A free guide for buyers purchasing a home in South Carolina
A buyer agency agreement hires a real estate firm to represent you, sets how that firm is paid, and decides what happens if your search changes direction. This guide walks through the South Carolina REALTORS buyer agency contract section by section, explains how buyer agent compensation works after the 2024 industry changes, and gives you the questions to ask before you sign.
What the Full Guide Covers
- Start Here
- Why You Are Asked to Sign Before Touring
- The South Carolina Brokerage Relationships Disclosure
- How Buyer Agent Compensation Works Now
- Choosing an Agent Who Will Explain the Risks
- Section 1: Appointment of Broker
- Section 2: Purpose of Agency
- Section 3: Length of Agreement
- Section 4: Broker’s Efforts
- Section 5: Dual Agency and Designated Agency
- Section 6: Buyer’s Duties
- Section 7: Broker Fee and Payment Timing
- Section 8: Other Buyers
- Section 9: Fair Housing
- Section 10: Sex Offender and Criminal Information
- Section 11: Duties and Brokerage Disclosure
- Section 12: Broker Liability Limitation
- Section 13: Surveillance
- Section 14: Professional Counsel
- Section 15: Contingencies
- Sections 16 to 18: Entire Agreement, Amendment and Governing Law
- How to End or Change the Agreement
- Buying a For Sale By Owner Home With an Agent
- Signatures and Final Review
- Your Fee and Purchase Budget
- Decisions to Settle Before Signing
- Terms Worth Understanding
Common Questions
Why am I being asked to sign a buyer agreement before touring homes?
Since August 17, 2024, industry rules followed by REALTORS and their MLSs require a written agreement with a buyer before an agent tours a home with that buyer, in person or virtually. In South Carolina, a written agreement is also the only way to become a client: without one, you are treated as a customer, not represented. The agreement tells you what the agent will do and what you could owe before any work begins.
Do I have to sign before I can go to an open house?
No. You can visit an open house or ask an agent general questions without a signed agreement. You should still receive the brokerage relationships disclosure before a licensee shows you a property.
Is buyer agency oral or written in South Carolina?
Written. South Carolina law says no agency relationship exists unless the buyer and firm agree to it in writing, and it cannot be created orally or by implication. Until you sign, you are a customer.
What is the Disclosure of Real Estate Brokerage Relationships?
It is the Real Estate Commission’s form explaining customer and client relationships, dual agency, designated agency and transaction brokerage. Licensees must give it to you, with a meaningful explanation, at the first practical opportunity after substantive contact, and the Commission’s position is that this happens before any property is shown. It is not a contract.
Can I write the buyer agent fee into my offer?
Yes. At your instruction, your broker can ask the seller in your offer to fund some or all of the fee as a credit to you, or to pay it directly under a separate written compensation agreement. The seller can accept, decline or counter. Ask your lender first how a seller contribution will be treated.
What if the seller will not pay my agent?
The fee in your buyer agency contract still applies, and any part the seller does not cover is generally yours. You can pay it at closing, negotiate price or other terms instead, amend the fee with your broker in writing, or decide the home does not fit your budget. Know this number before you write the offer.
How much is commission after the NAR settlement?
There is no set or standard rate. Fees are not set by law, are set by each firm, and are negotiable. What changed is that you now agree on a specific amount with your agent in writing before touring, and any seller payment is negotiated in each deal.
Are agent fees negotiable, and how do I compare services?
Yes, and the contract says so in writing. Compare what each firm includes, who you will work with, which fees apply (base fee, retainer, administrative fee, bonus), and what you would owe if the seller pays nothing. The lowest fee is not always the lowest total cost.
How do I choose an agent who explains risks instead of pressuring me?
Look for someone who walks you through the contract and encourages you to read it at home, separates facts from assumptions, refers you to inspectors and attorneys, and treats walking away as a real option. Check the agent’s license through the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. If you feel rushed to sign, ask for time.
What is the difference between dual agency and designated agency?
In dual agency, one firm represents both you and the seller with limited duties to each. In designated agency, the firm assigns different licensees to you and the seller, while the firm and supervising broker remain in a dual role. Both require your informed written consent on a separate agreement, and agreeing in the buyer contract to consider them later is not that consent.
How do I end a buyer agency agreement?
Under the reviewed form, it ends on the end date or when a pending transaction closes or terminates, whichever is later, or early by a release both parties sign. Neither side can end it alone. Make sure any release addresses fees, shown properties and the protection period, because the fee section survives cancellation.
Can I have my own agent if I buy a for sale by owner home?
Yes. Your broker represents you, and the owner is not represented by your broker. The owner may agree to pay your broker through a separate written agreement or a credit in your contract; if not, your contract’s fee still applies.
I am selling. Should I offer to pay the buyer’s agent?
That is the seller’s choice, and no seller is required to. The SitRep Realty guides for home sellers explain how sellers weigh offering compensation, offering a general concession, or neither, and how that can affect which buyers can afford the home.
What happens if a seller offers zero buyer agent compensation?
Buyers can still make offers, and many will ask for help in the offer itself. Buyers whose cash is tight may need that help to buy, so the seller should expect the question during negotiation. The SitRep Realty guides for home sellers cover this decision from the seller’s side.
I am buying in North Carolina too. Is it the same?
No. North Carolina uses different rules, a different agency disclosure and a different standard buyer agreement. See the SitRep Realty guide on the North Carolina buyer agency agreement.
Get the Complete Guide
What the SC REALTORS buyer agency contract says, how buyer agent pay works now, and the questions to settle before you sign. It is free from the SitRep Realty Intel Hub Library.
This page provides general real estate information for North Carolina and South Carolina. It is not legal, tax, lending or insurance advice and does not create an agency relationship. Laws and forms change, and every property is different, so consult a licensed real estate broker and, where appropriate, a licensed real estate attorney about your situation. SitRep Realty is a member of the DW Realty Team. Equal Housing Opportunity.
