How to avoid foreclosure in South Carolina

How foreclosure works in South Carolina, step by step

1. Missed payments and pre-foreclosure

   Federal rules generally bar the servicer from starting foreclosure until you are more than 120 days behind. Use that time to apply for help from your servicer and meet a free housing counselor.

   12 C.F.R. § 1024.41(f)

2. Summons and complaint

   The lender files suit and serves you with a summons and complaint. You have 30 days after service to serve an answer. Read the complaint to see whether the lender is asking for a deficiency judgment.

   SCRCP 12(a); S.C. Code Ann. § 29-3-630

3. Loss mitigation while the case is pending

   Federal loss mitigation rules still apply, and the lender's attorney is your point of contact for any loan modification or other loss mitigation. Before a final hearing, judgment or sale, the master or judge may ask about the status of loss mitigation, so keep proof of everything you send.

   S.C. Sup. Ct. Order of May 17, 2023; 12 C.F.R. §§ 1024.39 to 1024.41

4. Hearing and judgment

   The case is heard, often by the county master-in-equity. The court can enter judgment for the debt and order the home sold in the same order.

   S.C. Code Ann. §§ 29-3-630, 29-3-650

5. Advertising and sale

   The sale must be advertised for three weeks before the sale day, in a newspaper and at three public places including the courthouse door. Judicial sales are normally held on the first Monday of the month.

   S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-39-650, 15-39-660, 15-39-680

6. Thirty-day upset bid period

   If the lender is seeking a deficiency judgment, bidding stays open for 30 days after the sale so others can raise the bid. If the lender waived a deficiency in its complaint, the sale is final on sale day.

   S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-39-720, 15-39-760

7. Deed and move-out

   After the sale is final the buyer gets a deed. If you are still in the home the buyer can ask the court to have you removed, so plan your move before the sale is final.

South Carolina foreclosure deadlines to know

These are the periods written into the law. Your own dates are on the notices you received. If a notice and this page disagree, trust the notice and ask a counselor or lawyer.

Your rights as a homeowner in South Carolina

Other South Carolina protections

• Court judgment required

  A power of sale clause in a mortgage does not allow a sale on its own. The debt must first be established by a court judgment, or you must agree to the amount in writing after the debt is due.

  S.C. Code Ann. § 29-3-630

• Court can check on loss mitigation

  The master or judge may ask about the status of loss mitigation before a final hearing, judgment or sale, and the lender's attorney must give the court reliable information about it.

  S.C. Sup. Ct. Order of May 17, 2023

• Appraisal rights

  A homeowner facing a deficiency can demand an appraisal within 30 days of the sale, and the appraised value is used in place of a low sale price. The right cannot be waived for a home.

  S.C. Code Ann. §§ 29-3-680, 29-3-740

• Thirty-day upset bids

  When a deficiency is sought, bidding stays open 30 days and the lender is held to the bid it made on sale day, which can push the price up and the deficiency down.

  S.C. Code Ann. § 15-39-720

South Carolina mortgage assistance programs

If the home is sold for more than you owe

If the home sells for more than the costs and the amounts the judgment orders paid, the officer who held the sale keeps the surplus and must send a notice of it to all parties who appeared in the case when filing the report of sale. To claim it, file a sworn claim with the master or the officer who held the sale within 45 days after the statement of receipts and disbursements is filed; a late claim is treated as abandoned. The master then holds a hearing on the claims. If no one claims, the money is paid to the owner or lienholder entitled to it.

SCRCP 71(b), (c)

Ways to avoid foreclosure

Most of your options come from federal rules and from whoever owns or insures your loan, so they work the same way in South Carolina as anywhere else. What changes by state is how much time you have to use them.

• Repayment plan
• Forbearance
• Payment deferral or partial claim
• Loan modification
• Reinstatement
• Short sale
• Deed in lieu of foreclosure
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy