Closing on a South Carolina home: what your attorney does and why you choose them

A closing that looks different from other states

Families who have bought homes elsewhere are sometimes surprised to learn that South Carolina closings run through an attorney's office rather than a title or escrow company alone. This is not a custom you may skip. It comes from decisions of the South Carolina Supreme Court on the practice of law.

In its 2017 opinion in Boone v. Quicken Loans, the Court summarized the rule from its earlier cases. The steps that must be performed or supervised by a South Carolina-licensed attorney include:

• the title examination,
• preparing the deed, note and mortgage,
• conducting the closing and explaining the documents you sign,
• giving instructions for recording at the register of deeds, and
• supervising the disbursement of the money.

Non-lawyers may help with parts of this work, such as abstracting the title, but a licensed attorney has to review it and stand behind it. The Court's test is that a licensed South Carolina attorney is involved at each critical stage and uses independent professional judgment.

You have the right to choose your attorney

South Carolina adds a consumer protection that most buyers never hear about. Section 37-10-102 of the state Code requires a lender making a home loan to find out, before closing, which attorney you prefer to handle your legal work and which agent you prefer for your homeowners insurance.

Guidance from the state's consumer finance regulators explains how lenders are expected to do this:

• You should receive notice of your right to choose within three days of applying.
• Your choice must come directly from you, not from your real estate agent or the loan officer passing it along.
• Lenders commonly use a signed and dated preference form. If you do not have a preference, you can say so.

We mention this not to suggest anything is wrong with the attorney your agent or lender suggests. Many families are well served that way. But the decision is yours, and it is worth a phone call or two before you sign the form.

Which attorney represents whom?

This is a fair question to ask at your first conversation. A closing attorney's office may handle the work for both the lender and the buyer, and sometimes the seller signs elsewhere. Ask plainly whom the attorney represents, what questions they can advise you on, and what is outside their role. A good office will welcome the question.

What the attorney's office does, step by step

Wiring money to close: a caution

Because the attorney's trust account handles the funds, criminals sometimes pose as closing offices and send false wiring instructions by email. Before you send any money, call the attorney's office at a number you found yourself, not one in the email, and confirm the instructions by voice. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gives the same advice to homebuyers nationwide.

How the attorney fits with SC Housing assistance

If you are using SC Housing's year-round Homebuyer Program or Palmetto Heroes, your closing will include a second mortgage for the $10,000 in forgivable assistance alongside your first mortgage. SC Housing's program guide limits cash back to you at closing to money you prepaid, such as earnest money or an appraisal fee, and does not allow the assistance to pay real estate commissions or cover an appraisal gap. Your attorney will see those rules reflected on the settlement figures. If a number looks off, ask the attorney and the lender together.

Our separate guide to the deed recording fee and other closing-day costs walks through the charges you are likely to see.

Choosing a closing attorney: questions worth asking

1. Does your office regularly close loans with SC Housing assistance?
2. Whom do you represent at this closing, and can you advise me on the title?
3. What is your fee, and what else will appear from your office on the settlement statement?
4. Can I review the documents a day or two before closing?
5. How will you confirm wiring instructions with me?

Attorney fees in South Carolina are not set by law and vary by office, so comparing two or three offices is reasonable.

After the closing

Once the deed is recorded, two tasks remain. Apply to your county assessor for the 4% legal residence ratio, which our legal residence guide explains, and keep your recorded deed, title policy and closing statement together in a safe place.

If you have not yet started, the first step is a lender who works with SC Housing. To be matched with one, please check your eligibility.

Further questions