South Carolina
Selling a Home in South Carolina
Most of what you will read about selling a house is written for the whole country. South Carolina does several things its own way, and two of them catch people out often enough that they are worth putting first.
Your closing will be run by an attorney, not a title company
South Carolina requires a licensed South Carolina attorney to handle a real estate closing, whether the buyer is financing or paying cash. If you have sold a house in another state this is the difference you will notice most, because the closing is run by a law firm rather than a title company. Choose that firm early rather than late — their calendar becomes your closing date.
The disclosure form comes before the contract, not after
South Carolina's Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act requires most sellers to complete a disclosure statement on a form published by the South Carolina Real Estate Commission, and to deliver it to the buyer before the contract is signed unless the contract provides otherwise. Take it seriously. A seller who knowingly gives information they know to be false, incomplete or misleading can be liable for the buyer's actual damages and court costs. The honest answer, including "I do not know", is almost always the safe one: the form does not require you to have investigated everything about the house, it requires you not to misrepresent what you do know.
Set your expectations from the right number
Time to sell varies enormously across the Midlands and it has far more to do with price point and property type than with whether the market is good. Homes have been going under contract in roughly 34 days in Lexington, about 41 in Cayce, and around 88 in Blythewood. A seller who plans around a town-wide average from somewhere else, or from a national headline, is setting themselves up to panic on a perfectly normal timeline. Half of a calm sale is starting with an accurate expectation.
What that means for how I work
I would rather spend an afternoon getting the price right than spend six weeks explaining a reduction. That means comparable sales that genuinely resemble your house, a realistic timeline for your specific price point, and being straight with you at the start even when the number is not the one you hoped for.
Let us talk
Call me at (803) 687-1744.
This describes how the process generally works in South Carolina. It is not legal advice, and your closing attorney is the right person for questions about your particular transaction.