCLTA Representative)
David Neill (Fox Rothschild)
Jon Raymer (Law Firm Carolinas)
Barbara Stewart (Law Offices of Barbara Stewart)
Harmony Taylor (Law Firm Carolinas)
We look forward to serving on Council with each of you.
Return to the Vault Program
Our Return to the Vault series has been very successful thus far, with programs in March, April and June. Look out for details concerning our next program in July. The purpose of the Return to the Vault program is to bring the Section membership together via Zoom on a regular basis, recognizing that few of us go to “the vault” to search titles anymore and have lost that sense of community the more senior members of the Section once had. Just a reminder for anyone interested that we are seeking sponsors to support the programming. Please also share program ideas with Matt Waters ([email protected]).
Legislative Matters
NC Land Records Advisory Committee and Task Force
The May meeting was cancelled. The next meeting will be August 16, 2022.
General Statutes Commission (GSC)
The 2022 technical corrections bills include the following:
- NCGS §47-18.1 (title change to conform to statutory provisions)
- NCGS §47-119 and 119.1 (clarifying the parties who must sign memoranda, especially the vested title holder, in order to have priority under G.S. 47-28) https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookup/2021/h1018
- NCGS §47C-2-117 (amending declarations of condominium) https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/S768
- Postponement of judicial, foreclosure and execution sales
Conforming changes in many statutes to be consistent with NCGS §160D revisions and references are still under review but may be included in the technical corrections bill.
The proposal concerning NCGS 41-63(4) is still under discussion for possible proposed committee substitute to the technical corrections bill.
The proposed change to NCGS §47F-3-101(b) was withdrawn pending further discussion.
Marketable Title Act/Condo Curative
The Marketable Title Act/Condo Curative legislation is now in Senate Bill 278 (https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/s278).
Legislative Advisory Committee (LAC)
Devon Karst Barnhardt, Government Affairs Manager of the Bar Association, reminded the Council that the NCBA Legislative Proposal deadline is October 7, 2022, for any potential legislation proposed by the Section to be introduced during the 2023-2024 year.
Permanent Remote Online Notarization (RON; HB 776)
Jason Peltz reported that the RON bill is still in committee but is still being discussed. The Section has sent in proposals supporting the stakeholder group draft. We still advocate for full transboundary (no matter where the principal is located) coverage. In addition, the current bill has limitations on documents for which RON can be used, including durable powers of attorneys and potentially certificates of trust. The Section is advocating for those exclusions to be clearly removed. Forty other states now have a permanent RON bill, and their notaries are able to do RON notarizations, most without any transboundary limitations. North Carolina notaries are unable to provide that service, so North Carolina attorneys cannot control the transactions in which they have to retain out-of-state notaries. Any incidents of fraud have been where the security protocols which would be required by the North Carolina RON proposal were not in place and required in the state of the RON notary (such as Virginia), which was a concern with the expired Emergency Temporary AVN/RIN statute. In many cases in which RON is most critical, the principals are out of country. In addition, since it is impossible for the notary to verify reliably the location of the principal, any such limited bill should include a savings provision that the notary is not responsible if the information the principal provides is inaccurate, the notarization will still be valid, and the recording will still constitute constructive notice of the recorded instrument.
Discriminatory Covenants
The Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) has a draft Discriminatory Restrictive Covenants paper for comment (comments were due May 30).
Redaction of Judicial and Law Enforcement Officer Records
The Uniform Laws Commission has organized a committee to consider a uniform law on this issue.
CLE
An excellent CLE program was offered in May with the Annual Meeting. Video replays are available on the NCBA website. Jennifer Hall and Jimmy Bryan reported on the upcoming CLE presentations.
| CLE | Date / Location | Planners |
| 2022 Advanced Topics | September 16, 2022 | Allison Cayton |
| 2023 Hot Topics | February 17, 2023 | TBD |
| 2023 Spring Program | May 19-20, 2023 | TBD |
Joint Forms
Bob Ramseur submitted revisions to multiple NCBA/NC REALTOR Joint Forms for approval, which were approved by the Council. Revisions included clarifications and changes affecting wires, due diligence (and refunds on default), remedies, personal property, underground fuel tanks and HOA management company fees.
Next Council Meetings
| August 23, 2022 at 10 am | Zoom and TBD |
| November 8, 2022 at 10 am | Zoom |
| February 7, 2023 at 10 am | Zoom |
| May 18, 2023 at 2 pm | TBD |
In closing, I want to say thank you. It’s been a joy and a pleasure to serve as Chair this year. I am grateful to have worked with this Council and for seeing the dedication, hard work and perseverance so many Council members and other volunteers for our Section contribute each year, some over many years. We are very fortunate to have these consummate professionals in our corner. I hope to see you at the next Return to the Vault program!
Christina Freeman Pearsall
NCBA Real Property Section Chair