Closing costs in SC typically run 2% to 5% of the home’s purchase price, split between buyer and seller. On a home near the state’s current median listing price of roughly $350,000, that puts total closing costs somewhere between $7,000 and $17,500 for both sides combined. Buyers carry the larger share because most of the fees are tied to obtaining a mortgage, while sellers owe the state’s deed recording fee and their own payoff-related costs.
The range is wide because no two transactions look alike. A cash buyer with clean title lands near the low end. A financed purchase on rural acreage with survey complications pushes toward the high end.
What Buyers Pay at Closing
Lender-related fees stack up quickly, which is why the buyer’s side of the settlement statement is longer than the seller’s.
Loan Origination and Lender Charges
Your lender will charge an origination fee, typically 0.5% to 1% of the loan amount. On a $300,000 mortgage that’s $1,500 to $3,000. Some lenders fold smaller charges like underwriting and processing into the origination fee; others break them out separately. Compare the total, not the labels.
Credit report fees have climbed in recent years, with the mortgage industry flagging increases of 40% to 50% for the tri-merge reports pulled from all three bureaus. Expect anywhere from a few tens to a few hundred dollars for this line.
Title Insurance
Buyers in South Carolina customarily pay for the owner’s title insurance policy, which protects against undiscovered liens, forged documents in the chain of title, and other defects that predate the purchase. Premiums are calculated on a tiered per-thousand basis, so the rate per dollar of coverage drops as the policy amount rises. For a $350,000 home, a standard owner’s policy usually runs $700 to $900. Your lender will also require a separate lender’s policy, which costs less but adds to the total.
Appraisal and Home Inspection
Lenders require an appraisal to confirm the home’s value supports the loan. Appraisal fees for a standard single-family home in South Carolina run roughly $525 to $1,300, depending on size, location, and complexity. A home inspection is technically optional but usually worth the $300 to $500 it costs.
The CL-100 Wood Infestation Report
South Carolina’s climate makes termite damage a real risk, and the CL-100 report is a fixture of residential transactions in the state. No state law mandates it, but the standard South Carolina real estate contract includes a CL-100 section, and most lenders require one before funding. Clemson University’s Department of Plant Industry regulates the process and requires the report be obtained within 30 days of closing, after which it goes stale.
The report typically costs $60 to $280. A licensed pest control operator inspects for termites, wood-boring beetles, and other wood-destroying organisms and classifies any findings. If active infestation or damage is found, the parties negotiate who pays for treatment and repairs, which can become significant if structural damage is involved.
Prepaid Interest, Insurance, and Tax Escrow
Your lender will require you to prepay certain costs at closing to seed your escrow account. That means several months of homeowners insurance premiums, a cushion for property taxes, and prepaid interest covering the days between your closing date and the start of your first full mortgage payment period.
If you close on the 5th of the month, you’ll owe about 25 days of daily interest at closing. Close on the 28th and you prepay two or three days. At a 7% rate on a $300,000 loan, each day is about $57.50. Closing later in the month won’t save money over the life of the loan since your first payment just starts sooner, but it does reduce the cash you need at the table.
What Sellers Pay at Closing
Sellers have a shorter list, but the individual amounts can be large.
- Deed recording fee: $1.85 per $500 of the sale price. On a $350,000 home, that’s $1,295.
- Attorney fee: the seller’s own closing attorney, typically a flat fee ranging from several hundred to over $1,000.
- Mortgage payoff: any remaining balance on the seller’s loan, plus per-diem interest through the payoff date.
- Prorated property taxes: if the seller hasn’t yet paid taxes covering the period through closing, those get deducted at the settlement table.
The deed recording fee is set by Section 12-24-10 of the South Carolina Code and functions like a transfer tax even though the statute calls it a recording fee. Section 12-24-20 makes the seller primarily liable, with the buyer as a backstop if the seller doesn’t pay. Exemptions exist for transfers between spouses, transfers to trusts under certain conditions, and a handful of other situations, but standard sales between unrelated parties owe the full amount.
South Carolina Requires an Attorney at Closing
South Carolina is one of a handful of states where a licensed attorney must supervise every real estate closing. The state Supreme Court established this in State v. Buyers Service Co. (1986), holding that conducting a real estate closing constitutes the practice of law. No title company or escrow agent can handle your closing on its own the way it might in other states.
