How Title Searches Protect Homebuyers In North Carolina

A real estate deal can look perfect on paper and still blow up because of one missing signature, one wrong legal phrase, or one old claim buried deep in the records. That’s why we brought on Justice Mullen of Romeo Harrelson and Mullen to walk through what a real estate attorney actually does in a North Carolina closing and how that role protects buyers, sellers, and families making major financial decisions across Hendersonville, Flat Rock, and Western North Carolina.

We talk about the real risks behind do-it-yourself deeds and why “it’s recorded” doesn’t automatically mean “it’s correct.” Justice breaks down title searches in plain language, including how attorneys track the chain of title, spot easements and defects, and help clients secure title insurance that can protect ownership for as long as you hold the property. We also cover why professional accountability and insurance matter when the paperwork involves the biggest asset most people will ever own.

Then we zoom out to the bigger picture: estate planning and tax strategy tied to real estate. We discuss primary residence capital gains rules, the basics of 1031 exchanges for investment property, and why options like Delaware Statutory Trusts can appeal to owners who want real estate benefits without more tenants and maintenance headaches. If you want fewer surprises, better planning, and a clearer path through closing, you’ll get real takeaways here.

Subscribe for weekly local real estate insights, share this with a friend who’s buying or selling, and leave a review so more Western North Carolina homeowners can find the show. What’s the one closing question you want us to answer next?

Transcript

Welcome And Local Real Estate Mission

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello, friends. Thank you so much for being here. This is the George Real Estate Group Podcast, which is a production of our live weekly radio shows hosted on multiple radio stations here in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The George Real Estate Group serves Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina, and it is a privilege to share positive news about our local real estate market and community. Thanks so much for subscribing, and of course, if you have any real estate questions or if we can help you in any way, be sure to reach out. Visit us at George Real Estate Group Radio dot com for more information. Good morning and welcome to the George Real Estate Group Live Radio broadcast here on the queue every Monday morning, sharing with you positive news about your local real estate marketing community. We have a lot to cover this morning. And if you're tuning in for the first time ever, thank you. Welcome. Can you believe we're already into April and uh what a year it's already been. Time flies when you're having fun. Just grateful to be here with you. And if you're tuning in for the for the first time ever, we're here every Monday morning right after the nine o'clock hour. Uh we podcast all of our radio shows. You can find it on your favorite podcast platform. We're located in the, and I say this jokingly, but the dangerous location of the Flat Rock uh Rainbow Row next to the Flat Rock Bakery, our friends at Hubba Hubba Barbecue, which are now out of hibernation. They're open. If you've not stopped by, the weather's beautiful, stop by and visit our friends there. Also our friends at Campfire Grill and our friends at the Wrinkled Egg and Dogwood, all those great local and independent restaurants and businesses. The George Real Estate Group's local and independent as well. We've had the privilege of helping over 1,600 families throughout the years with their real estate needs. We have incredible agents, we have incredible staff, but ultimately it's our clients that make it all possible. We're so thankful for our clients. We have incredible clients. So if you're curious about the real estate market, if you're curious about what your home is worth, if you're curious about, you know, do you sell before you buy? Do you buy before you sell? Or if you're curious about tax implications, is it a personal home? Is it a is it a property that maybe you inherited or an investment property? I mean, all the different conversations that we have on a daily basis. And again, it's a truly a privilege and honor to help our clients navigate through uh whatever is going on. The market's the market, the interest rates are the interest rates, the economy is the economy, and what we have experienced in my 20 plus years of real estate, you know, regardless of what's going on, life happens, therefore real estate happens. It could be a really beautiful reason, a really positive reason why clients are buying or selling. It could be a very challenging reason. No matter what it is, we're there to advocate and to facilitate and to ultimately help our clients have clarity and information so they can make a decision for what's right for them. It could be their personal home, it could be their investment property, it could be family property. Again, all these different scenarios, uh, and we're grateful to have the conversation. So you can call us directly at 828-393-0134, find us online at realestatebygreg.com, follow us on social media. We're on Facebook and Instagram. We post all of our listings and our open houses, and we have a number of open houses coming up this weekend, which you can find on our social media. You know, I've shared for many times how it is truly a team that makes it all possible. At the George Real Estate Group, we're working with our, you know, with our home inspectors and our surveyors and our appraisers and our financial advisors and our tax strategists. But one of the most important components of real estate is when we work and partner with our attorneys that make it uh that bring it all together. I mean, in North Carolina is an attorney state. Uh there's a lot of other states. We have people move here and they're they're familiar with title uh and title companies. And in North Carolina, you have title insurance, but in North Carolina is an attorney state, and in and it's such a critical piece of the puzzle. And again, the the attorneys, you know, we have buyers that have a buyer, uh, an attorney representing the buyer on their side of things, and you have sellers that have an attorney representing uh uh them on their purchase. And again, this is in conjunction. Again, it's the collaboration that we we bring all these uh you know pieces of the puzzle together. But I'm so grateful to have with us this morning Justice Mullen of Romeo, Harrelson and Mullen. So uh again, grateful to have Justice with us this morning. And we're gonna have a conversation about I mean, th this is a the critical piece of the process, but uh giving our listeners some perspective and some education and and some you know just some some information I think that could be helpful on a on a day-to-day basis. By the way, we're we're helping people and we're having conversations every day in regards to real estate. But but Justice, we're so grateful to have you here this morning. You're talking to people every single day, and it's not just real estate, but you know, just like us, the life is happening and and you play such a critical role in people's lives as they're planning ahead too.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Absolutely, and and and good morning, thank you for having me on. Uh you know, the whole the whole aspect of what a attorney does for a real estate transaction is we're ensuring that all parties are protected. Our clients protected, they get the piece of real estate they think they're buying, no one has messed up the chain of title, uh and nobody has is trying to pull a fast one on them. We hold the money, we make sure all the money's in before the transaction occurs, and we do it all simultaneously. That's all part of protecting the client.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Technically, in North Carolina, and correct me if I'm wrong, you don't have to have an attorney to transfer real estate, right? You could go, it's not advised.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

