About This Site and Who Runs It
Program and regulatory figures verified September 19, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
A lender's site that opens with G.S. 105-286, because in North Carolina the reappraisal cycle decides your tax line more than the market does.
Why the site is shaped this way
Most writing about buying before selling comes from the real estate side and focuses on the offer. What usually decides whether a North Carolina move-up buyer can act is the financing, and here the tax component behaves unusually.
Counties reappraise every eight years, so assessed values can sit years behind the market and then catch up all at once. A file qualified on a pre-revaluation figure in a county about to revalue is a file whose real payment is about to rise. That is inside the payment we underwrite, which makes it ours to raise.
On the market
North Carolina's reputation is fast growth, and this year the fast-growing markets are the ones giving ground: Asheville down 3.3%, Durham down 2.2%, Raleigh down 1.8%. The smaller eastern and foothill markets gained.
We report that plainly because a buyer selling in Durham and buying in Greenville is moving from softness into strength, which is worth knowing before the offer rather than after.
What we deliberately do not do
We do not advise on purchase contracts, contingencies or offer terms. We are lenders, not licensed real estate agents or attorneys. We do not set reappraisal schedules or administer the homestead exclusion; your county assessor does. We do not publish county revaluation years, because there are 100 of them and they change by resolution.
We also do not characterise landlord obligations under the Residential Rental Agreements Act, because we did not read it at the statute, and we do not publish local land transfer tax rates for the same reason.
Reach us on the contact page, or start with the North Carolina guide.
Frequently asked questions
Are you a real estate agent?
No. Mike Certo is a mortgage loan originator, NMLS #260555, with Cornerstone First Mortgage, NMLS #173855. We finance the purchase; your agent represents you in it.
Can you tell me when my county revalues?
Your county assessor publishes the schedule and is the right source. There are 100 counties, schedules change by resolution under G.S. 105-286, and a stale date here would be worse than pointing you to the office that maintains it.
Do you lend throughout North Carolina?
Yes, North Carolina statewide. The $832,750 conforming limit is the same in all 100 counties, but reappraisal cycles, marketing times and price direction all vary considerably by market.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Revaluation schedules, exclusion eligibility and excise tax treatment depend on your facts; your county assessor, your closing attorney, your CPA, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.