How selling your Delaware house to us works
Here is each step of a cash sale to Northbound, from the moment you call until the new deed is on record, with the Delaware parts spelled out: who runs settlement, how the transfer tax is handled, and which county office ends up with your deed.
Six steps, start to finish
The first three steps cost you nothing and commit you to nothing. The agreement in step four is the first thing you sign.
- Day one
You send the address or call
We ask a few questions: what shape the house is in, roughly what is owed on it, whose names are on the deed, whether anyone lives there, and the date you are aiming for. There is no credit check and no inspector.
- A time that suits you
One walk-through
Someone from our team comes to the house, at a time you choose. We look at the roof, the systems, the basement or crawlspace and anything you tell us about. Dishes in the sink and boxes on the floor are fine.
- Usually within 24 hours
Your cash number, with the reasoning
We call with a price and explain how we reached it: recent sales of similar houses nearby, minus the work yours needs. If it does not work for you, say no; there is no deadline attached.
- When you are ready
You sign the agreement of sale
The agreement states the price and the settlement date, and it splits the transfer tax evenly between you and us. Have your own lawyer read it first if you like.
- Right after signing
The settlement attorney does the title work
A Delaware attorney searches the county land records, orders your mortgage payoff, and checks for judgments, unpaid taxes and other liens. Whatever turns up gets settled out of the sale price rather than out of your savings.
- The date you pick
Settlement day
You sign the deed; the attorney pays every lender and lienholder, then sends you the balance, and the deed goes to the Recorder of Deeds in your county. About a week after signing is possible when title is clear; later is fine too.
Why a Delaware attorney runs the settlement
In many states a title company can close a sale on its own. Delaware is different. In 2000 the Delaware Supreme Court approved a ruling by its Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, in a case called Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services, that a closing on the sale of Delaware real estate has to be conducted by an attorney licensed in Delaware. The same decision says a Delaware lawyer has to be involved in examining the title, clearing problems from it and supervising how the money is paid out.
For you, that means the person handling the money at settlement is a lawyer bound by Delaware’s professional rules. It also means a few practical things:
- The attorney’s office prepares the deed and the settlement statement, and sends the deed for recording afterward.
- Payoff letters from your lender and any lienholders go to the attorney, who pays them directly at settlement.
- You can still hire a lawyer of your own to represent only you. Some sellers do, especially with an estate or a divorce.
Where your deed is recordedDelaware’s three counties each maintain separate land records. New Castle County’s Recorder of Deeds is on the fourth floor of the Louis L. Redding City/County Building, 800 N. French Street, Wilmington. Kent County’s is at 555 Bay Road in Dover. Sussex County’s is at 2 The Circle in Georgetown. You will not need to visit any of them; the attorney sends the deed.
The realty transfer tax, in plain numbers
Delaware taxes the transfer of a deed, and on most settlement statements it is among the biggest single charges. Section 5402 of Title 30 sets the state’s share at 3 percent of the price, or 2.5 percent in any county or town that levies its own local tax at the full 1.5 percent. Across most of the state that local tax is in place, so the combined rate is 4 percent. A handful of places have no local share. The New Castle County Recorder’s rate sheet lists Arden, Ardentown and Ardencroft at a flat 3 percent, for example.
The same section says the tax is “apportioned equally between grantor and grantee.” In other words, the seller and the buyer each pay half, and when you sell to us we keep that even split. On a $200,000 sale at 4 percent, that is $8,000 in total and $4,000 from each side. The state’s first-time buyer discount only reduces the buyer’s half; it does not change the seller’s.
Compare offers on what reaches your bankTwo offers with the same headline price can leave you with different amounts. Get each buyer to answer three questions on paper: which side pays the transfer tax, what fees come off at settlement, and whether an inspection can lower the price. Ask us the same three questions; on the first, our answer is always half each, and we will put all three answers in writing.