That is correct to the extent that you are acting as your own attorney. Oh, that's interesting. In the same way that you can act as your own attorney in the courtroom and it's not advised. You can act as your own attorney in preparing your own deed. I have seen people who've cost themselves uh twenty, thirty thousand dollars or or more to fix issues with a deed they've written themselves. Or made a transfer they didn't intend to and it's not reversible and it can't be fixed.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

It is again, it's one of those real estate specifically, I mean, such a significant uh asset for most people, right? It's usually whether whether people are buying or selling, it's it's usually the biggest financial transaction they will do in their lifetime.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Oh yeah. Yes. Uh I've you know, our firm, we do transactional work that includes real estate, estate planning, estate admin work. But all of that is about protecting our clients' assets. And for so many of our clients, most of them, their their house, their real estate, that is their single biggest asset. And so we want to make sure that when you're investing that much money into the asset, it's done right.

Justice Mullen’s Path To Law

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Absolutely. It's so critical. And we're gonna talk more, we're gonna get into the weeds here, but let's pause for a second. Let's back up. Uh Justice, let's talk. I'm just curious, and you you and I have never actually had this conversation. When did and when did you first decide you were wanting to get into law? I mean, like this is I'm always fascinated about everybody's story, and then how how did you end up in law?

SPEAKER_02 7:07

That's a great question. Uh I took uh a less conventional undergraduate approach and I went into wildlife and fisheries biology. Uh, I really enjoyed it. Uh every day I go out in the woods with my 30 classmates, and I would go around and I would do all these experiments and and do these tests and got time in the you know, outside. Uh and then I started looking at jobs, and I realized I'm not gonna be with my 30 classmates every day in the woods. I'm gonna be alone uh and uh you know with my own thoughts and and I'm too extroverted for that. And so I had to pivot. My grandfather was a judge. I'd always had some interest in law, so I took a year after undergraduate, and I worked a handful of jobs, and one of the jobs I ended up working was at a law firm. I really enjoyed it. Uh I worked at a couple of different law firms. I ended up finding that I really enjoyed real estate and estate planning because that is where, you know, for the majority of people out there, if they've met with an attorney and they've sat down and they've had a positive experience and they've gotten to sit and talk face to face with their client and get advisement, a lot of times that's with real estate or estate planning. Uh there are, of course, other situations where you get a lot of face-to-face time with your client, such as family law, uh, but that's usually a less happy situation. So my goal, meet with clients, uh, help if they have something that they want or need, I help them attain that. They leave happy, their assets are protected.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

