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The South Carolina records that decide what a home really costs and what the seller has to tell you: disclosure law, property-tax reset, the official registry, and the FEMA flood map — sourced, with the county offices that hold the files.
Check the records behind the address before you offer.
Check any address — free previewThe legal standard: 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.
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.
Sources: documents.sparkplatform.com · dor.sc.gov · sled.sc.gov · grandstrandsfinest.com · nrdc.org
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.
Homestead: A homeowner age 65 or older, totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind, who has been a South Carolina resident for at least one year, may exempt the first $50,000 of the fair market value of a legal residence under the homestead exemption.
South Carolina Sex Offender Registry is run by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Search it by the home's address before you offer — and search again before closing, because registry data changes as people move.
Open the official South Carolina registry
You can also search every state at once through the federal National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW). A CurbFacts report shows the registry count for the home's ZIP — the same public data, organized for the decision.
The only flood map that decides a lender's insurance requirement is FEMA's — the National Flood Hazard Layer behind the official FEMA flood map viewer. Listing sites license private models that can and do disagree with it; when they conflict, the FEMA map is the one your lender and insurer use.
Check the exact parcel, not the ZIP code: flood-zone boundaries cut through streets, and two houses side by side can sit in different zones.
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.
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 the South Carolina disclosure does and does not cover, section by section, and the questions it never answers.
Read the guideHow to run an address through the official South Carolina registry, and how to read what comes back.
Read the guideRecords live at the county level — assessor, recorder, permits. Pick the county for its records checklist.
Every CurbFacts report pulls the public records behind an address — flood determination, registry, tax reset, price history, permits, and what's planned nearby — and shows its sources.
Check any address — free preview