The seller disclosure form
Delaware’s Buyer Property Protection Act (Title 6, sections 2570 to 2578) obliges anyone selling a home with one to four dwelling units to put every known material defect in writing for the buyer. The disclosure goes on a standard form from the Delaware Real Estate Commission, the Seller’s Disclosure of Real Property Condition Report, which becomes part of the agreement. The seller also has to pass along any radon test results in their possession.
Selling to us does not switch that law off, but it does change how it feels. We are buying the house as it is, and we price in what we see and what you tell us, so a leaky basement on the form is not a reason for us to come back and renegotiate. Some sales are exempt from the form entirely, such as a sale made by an estate’s personal representative while administering it, a sheriff sale, and a transfer between spouses as part of a divorce settlement. The settlement attorney will tell you whether yours is one of them.
What comes out of the price at settlement
No commission and no fee to us. These are the deductions that normally appear on the seller’s side of a Delaware settlement statement, whoever the buyer is.
| Item | What it is | How it is handled in a sale to us |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage payoff | The balance on your loan plus interest to the payoff date | The attorney orders the payoff letter and pays the lender directly |
| Other liens | Judgments, a second mortgage or home equity line, unpaid utility balances | Paid from the proceeds once the title search finds them |
| Property taxes | County, school and any city taxes on the house | Overdue amounts are paid off; the attorney shows how the current year is handled |
| Transfer tax | Usually 4 percent of the price in total | Split 50/50: you pay half, we pay half |
| Commission | An agent’s fee when a house is listed | None. There is no agent and we charge no fee |
If you no longer live in Delaware, state law (30 Del. C. § 1126) also calls for an estimated income tax payment on the sale, handled at settlement. A tax preparer can explain what it means for your own return.
Moving out, on your schedule
Choose the settlement date around your move, not ours. A week out is possible when title is clean; a month or three months out is just as easy for us. If you need a few days in the house after settlement, ask before you sign so the agreement can spell it out.
Pack the things that matter to you and walk away from everything else. The old sofa, the paint cans in the basement, the workbench in the garage: clearing it out after settlement is part of what we take on. If the house is already empty, or you have already left the state, a relative, a neighbor or your property manager can open the door for us.
Questions about the process
Who is the settlement attorney when I sell to you?
A Delaware-licensed attorney conducts the settlement, as the Delaware Supreme Court has required since its 2000 Mid-Atlantic Settlement Services decision. You are also free to hire a separate lawyer of your own to review the contract or come to settlement with you.
When is the Delaware transfer tax paid?
Delaware collects the tax at the moment the deed is presented to be recorded, so the attorney takes it at settlement and forwards it with the deed to the county Recorder of Deeds. It appears as an entry on your settlement statement, never as a separate bill.
Do I have to be in Delaware for settlement?
Not necessarily. Tell us early if you live out of state or cannot travel, and the settlement attorney will explain how documents can be signed and returned for your sale. The attorney, not us, decides what the paperwork requires.
Can I leave furniture and junk in the house?
Yes. Pack up what you plan to keep; the garage, the shed, the attic and everything else can stay behind. Clearing the house out after settlement is our job, and it is already part of the number we give you.
What if the title search turns up a lien I did not know about?
The attorney will tell both of us what was found, and most liens, such as an old judgment or an unpaid utility balance, get paid out of your proceeds on settlement day. A problem that takes longer to clear can move the settlement date, which is why we start the title work right after you sign.
Is a short stay after settlement possible?
Sometimes. Tell us before you sign, and if a short stay after settlement can work, it gets written into the agreement. Most people find it simpler to set the settlement date a month or two out instead, which we are glad to do.
Does the price change after the walk-through?
The number we give you comes after we have seen the house, so the walk-through is already priced in. Whatever price the signed agreement shows is the price that appears on the settlement statement, before your payoffs and your share of the closing costs.
How do I know what I will actually walk away with?
Take the agreed price and subtract your mortgage payoff, any liens or overdue taxes, and your half of the transfer tax (we cover the other half). Ask us for that rough net before you sign, and the settlement attorney will give you the exact figures before settlement.