It's that simple. That's right. That's amazing. Um, and we will talk because there's so many aspects of what you do that overlap in regards to real estate. I mean, like, you know, again, helping our clients navigate through their personal real estate, uh, and then even you mentioned estates and and thinking through planning ahead with with families. And and first off, let me go back. It's remarkable. I'm sure uh it you know, you were exposed to law with your grandfather being a judge, and then here you are, uh, you know, your family, you know, the what a legacy for you to carry on that in into law uh with the same path that your grandfather had.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

Right, absolutely. Yeah, he uh he was uh an attorney and he became a circuit court judge in South Carolina. Uh but you know I couldn't resist the draw of of the beautiful mountains up here, and so I I ended up practicing uh just uh not too far away, but in another state.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

That's amazing. And I have to acknowledge your name is so appropriate.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

So I was named after my grandfather. So I was named after my two grandfathers, actually. So one was a judge and the other was a minister, and so my parents preferred uh the name justice to Alfred or Ernest in order to honor them. Sorry for any Alfred or Ernest who are out there listening.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Those are both strong names as well. But how how appropriate the name justice uh as an attorney? That's amazing. Uh that's a great story. So you again, you're and here you are, by the way. Congratulations, a partner now with Harrelson and and uh Romeo Harrelson and Mullen now.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Yes, yes, so uh I became a partner uh actually uh a year ago in July. Uh not this pre previous July, but July before. Uh but and we were planning a a ceremony to to do uh you know change the name of the firm and do all this stuff, but uh with with the timing of Hurricane Colleen, there it didn't seem like a a great opportunity to do a celebration. So we just changed the name this year uh in February.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Congratulations. And again, it was official two Julys ago, or now that's amazing. And now it's official with all the the signage and and the marketing and and official name changes.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

That's right. And it's been a great opportunity, and I've I've enjoyed working at that firm tremendously.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Well, talk about the the j the the other partners. I mean, talk about experience in this community. I mean, the Harrelson and Romeo, tremendous experience that you're uh attached with now. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

Uh so uh you know that I were I came out of I was in law school uh my 2L summer, uh that's second year of law school for people who aren't familiar with that terminology. And I ended up working with attorney Harrelson, who's been practicing in real estate for a long time. Uh and he spent so much time teaching me that summer. I I he must have lost a lot of money on me, but I knew this is where I needed to be because having a mentor who's willing to spend that a much that much time and effort to make sure that that you're well trained and you know what you're doing and you're gonna be a an exceptional attorney, that's that's who you want as your mentor.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

Well, let me be clear, just because an attorney joins a law firm, partnership is not a given by any means.

SPEAKER_02 11:49

No, I've had a wonderful opportunity. Uh and I've you know it's all thanks to the support I've gotten from from this community uh that I've been able to grow my portion of the practice to the extent that I'm able to become a partner.

The Hidden Cost Of DIY Deeds

SPEAKER_01 12:01

That's tremendous. Congratulations. That's that's no small feat. So again, you're helping. Let's talk about some of the the practical ways. And again, you it is very practical what we're doing. And of course, a lot of people when they in North Carolina, when they're buying and selling, and then and a lot of times, you know, our clients are asking us, well, who do you recommend? And again, the relationships we have with our attorneys, you know, sometimes uh you know, buyers and sellers, you know, may might have already had an experience with an attorney, but just because they know an attorney, they they don't realize, again, attorneys specialize in different practices. And and uh you know, again, with your specialty in real estate and then also estates and and trusts and wills, I mean, those all come together. But again, we have great relationships with our attorneys helping our clients. And ultimately, again, it's such a critical part of the process. And how foolish, like you said, you can act. I didn't realize it was actually acting as you're an attorney when you uh you know transfer title, right? Or tr like if in which we've heard those stories before. You know, even in even if you're trying to transfer title from one family member to another, you're not even selling anything. You just want to do it. It's absolutely the right decision to have an attorney prepare everything, create everything, make sure it's done correctly. It's such a critical piece of the process.

