Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 53-261

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. Source: OCC
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3

A reverse mortgage loan contract may provide that it is the primary obligation of the borrower to pay all property taxes, insurance premiums, and assessments in a timely manner, and that the failure of the borrower to make these payments and to provide evidence of payment to the lender may constitute grounds for default of the loan.  A reverse mortgage loan contract shall state that if a borrower fails to pay property taxes, insurance premiums, or assessments, the lender may choose, at the lender’s option, to pay the amounts due, charge them to the reverse mortgage loan, and recalculate regularly scheduled payments under the loan to account for the increased outstanding loan balance. (1991, c. 546, s. 1; 1995, c. 115, s. 1.)