The closing attorney reviews the title search, prepares the deed, oversees document signing, and disburses funds. State law also gives the buyer the right to choose which attorney handles the transaction. Under Section 37-10-102 of the South Carolina Consumer Protection Code, the lender must ask the borrower for their attorney preference and honor that choice. If the lender tries to steer you to a particular firm, you can push back. The lender can require that the attorney provide title insurance from an acceptable company, but it cannot override your selection.
Attorney fees for a straightforward residential closing generally run from several hundred dollars to over $1,000, charged as a flat fee. Complex transactions involving unusual title issues, multiple parcels, or commercial elements cost more. Buyer and seller each hire their own attorney, so each side pays separately.
Seller Concessions: How Much Help You Can Ask For
If you’re asking the seller to help with your closing costs, the amount they can contribute depends on your loan type and how much you’re putting down. Exceeding the cap can force the lender to deduct the overage from the sale price and recalculate your loan-to-value ratio, which can kill the deal.
Conventional Loans
Fannie Mae sets the ceiling by loan-to-value ratio:
- Down payment under 10% (LTV above 90%): seller can contribute up to 3%
- Down payment of 10% to 24.99% (LTV 75.01% to 90%): up to 6%
- Down payment of 25% or more (LTV 75% or below): up to 9%
- Investment properties: 2% regardless of down payment
The percentage is calculated against the lower of the sale price or appraised value.
FHA Loans
FHA allows seller contributions up to 6% of the purchase price, the most generous cap among the major loan programs. First-time buyers using FHA financing often negotiate concessions to offset their cash-to-close.
VA Loans
VA loans cap seller concessions at 4% of the appraised value. VA rules separately restrict which fees the buyer can pay as itemized charges. Costs like loan processing, underwriting, document preparation, and settlement fees must be bundled into the lender’s flat origination charge rather than billed separately to the veteran. That means VA buyers sometimes see lower itemized closing costs, but the origination fee may be higher to compensate.
The 4% Assessment Rate and What It Does to Your Escrow
How much your lender collects upfront for property tax escrow depends heavily on the county and on whether the home qualifies for the owner-occupied assessment rate. South Carolina taxes owner-occupied primary residences at 4% of fair market value. Second homes, rental properties, and other residential real estate are assessed at 6%.
On a $350,000 home, that’s the difference between a taxable assessed value of $14,000 and $21,000. Multiply by your county’s millage rate and the gap in annual taxes can easily reach $1,000 or more. Because your lender will escrow for taxes based on the current assessment, making sure the property is properly classified as your legal residence matters right from closing.
To claim the 4% rate you must apply with your county assessor’s office after purchasing the home. The application is typically due by the end of the year, though some counties set earlier deadlines. You only need to apply once as long as you continue living in the home. Miss the filing window and you’ll pay the 6% rate until the next tax year, which means a higher escrow payment and more cash at closing for buyers who inherit a non-owner-occupied classification.
Coastal Insurance and Surveys Can Push the Number Higher
If you’re buying along the coast from Myrtle Beach down to Hilton Head, expect higher upfront insurance costs at closing. Most coastal policies carry a separate wind and hail deductible of 1% to 5% of the insured value, on top of the standard homeowners deductible. That doesn’t increase your closing costs directly, but lenders in wind-prone areas often require larger escrow cushions for insurance premiums, which means more cash at the table.
Not every transaction requires a new boundary survey, but lenders sometimes require one, especially for rural properties or lots without recent survey records. A residential boundary survey in South Carolina can run from roughly $1,200 to well over $5,000, depending on acreage, terrain, and how much research the surveyor needs to do in the public records. If a recent survey already exists and the lender accepts it, you can avoid the cost entirely.
Reading Your Closing Disclosure
Federal law requires your lender to deliver the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before your closing date. This document replaces the old HUD-1 settlement statement and itemizes every fee, prepaid cost, and escrow amount for both sides. Don’t treat it as a formality.
Compare it line by line against the Loan Estimate you received when you applied. Lender origination charges should match exactly. Third-party fees like appraisals and title insurance can increase, but only within tolerances set by federal rules. If something looks wrong or a new fee appeared that wasn’t on your Loan Estimate, raise it immediately with your attorney and lender. Changes to certain terms, like your interest rate or loan product, trigger a new three-day waiting period, which can delay closing. Catching problems early keeps the timeline on track.