SPEAKER_02 13:19

Absolutely. Uh, I mean, changing, you know, a typo of one word or a comma or period uh in a place that's not supposed to be can can make all the difference on a document. And it's that sort of detail that you need to have someone who's experienced and knows what they're doing and how to prepare these documents on. And also uh a big factor on that is is the insurance. You can't get yourself insured for malpractice if you were to have some sort of error on a legal document you prepare for yourself. You're just out of luck. Uh if an attorney prepares it for you, and this is you know, we're required by the North Carolina and North Carolina bar to carry all this insurance. Uh hopefully I'll never have to use mine. Uh but but you're giving protection and coverage in that way. In the same way that you as a a a realtor are required to carry some. Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

We have C and O insurance, and again, there's liability insurance. I mean, there's there's all these again, there's liability, and this is where having somebody that's doing this every single day. Right. But there's layers of protection that go along with that. And no one can be an expert at everything. Yeah, and people make mistakes, by the way. I mean, there's human error, and again, there the insurance is there that sometimes it's necessary.

Title Searches And Title Insurance

SPEAKER_02 14:30

Right. And furthermore, if you do your own transaction, you cannot get title insurance, which is the the big reason you want a title search done. Uh your title insurance gives you protection and coverage on that property. It ensures that you have good title for as long as you own it.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Let's explain to our listeners why what is title and what why what do you mean by I mean, what do you mean by a title search? I mean, I'm gonna play dumb here, but like, you know, what why would I want to search my title? And and what is good marketable title?

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Right. So I could go to you, Noah, and I could say, uh, I own the Biltmore estate. Let me sign you a deed that says that and I'm gonna give you a deal only$20,000.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 15:13

Yes. So I sign a deed over, it says, I own this property, and I sign it and I give it to you. We recorded the register of deeds, and I give it to you to the extent that I own that. So uh obviously I don't own anything related to the Biltmore estate. Uh that's part of the but but I could write up a deed that says, uh, you know, here's the description of the property, it's the Biltmore estate, sign it, hand it to you.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

And that's a great point.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Just because something's recorded doesn't mean it's correct. That's correct. And so what your attorney does is we go and we see that deed where they've recorded, and it says that uh and let's just say a regular property now, uh, there's a deed to them showing that they bought this property, you know, five years ago. Uh it's a residential piece of property, it's near Hendersonville. Sure. And so we look at that and we say, okay, the notary seal's correct. Uh all of the the description of the property is correct. We plat it out, we we don't do a plat, but we we put it out in our little software to check it against the plat, make sure that the lines all match up from the actual description it's given. Right. It's the actual it's the correct lot. I mean all the people who are supposed to sign it signed it. Uh there's no heirs that failed to sign, anything like that. And then we take that and we go back. And we look at the next one in the chain of title. And the chain of title is that all of the deeds that have ever been given out on that property. Uh and in North Carolina, you're required to do a 30-year search at minimum. And so you go back and you look at every single one of the deeds for at least 30 years, or maybe a period extending beyond that, depending on the property, and you say uh person A gave it to person B, and person B gave it to person C, and person C gave it to person D, and person D put a r an easement on it for Duke Power, and person and then they gave it to person F, and now person F's transferring it to you, and we go back through each of those documents and we make sure that everything down to the T and and No one can claim, and this is where you see this is why title insurance is so important.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Right. Where someone in the past m might raise their hand up and say, That was my great grandfather's property, and I'm gonna make a claim to it. Right. I mean, that's that's that happens.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, uh, you know, they have uh someone who passed away and and they had ten kids and each of the ten kids signed, but uh one of their spouses didn't sign, and now you have an issue. And so that's what we are looking for is to make sure there's no issues and that you own it. Uh and title insurance, which you can get if you've done a title search or had an attorney do a title search for you, gives you additional coverage on that, which says if there's anything in the chain of title that isn't discoverable for whatever reason, because sometimes there are things that can't be found. We don't have the uh the list of all of the possible heirs of person A or uh or there's something that extends back to 1920 that's not searchable because there was a fire at the courthouse at one point in time and all the records were destroyed beyond a certain year. Even if those issues exist, your title insurance is what steps in and ensures that coverage. As long as you it's a one-time payment when you purchase the property, as long as you own the property forever, they guarantee that you're the owner.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

