§ 65-70. Construction of mausoleums and belowground crypts; trust fund for receipts from sale of preconstruction crypts; compliance requirements.
§65‑70. Construction of mausoleums and belowground crypts; trust fund forreceipts from sale of preconstruction crypts; compliance requirements.
(a) A cemetery companyshall be required to start construction of that section of a mausoleum or bankof belowground crypts in which sales, contracts for sale, reservations forsales or agreements for sales are being made, within 48 months after the dateof the first such sale. The construction of such mausoleum section or bank ofbelowground crypts shall be completed within five years after the date of thefirst sale made; provided, however, extensions for completion, not to exceedone year, may be granted by the Commission for good reasons shown.
(b) A cemetery companywhich plans to offer for sale space in a section of a mausoleum or bank ofunderground crypts prior to its construction shall establish a preconstructiontrust account. The trust account shall be administered and operated in the samemanner as the merchandise trust account provided for in G.S. 65‑66 andshall be exclusive of the merchandise trust account or such other trustaccounts or funds that may be required by law. The personal representative ofany purchaser of such space who dies before completion of construction shall beentitled to a refund of all moneys paid for such space including any incomeearned thereon.
(c) Before a sale,contract for sale, reservation for sale or agreement for sale in the firstmausoleum section or bank of underground crypts in each cemetery may be madethe funds (one hundred twenty percent (120%) of construction cost) to bedeposited to the preconstruction trust account shall be computed as to saidsection or bank of crypts and such trust account payments must be made on orbefore the last day of the calendar month following receipt by the cemeterycompany or its agent of each payment. The trust account portion of each suchpayment shall be computed by dividing the cost of the project plus twentypercent (20%) of said cost, as computed by a licensed contractor, engineer orarchitect by the number of crypts in the section or bank of crypts to ascertainthe cost per unit. The unit cost shall be divided by the contract sales priceof each unit to obtain a percentage which shall be multiplied by the amount ofeach payment. The formula shall be computed as follows:
Cost plus twenty percent (20%)divided by number of crypts = cost per unit
Cost per unit divided bycontract sales price = percentage
Percentage x payment received= deposit required to preconstruction trust account.
(d) The cemeterycompany shall be entitled to withdraw the funds from said preconstruction trustaccount only after the Commission has become satisfied that construction hasbeen completed; provided, however, that during construction of the mausoleum orbank of belowground crypts the Commission may, in its discretion, authorize aspecific percentage of the funds to be withdrawn when it appears that at leastan equivalent percentage of construction has been completed.
(e) If a mausoleumsection or bank of underground crypts is not completed within the time limitsset out in this section the corporate trustee, if any, shall contract for andcause said project to be completed and paid therefor from the trust accountfunds deposited to the project's account paying any balance, less cost andexpenses, to the cemetery company. In the event there is no corporate trustee,the Commission shall appoint a committee to serve as trustees to contract forand cause said project to be completed and paid therefor from the trust accountfunds deposited to the project's account paying any balance, less cost andexpenses, to the cemetery company.
(f) In lieu of thepayments outlined hereunder to the preconstruction trust account the cemeterycompany may deliver to the Commission a good and sufficient completion orperformance bond in an amount and by surety companies acceptable to theCommission. (1975, c. 768, s. 1; 1977, c. 686, ss. 16, 17; 1979,c. 888, s. 8.)