Can I Buy A House With Bitcoin?

This has been a shockingly common question: can I buy a house with Bitcoin? As of right now, you cannot buy a home in North Carolina with Bitcoin or any other form of cryptocurrency. But that doesn’t mean you never will.

Some challenges and difficulties surround buying a home with Bitcoin. By understanding what those are, you will learn more about the home buying process—and maybe even a little about cryptocurrency.

The Basics 

To understand some of the challenges cryptocurrency faces in the housing market, you need a cursory understanding of what it is. It is a form of digital currency based on a ledger system that everyone has access to.

For this article, you don’t need to fully comprehend how that is possible. But a single Bitcoin has been worth upwards of tens of thousands of U.S. dollars.

Establishing Value

The power of the U.S. dollar is not the thing in and of itself. It’s knowing that you can go anywhere in the world and use it in exchange for goods and services.

This is the problem with cryptocurrency. Even though a single coin can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, that doesn’t mean everyone is willing to accept it. Why? Because the value of cryptocurrency has spiked and dropped. Among other reasons, this has led to people opting to take more stable forms of currency such as the dollar.

Who Needs To Accept It?

The home buying process starts with the seller accepting your offer—to include your method of payment. After your offer has been accepted, it may take 60-90 days to close. The time is unique to each deal. For someone who accepts dollars they have a high degree of confidence (even if they aren’t aware of it) that a dollar will be worth the same at the end of the deal.

But here’s something to consider: in 2017, the value of a single Bitcoin went from almost $20,000 to less than $11,000 in under a month. If a seller had sold their house for 10 Bitcoins (about $200,000), those same 10 Bitcoins would be roughly $110,000.

Even if you found a buyer willing to be paid in Bitcoin, that is not your only hurdle. You would also need to have a title company do the same. The title company is an outside entity that can protect you and your lender. They can do the following:

• Chain of Title – A history of who has owned the house.
• Property Survey – This verifies that your new home is built on land you will own and that your neighbor’s property isn’t on yours.

Silver Lining

Despite not being able to buy a home in North Carolina with Bitcoin, that doesn’t mean you cannot do so indirectly. In other words, convert whatever cryptocurrency you have into liquid assets—cash.

Thomas & Webber Law At The Lake

Making it to the closing table and buying your home should be both fun and celebratory. At Thomas & Webber, we perform title searches, record deeds, and handle all the paperwork your mortgage lender needs. We will ensure you know and understand every document you sign.  Contact us today through our online scheduling form.