It's again, it's a protection. Absolutely. It covers. I know what I'm realizing right now, Justice. If you'll if you're willing to come back, there's a lot of things that you and I could be talking about to educate our listeners about time. Time flies, you know, these shows go by so quickly. Um we're gonna actually have to take a break right now. We have a short break and then we have another little segment. But but this is so helpful to explain to our listeners, again, about title, title insurance, and the claim in the chain of title. And again, this is just one aspect of many things that that you and I help our clients with. And again, it's so critical to have a good attorney working on your behalf. Again, you have a good real estate agent that's helping you, but then again, it's such a critical piece of the puzzle to have an attorney, again, buyer side or seller side. Again, or whether or not you're buying or selling it yourself or just doing a personal transfer with a family member, it is so critical to have an attorney.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

This is a huge investment for our clients, and we want to make sure that they are getting what they think they're getting and that everything is transferred correctly and properly.

Market Momentum And A Quick Disclaimer

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Absolutely. You're listening to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning. We have Justice Mullen with Romeo Harrelson and Mullen with us this morning on the radio. We're so grateful for his time, sharing his expertise and educating our listeners. But stay tuned in. We have a short break. We'll be right back. Good morning and welcome back. You're listening to the George Real Estate Group Live Radio Broadcast here in the queue every Monday morning. And if if you didn't get a chance to hear all of this, we will, and we have, and we do podcast our radio shows every week. You can find that on your favorite podcast platform. Uh grateful for our subscribers there and our followers. You can find it on your favorite podcast platform. Be sure to follow the George Will State group on on social media, Facebook, and Instagram. We have our ongoing open houses, our new listings, all the activity that we're uh, you know, we're so grateful. There's so much momentum. And I mean, it's so fascinating. I hear this regularly when I'm I meet people or I tell people, oh, I'm in real estate. They they give me this look like, oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. You're ha things must be really uh challenging. And I'm like, well, of course they're challenging, but if it was easy, everybody would be doing it. But it's we're so grateful. We have incredible, uh we've had an incredible year last year and continue to grow on that. And and just year after year we've had uh just grateful, it's truly because of our clients and serving our clients and and advocating for our clients and in the market, and I tell people this all the time, and we we're not gonna necessarily per participate in the and I use quotes in the down market. The the market's always the market. I was sharing with somebody getting their real estate, wanting to get their real estate license. Even at its worst in 2010 and 11, there were still 4 million homes sold in the United States. At its best, there was like close to 6.9 million homes sold. So the even though now the prices obviously were very different, but there were still at its worst, 4 million homes sold in the United States. There's always transactions happening, there's always property being bought and sold. Now, the prices, of course, uh reflect the environment and the supply and demand. I mean, in 2010, 2011, we had a two year supply of homes in Henderson County. You know, here we have a four month supply of homes right now. Again, it's all relative to that, but you know, the market's the market, the economy is the economy, interest rates are interest rates. But life happens, therefore real estate happens. And if we can help you in any way. We're grateful to serve the community. You can call us directly at 828-393-0134. We have Justice Mullen with us this morning, and uh Justice, so grateful to have. And I know we in the break, we wanted to give a little bit of a disclaimer here, right? I mean, this is not legal advice.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

I wanted to remind our clients that, or sorry, our listeners that that you're not my client at this time and that I'm not giving you particular advice for your particular situation. It's just something to keep in mind. Every every fact pattern is different, every situation is different, everything needs to be handled a little bit differently. So if you have any questions, please seek an attorney who is representing you and knows about your particular situation.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Absolutely. And again, just common sense, some good advice there. And again, we're just talking generally here about different scenarios that come up. I mean, these are and this is where, again, it's so important. Just like I mean, by the way, people can buy and sell real estate all day long without a real estate broker. They don't have to have an attorney either. But again, the the the amount of uh challenges that people experience when they're doing it on their own, this is their usually their biggest financial transaction of their lifetime. Even if they're not buying or selling publicly, again, having an attorney working on their behalf, and again, what I hope you could if our listeners come away with go talk to an attorney, go talk to a professional.

SPEAKER_02 23:20

Right. There are particular like phrases and words that are in North Carolina statute that have to be in a deed. So if you do if someone does their own deed and they don't put those in there, you have not done a transaction.

