GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 797
Short Title: Residential Property Wholesaling Protection. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Howard, Tyson, Biggs, and K. Hall (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Housing and Development, if favorable, Regulatory Reform, if favorable, Rules,
Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 8, 2025
*H797 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIO US CHANGES TO THE NORTH CAROLINA REAL ESTATE 2
LICENSE LAW TO CLARI FY THAT RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY WHOLESALING 3
AND RELATED TRANSACT IONS CONSTITUTE REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE 4
ACTIVITY THAT REQUIRES LICENSURE AND TO PROVIDE HOMEOWNERS WITH 5
A RIGHT TO CANCEL SUCH TRANSACTIONS. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 93A-2 reads as rewritten: 8
"§ 93A-2. Definitions and exceptions. 9
(a) A real estate broker within the meaning of this Chapter is any person, partnership, 10
corporation, limited liability company, association, or other business entity who for a 11
compensation or valuable consideration or promise thereof lists or offers to list, sells or offers to 12
sell, buys or offers to buy, auctions or offers to auction (specifically not including a mere crier 13
of sales), or negotiates the purchase or sale or exchange of real estate, or who leases or offers to 14
lease, or who sells or offers to sell leases of whatever character, or rents or offers to rent any real 15
estate or the improvement thereon, for others. A real estate broker within the meaning of this 16
Chapter also includes any person, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, 17
association, or other business entity who engages in residential property wholesaling or related 18
transactions. 19
… 20
(a3) "Residential property wholesaling or related transactions" means any of the following 21
acts: 22
(1) Soliciting a homeowner to enter into a purchase contract for the sale of the 23
homeowner's residential property, unless the residential property will be used 24
as the residence of the soliciting party. 25
(2) Marketing, assigning, or selling a purchase contract for residential property or 26
the equitable interest in the residential property to another, for a fee or other 27
valuable consideration. 28
(3) Selling or offering to sell, buying or offering to buy, negotiating, or otherwise 29
dealing in contracts for residential property or the equitable interest in 30
residential property, or options on residential property or improvements 31
thereon. 32
(a4) For purposes of this Chapter, "homeowner" means the record owner or owners or 33
equitable owner or owners of a residential property. 34 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 797-First Edition
(a5) For purposes of this Chapter, "residential property" means real property containing 1
one or more dwelling units legally used or held out for individuals to live in, regardless of whether 2
such property is occupied by the owners of said property, rented, or vacant. 3
(a6) For purposes of this Chapter, "soliciting" means to communicate with a homeowner 4
through mail, telephone, in-person oral communication, or electronic communication for the 5
purpose of offering to enter into a purchase contract for the homeowner's residential property. 6
…." 7
SECTION 1.(b) Chapter 93A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 8
Article to read: 9
"Article 8. 10
"Residential Property Wholesaling and We Buy Houses Homeowner Protection Act. 11
"§ 93A-89.1. Purposes. 12
This Article is intended to protect homeowners from the unfair and deceptive practices 13
involved in residential property wholesaling and related transactions, in which homeowners are 14
not provided with accurate information regarding the fair market value of their homes or the 15
monetary incentives of the person or entity soliciting them to sign a purchase contract. 16
"§ 93A-89.2. Right to cancel residential property wholesaling and related transactions. 17
(a) A homeowner who is party to a residential property wholesaling or related 18
transaction, as defined in G.S. 93A-2(a3), shall have the right to cancel the purchase contract 19
until midnight of the thirtieth day after the date when the homeowner executed the contract or 20
until conveyance of the deed or title, whichever occurs first. The right to cancel the purchase 21
contract shall not be waivable. 22
(b) Notice of cancelation shall be given by certified return receipt mail or by any other 23
bona fide means of delivery, including electronic delivery or personal delivery, provided that the 24
homeowner obtains a receipt. A notice of cancelation given by a bona fide means of delivery 25
shall be effective on the date postmarked, the date of electronic transmission, or on the date of 26
deposit of the notice with any bona fide means of delivery. 27
(c) Within 10 business days after the receipt of the notice of cancelation, all payments of 28
any kind made by the homeowner shall be refunded to the homeowner and an acknowledgment 29
that the purchase contract is void shall be sent by the broker or salesperson to the homeowner. In 30
the event of a cancelation under this section, any earnest money paid to the homeowner shall 31
remain the property of the homeowner. 32
(d) A homeowner who exercises the right of cancelation shall not be liable for any 33
damages as a result of the exercise of that right. 34
(e) The purchase contract used by a person or entity engaging in a residential property 35
wholesaling or related transaction, as defined in G.S. 93A-2(a3), shall include the following 36
information in at least 14-point font, immediately above the homeowner's signature: 37
(1) A statement that the homeowner has the right to cancel the purchase contract 38
until midnight of the thirtieth day after the date when the homeowner executed 39
the contract or until conveyance of the deed or title, whichever occurs first, by 40
certified return receipt mail or by any other bona fide means of delivery, 41
including electronic delivery or personal delivery, provided that the 42
homeowner obtains a receipt. 43
(2) The mailing address, electronic mail address, and physical address where the 44
homeowner can cause a notice of cancelation to be delivered. 45
(3) A statement that within 10 business days after the receipt of a notice of 46
cancelation, all payments of any kind made by the homeowner shall be 47
refunded to the homeowner, and the homeowner shall not be liable for any 48
damages as a result of exercising the right to cancel. 49 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 797-First Edition Page 3
(f) The wholesaler shall provide the homeowner with an exact copy of the contract, 1
containing all of the disclosures required by subsection (e) of this section, at the time the 2
homeowner signs the contract. 3
"§ 93A-89.3. Unfair or deceptive acts. 4
Failure of an entity engaging in residential property wholesaling or related transactions to 5
provide homeowners with the right to cancel, as set forth in G.S. 93A-89.2, or engaging in 6
violations of G.S. 93A-6(a) constitutes per se unfair or deceptive trade practices under 7
G.S. 75-1.1. Any party aggrieved by this failure to provide the requisite right to cancel or by the 8
violations of G.S. 93A-6(a) may bring a cause of action and is entitled to the relief available in 9
Chapter 75 of the General Statutes. Any recoveries available under Chapter 75 of the General 10
Statutes will not be offset by any consideration paid to the homeowner in connection with the 11
unfair residential property wholesaling or related transaction. The Attorney General is hereby 12
empowered to enforce this section as allowed by Chapter 75 of the General Statutes." 13
SECTION 2. Rulemaking. – The North Carolina Real Estate Commission may adopt 14
rules to implement the provisions of Section 1 of this act. 15
SECTION 3. Effective Date. – This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and 16
applies to purchase contracts entered into on or after that date. 17