Cary, NC · Wake County, Chatham County, Durham County
Senior Transition Advisor for the family home in Cary, NC
By Ryan Riggins, Senior Transition Advisor for the family home, NC broker #361546, eXp Realty
Updated
If your parent in Cary is moving to senior living, settle the house before anyone lists it: who can legally sign, the funding math against the community's fee sheet, and sell, rent or keep. Cary spreads across Wake and Chatham counties, with a small piece in Durham, so the first practical step is finding out which county the house is actually in.
I'm Ryan Riggins, a licensed North Carolina broker with eXp Realty. I'm based in Greensboro and work with Triangle families, Cary included, by phone and video. I never take the listing.
What I do, in one sentence.
A Senior Transition Advisor for the family home helps a family decide what happens to a parent's house before anyone lists it: the funding math against the community's fee sheet, who can legally sign, and sell, rent or keep. If selling, one vetted local agent. Not a mover, not a placement agent, never the listing agent.
More on what a Senior Transition Advisor for the family home is, and isn’t.
Wake, Chatham, or a sliver of Durham.
Most of Cary is in Wake County, but the town reaches west into Chatham County and has a small part in Durham County. The county decides which tax office handles relief, which register of deeds records a power of attorney, and which DSS handles Medicaid.
Chatham has a small tax relief program of its own, so a Cary house on the Chatham side has one more thing to check.
What’s specific to a Cary house.
On the Chatham side, there's an extra program.
Chatham County applies the statewide programs through its Tax Administration Listing Division, 919-542-8250, and also runs its own Low Income Tax Relief Program, up to $500 off, through its Affordable Housing office. On the Wake side, it's Wake County Tax Administration, 919-856-5400. Both use a June 1 deadline for the state programs.
Empty versus rented changes the tax picture.
North Carolina law keeps the Homestead Exclusion through an extended stay in a rest home or nursing home, as long as the house is empty or only a spouse or dependent lives there. If renting is on the table, ask the county tax office first.
The power of attorney has to be on record.
Before a deed signed under a power of attorney is recorded, North Carolina requires the power of attorney to be registered with the register of deeds in the county where your parent lives or where the house is. In Cary that could be Wake, Chatham or Durham.
None of this is legal or tax advice. Signing authority, deeds and Medicaid belong with an elder law attorney, and the tax side of a sale belongs with a CPA. I tell you when you need one and what to ask.
Local help worth a call.
From my Wake and Chatham County Senior Help Directories. Start with the county on the tax bill.
- Wake side: Resources for Seniors, 919-872-7933
The Wake County aging hub. Wake County Health and Human Services (Medicaid, energy, food) is 919-212-7000. - Wake side: GoWake Access, 919-212-7005
Door-to-door shared rides for residents 60 and older. - Chatham side: Chatham County Aging Services, 919-542-4512
Reached through the Pittsboro Center for Active Living. Chatham County DSS is 919-542-2759. - Central Pines Area Agency on Aging, 1-800-310-9777
The regional aging agency for Wake and Chatham, and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman. - Legal Aid of NC, Senior Law Project
Legal Aid of North Carolina's Senior Law Project: free civil legal help for anyone 60 or older, including powers of attorney and Medicaid. Senior Legal Helpline 1-877-579-7562, weekdays 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.
The full lists: Wake County Senior Help Directory, Chatham County Senior Help Directory.
How working with me goes.
- 1. A free 20-minute call. Phone or video. Bring the community’s fee sheet if you have it, and the power of attorney if there is one. You’ll leave knowing what to do first.
- 2. The funding math. The fee sheet next to what your parent actually has: income, savings, and what the house would really net. How many months does the money last, with the house and without it?
- 3. A written plan, if you want one. The Senior Transition Roadmap is free, by application: an intake form, a call with me, a written plan we build together, a follow-up call and 90 days of email support.
- 4. Sell, rent or keep, on purpose. I lay the three side by side. Here’s how sell, rent and keep compare.
- 5. If selling, one vetted local agent. I refer one agent I’ve vetted for this kind of sale and tell you why that one. I never take the listing.
What it costs: nothing to your family. If you sell, the agent I refer pays me a referral fee at closing out of the commission, through eXp Realty. If you rent, keep or wait, I’m not paid at all.
If your mom or dad is moving right now, start with what to do with the house when Mom moves to assisted living.
Common questions
Questions from Cary families.
Is Cary in Wake County or Chatham County?
Both, and a small part is in Durham County. Most of Cary is in Wake. The property tax bill tells you which county your parent's house is in.
What do we do with Mom's Cary house when she moves to assisted living?
Settle who can sign, run the funding math against the community's fee sheet, then decide sell, rent or keep. Take Medicaid and deed questions to an elder law attorney and the tax side to a CPA. If you sell, one vetted local agent.
What property tax relief is there for a Cary house in Chatham County?
The statewide programs through Chatham County Tax Administration's Listing Division at 919-542-8250, plus Chatham's own Low Income Tax Relief Program, up to $500 off, through Affordable Housing.
What does your help cost a Cary family?
Nothing. If the family sells, the agent I refer pays me a referral fee at closing out of the commission. If you rent, keep or wait, I'm not paid.
Other cities: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill. Or see every city I serve.
Talk to me before anyone lists the Cary house.
A free 20-minute call. It costs your family nothing.
Ryan Riggins, NC Real Estate Broker #361546, eXp Realty. Not legal, tax or financial advice.