USA – SOUTH CAROLINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Matt Norton and Christian Kolic, K&L Gates
4.25% to 4.5%, and the Federal Reserve’s chair, Jerome Powell, has stated that they are not “in a hurry” to lower such rates. The Corporate Transparency Act, which imposed reporting requirements aimed at combating money laundering, tax fraud and similar financial crimes, went into effect in 2024, but enforcement was blocked by a United States Federal Court later that year. If enforced, excepting certain exclusions, certain individuals would be required to report specific information to FinCEN about real property transfers to legal entities or trusts. As of 16 March 2025, the Treasury Department has advised that not only will it not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against US citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect. The Treasury Department will further be issuing a proposed rulemaking that will narrow the scope of the rule to foreign reporting companies only. Relevant filing dead - lines and exposure to potential fines will need to be closely monitored during the pendency of a final ruling.
of someone else’s land and is generally acquired pursuant to an easement agreement. 2.2 Laws Applicable to Transfer of Title South Carolina has formal requirements for the validity of conveyancing real estate instruments to be recorded in the real property records located in each county. The parcel or parcels conveyed must have been legally created as separate parcels; any conveyance subdividing a parcel or combining multiple parcels into a single parcel requires an application and government approval for such reconfiguration. There are no special laws or regulations that apply to the transfer of specific types of real estate (although specific uses are always subject to zoning and land-use regulations). 2.3 Effecting Lawful and Proper Transfer of Title Transfers of ownership of real property in South Carolina are made by deed, which may or may not include warranties of title. A deed must be in proper form and witnessed by two disinterest - ed parties. In addition, a deed must contain an acknowledgment made by the transferor before a notary public or, alternatively, an affidavit of a subscribing witness. In order to be valid as against third parties, deeds must be recorded in the real property records for the county in which the property is located. There is a transfer tax payable upon recordation of a deed, and each deed must be accompa - nied by an affidavit as to the actual considera - tion paid. South Carolina is a lawyer closing state, mean - ing that a South Carolina licensed lawyer must undertake or supervise key parts of the real estate transaction, including the title review, drafting of the conveyancing documents, dis -
2. Sale and Purchase 2.1 Categories of Property Rights
Property rights generally fall into three catego - ries – fee interest, leasehold interest and ease - ment interest. A fee interest generally describes ownership of the land and is often transferred by deed. A leasehold interest generally describes the right to use but not own the land, such as the interest acquired by a tenant when they enter into a lease with a landlord. An easement interest generally describes the right to access a portion
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