What South Carolina Sellers Must Disclose

South Carolina requires sellers to put it in writing. The form is the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement. Under the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act (S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 50), an owner of residential property in a transfer of four or fewer dwelling units must provide a completed, signed disclosure statement, based on actual knowledge or stated as no representation, before a real estate contract is formed, subject to the exemptions in section 27-50-30.

What the disclosure covers — and what it is

Expect the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement before the contract is signed; 'as-is' language does not exempt the seller from providing it. Review it alongside flood information - South Carolina rates among the strongest states for flood disclosure - and remember the seller need not investigate unknown conditions.

Flooding: the answer that matters most

South Carolina law specifically requires flood disclosure: the seller has to tell you about flood risk or history. Read that answer carefully, then verify it against the official map — FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer is the map your lender will use, and a seller's 'never flooded' is not the same as 'not in a flood zone.'

The South Carolina traps inside the paperwork

Point-of-sale reassessment (assessable transfer of interest). A sale resets the property to fair market value for the following tax year and the 15% five-year cap does not apply in the transfer year, so a long-held home's low taxable value - and low bill - does not pass to the buyer.

4% legal residence rate and the January deadlines. An owner-occupied primary residence is assessed at 4% rather than 6% of fair market value, but only if the owner applies to the county assessor (January 15 deadline cited for legal residence), and the separate 25% ATI exemption for 6% property is lost unless the assessor is notified before January 31 of the first tax year.

What no disclosure will ever tell you

A disclosure is the seller's knowledge, on the seller's timeline. It says nothing about the street's crime trend, the registry, the tax bill you will pay after the sale, permits pulled (or never pulled) for the renovation in the photos, or the rezoning working its way through the planning office. In South Carolina, property tax reassessment works like this: The seller's bill is not your bill: a sale is an assessable transfer of interest and the property is revalued to fair market value as of December 31 of the transfer year, losing the 15% cap protection. A partial cushion exists only for 6% ratio (non-primary) property - a 25% exemption from the new value if the assessor is notified before January 31 - and it cannot reduce value below the pre-transfer value — which is why the seller's current bill is a poor guide to yours. Pull those records yourself; they are all public.

Your checks, in order

• Read the disclosure line by line, and get 'unknown' answers in writing anyway — an unknown is a flag, not a pass.
• Run the exact parcel on FEMA's flood map.
• Estimate your post-sale tax bill with the South Carolina records guide — never budget from the seller's bill.
• Check the address against the official South Carolina registry.
• Ask the county for open and expired permits on the address before you waive anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is a seller disclosure form required in South Carolina?

Yes — the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement. Under the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act (S.C. Code Title 27, Chapter 50), an owner of residential property in a transfer of four or fewer dwelling units must provide a completed, signed disclosure statement, based on actual knowledge or stated as no representation, before a real estate contract is formed, subject to the exemptions in section 27-50-30.

Does a South Carolina seller have to disclose flooding?

Yes — South Carolina requires flood disclosure. Verify it on the FEMA map anyway; the disclosure is the seller's statement, the map is the lender's rulebook.

The seller answered 'unknown' to half the form. Now what?

'Unknown' is legal in most regimes and useful to nobody. Treat every unknown as a job: inspection, permit search, and the county record file. If the seller genuinely doesn't know, the records usually do.

Sources: dor.sc.gov · sled.sc.gov · documents.sparkplatform.com · grandstrandsfinest.com · nrdc.org