1031 Exchanges And Smarter Tax Moves

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Yeah, it's it's there's again these things that are so important, again, nuances, and and this is uh why uh you know having uh you know having a professional that can guide you through this. We've not even scratched the surface of the conversation, and again, Justice, so grateful to have you here this morning. Something you and I have been helping clients do is uh there's a thing called 1031 exchanges and helping our clients with uh thinking ahead with their their estates and their wills. Uh because real estate is the number one most litigated asset in a state. It's uh it is. And and this is where with a little bit of planning, uh they can be strategic with their taxes, they can be strategic with preserving their wealth for their family. Right.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

I think that we're uh we are trying to touch on a lot of different things in this short period of time. Uh I know it's brought up a couple of terms. Have you talked about 1031 exchanges before?

SPEAKER_01 24:24

We have, and and just from a general uh you know, you can defer taxes.

SPEAKER_02 24:29

Right. As a reminder, if you've used a property for producing income to any two of the last five years, you can sell a piece of property and you can exchange it into another similar piece of property. Uh the specifics on that you should speak with your attorney about uh and and not have to take capital gains on that.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

Yeah, it is one of those. So, and also for a reminder, this is one of the most positive beneficial reasons of personal real estate ownership. If you've lived in a home two out of a five-year period, and it doesn't have to be the consecutive two years, right, right, you an individual can can the first two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of capital gains is is exempt. Right. And five hundred thousand for a couple. Which is significant in people's this is where owning real estate can be one of the biggest catalysts of of wealth for a family.

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Yes, absolutely. Uh you can put a lot of work, uh people put a lot of work into their houses. They're constantly improving them, they want to live somewhere nice, and when they turn around and sell it, they can take most of those gains uh without having to pay any sort of income tax or capital gains tax on that.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

So that a lot of people are familiar with that concept, but that's if you own an investment property and and it could be a a rental, it could be a commercial, it could be residential real estate, it could be commercial real estate, it could be land that you're leasing. Right.

SPEAKER_02 25:52

Yes. Uh you can take those and you can exchange it for a different piece of land that you're leasing or a different rental, or or um I think and and Noah's alluding to there are these packages called DSTs that you can move them into. There's all sorts of different investments that you can swap into that may be more or less maintenance than than what you're currently managing, and and so there's a lot of benefit to at least having a discussion on on whether that's something that could be of benefit to you.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Absolutely. And like you said earlier, every situation is unique and different, every scenario is unique and different, every again, this is where having an attorney in uh at the table, having a tax advisor at the table, having a real estate uh professional at the table, these these are these consultations that you and I are doing, and just because you talk about them doesn't mean anybody's doing anything. It's just it's this awareness and it's knowledge so that you can have uh clarity. And I know when you're consulting and and and we're you're preparing estates and and deeds and excuse me, wills and trusts. I mean, like this is the bigger you're when you I can imagine these conversations you're having with your clients is looking at the totality of their absolutely their situation.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

You want to see the whole picture in order to to make a solution that meets all of the needs of the person that we're working with. And I think a client that you and I have worked with a lot, not a particular client, but it's someone who's owned a piece of property they've used for income, whether it's leasing it to a farmer or or whatever it is, and and they've gotten a lot of depreciation on that property over a period of years, and they don't want to necessarily sell it because they're because that depreciation has brought the value of the property down so low, they're afraid of those gains. And that's exactly the person that you can help with your 1031 exchange.

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Well, that's right. And we and I hear this all the time. People are like, well, why would I sell property? I don't want to pay any capital gains. That absolutely right. We as little as money as we can pay to the government, uh we're all on the same page there. And then I share with people, well, have you heard of a 1031 exchange? And some people have, some people haven't. But then the challenge for people is like, well, I don't necessarily want to own more real estate. I don't want to necessarily deal with more tenants or you know, more headaches. And that's where there are other options. And uh, we've actually had this conversation on the radio here uh with Troy. Uh actually, Troy's been on the radio with me, and we've talked about there's an uh another alternative called a DST, a Delaware statutory trust, which is a function of uh it's a category of real estate that allows clients to do a 1031 exchange into these properties, which it's it's it's a different, it's another form of real estate investing. Right.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

That can solve some challenges.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

That's right. It doesn't require management. It can be it's mailbox money. You're not having to deal with the tenants, you're not having to deal with the the the toilets, we we say, or the and again, it's the it can be another option that again people think of 1031 exchanges as buying another property here locally, but they're again, these are just options that that we share with our clients and giving clarity and giving information so that and this is the same thing whether it's residential or commercial, or whether it's estate planning, or whether it's 1031 exchanges, is like the more information we can provide to our clients and and and it's just they have more options to consider.

