Legal FAQs

Please let SCR know if you are experiencing any virus related issues with your real estate practice (e.g., sales, property management) so SCR can help educate the membership on workarounds or issues to consider. Examples of potential issues: Closings? Travel restrictions? Law firm practices? Quarantines? Leases expiring. Cleaning? Showings? Disclosure? South Carolina has psychological affected/impact/stigma… Continue Reading Any Virus Related RE Issues?

SCR Legal's Top Ten Open House Risks/Issues: 1. Safety. Remove all trip/slip/fall hazards. Provide adequate lighting (e.g., windows, electric lights). Park so that you are not blocked in the driveway. Walk so that you are not blocked in a room or basement or upper floor without a clear escape route. Upon arriving quickly alert the… Continue Reading SCR Legal’s Top Ten Open House Tips of the Day

https://www.nar.realtor/coronavirus-a-guide-for-realtors NAR says that you can ask about travel and signs of respiratory illness and refuse to drive consumers who may be at high risk for coronavirus due to travel or symptoms of respiratory illness but do this uniformly for all consumers. Example: NAR says that the coronavirus originated in China but do not violate… Continue Reading NAR on Fair Housing Issues and Corona Virus

Coronavirus Guidance for Associations and Members NAR is closely monitoring the coronavirus situation. Based on questions from association executives, we have formulated guidance for associations on staff travel, workplace precautions, meetings/events, and more. You can access the guidance here: https://www.nar.realtor/ae/coronavirus-a-guide-for-realtor-associations In addition, NAR is providing guidance for REALTORS® for use in their day-to-day business, including… Continue Reading NAR on Coronavirus

The SCR230 Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement RPCDS can be a REALTORS® best risk management strategy. For risk management reasons, brokerages can always attempt to get the SCR230 into the transaction via the listing agreement and via the purchase agreement so that the SCR230 is used in transactions. https://screaltors.org/wp-content/uploads/Forms/230.pdf Recently this hypothetical was presented to… Continue Reading Disclosing Condo Issues on SCR230 RPCDS

If/when your MLS adopts a version of NAR's clear cooperation policy then you must input your listing into the MLS and you have one business day to input your listing into MLS unless you are only communicating your listing internally to your brokerage as an office exclusive. Sellers will no longer be able to simultaneously… Continue Reading NAR/MLS Clear Cooperation Policy Addresses Abuses of Coming Soon Advertising

Risk management, consider evaluating the criminal conviction after the other rental evaluation (e.g., finances, rental history). The potential tenant might be rejected on financial and rental history without the need to take on the potential fair housing risks that can arise from rejecting on felony conviction. Video on this issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EYIxNwXhos If asking a potential… Continue Reading Fair Housing: Potential Tenants with Felony Convictions

The 2020 SCR Housing Opportunity Committee (HOC) is seeking ideas on ways that SCR can help address homelessness in SC. SCR HOC member Peggy Hill mentioned that WUAR will host Rebuild Anderson on May 12th at the WUAR offices. This organization fundraises to repair low-income homes which helps the low-income homeowner remain in their home… Continue Reading REALTORS(R) Fight Homelessness

For quality assurance reasons and because lawyers can argue what the English words in the SCR forms mean so a translation would allow lawyers to argue even more in court, the SCR standard forms committee does not produce non-English language forms as a risk management strategy. SCR surveyed other states in the USA and no… Continue Reading Spanish Forms, Chinese, Korean, German, French, Other Languages