SPEAKER_02 29:15

Right, absolutely. Uh I I said this before, you can't be an expert at everything. We try and be an expert at this, and and so I'm always happy to help people.

SPEAKER_01 29:24

Absolutely. Can you real quickly describe the word we use this all the time, but you the word fiduciary, I mean like you guys are as attorneys are the fiduciary of the client.

SPEAKER_02 29:36

Right. So a fiduciary means is someone who has to act in their client's best interest under all circumstances. Uh if someone does not have a fiduciary responsibility to you, they can act in their best interest. Right. For example, sell you something that is more expensive than what you need because they get a higher uh fee on that, or or whatever it is. A fiduciary has a legal duty to act in the best interest of their client.

SPEAKER_01 30:06

Yeah. It's it's a very critical distinction to to bring up. And and so in in wrapping up, time flies, justice, and again, so grateful we're gonna have to have you back here on the show. Um real quickly, though, the the scope of work that you guys offer, and then the best way for listeners to get in touch with you. You don't have to be buying or selling anything to call justice. Again, justice covers uh a the wide scope, again, specialized scope of service that I think just to real quickly share with our listeners.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

Right. So we can't technically use the word specialized, I have to say. Okay. Sorry about that. Uh but but what what I what I try and be an expert at and and and what our firm does is called transactional law, which essentially means I'm doing your paperwork for you. So we do real estate transactions, we do estate planning, that's wills, trusts, uh, we do estate administration, we do small business merger acquisition. Uh and you can reach us at 828-698-2345 Romeo Harrelson and Mullen. Uh, or you can send me an email, justice J-U-S-T-I-C-E at RHC-legal.com.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

Fantastic. And again, disclaimer, this was not legal advice. We were just having a general conversation this morning.

SPEAKER_02 31:23

Right. Uh hopefully it's been helpful information to you, but it is not specific to your legal scenario. I don't know exactly what your scenario is.

SPEAKER_01 31:31

I love it. Again, this is just real we're just having an honest conversation here. And Justice, thank you so much for being here. And to our we we will, if you're willing, we'll have you come back. It was so, so helpful. And to our listeners, we're here every Monday morning. And again, I hope this morning was helpful. If you didn't get a chance to hear it all, you can go podcast, listen to our podcast. We will be podcasting this here shortly. And of course, for any of your real estate needs buying, selling, or investing, uh, or commercial or 1031 exchanges, we'd love to have the conversation. We're here every Monday morning right after the nine o'clock hour. Thank you so much. Hope you have a wonderful day, hope you have a wonderful week, and we'll see you next Monday.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

The George Real Estate Group has the experience of selling over 1,200 properties and serving over 1,200 families with their real estate needs in Henderson County and throughout Western North Carolina. The George Real Estate Group is located in Flat Rock, North Carolina and near Hendersonville in Henderson County. You can find them online at realestatebygreg.com. The George Real Estate Group can be reached at 828-393-0134 or stop by their office at 2720 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock, North Carolina. Tune in live each week on Monday mornings at 905 on WTZQ FM 95.3 and 1600 AM, or stream online at WTZQ.com.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

Maybe the house feels a little too big these days. The stairs a little steeper. The pace of life a little too fast. But what if your next move wasn't about letting go? It was about making space for peace, for freedom, for what matters most. At the George Real Estate Group, we understand that real estate isn't just about the house. It's about transitions, timing, and trust. We've helped thousands of families in Western North Carolina make smart, thoughtful moves. Closer to nature, closer to family, closer to home. So when you're ready to right-size, simplify, or start fresh, we'll be here. The George Real Estate Group. Local, trusted, proven. Call us today, 828-393-0134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com because your next chapter deserves to feel just right.