Whenever the primary purpose of a loan that is secured in whole or in part by a lien on real estate is for a personal, family or household purpose:

(a) The creditor must ascertain prior to closing the preference of the borrower as to the legal counsel that is employed to represent the debtor in all matters of the transaction relating to the closing of the transaction and except in the case of a loan on property that is subject to the South Carolina Horizontal Property Act (Section 27-31-10, et seq.) the insurance agent to furnish required hazard and flood property insurance in connection with the mortgage and comply with such preference.

The creditor may comply with this section by:

(1) including the preference information on or with the credit application so that this information shall be provided on a form substantially similar to a form distributed by the administrator; or

(2) providing written notice to the borrower of the preference information with the notice being delivered or mailed no later than three business days after the application is received or prepared. If a creditor uses a preference notice form substantially similar to a form distributed by the administrator, the form is in compliance with this section.

The creditor may require the attorney or agent to provide reasonable security to the creditor by way of mortgage title insurance in a company acceptable to the creditor and to comply with reasonable closing procedures. If title insurance is made a condition of the loan at any point during the negotiations, it must remain a condition all the time thereafter regardless of which attorney ultimately closes the transaction. Any legal fees other than for examination and certification of the title, the preparation of all required documents, and the closing of the transaction required or incurred by the creditor in connection with the transaction is the responsibility of the creditor regardless of which party pays for the title work, document preparation, and closing.

(b) The creditor may contract and receive the following additional charges in a transaction in which the creditor authorizes a transferee of the real estate that serves as security for the transaction to assume the original debtor's obligation -

(i) except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (iii), the additional charges authorized by Section 37-3-202;

(ii) the charge for any credit report on the debtor required by the creditor, if not paid to the creditor or a person related to the creditor; and

(iii) a nonrefundable assumption fee in an amount not exceeding the lesser of four hundred dollars or one percent of the unpaid balance of the loan at the time the assumption transaction is consummated.

HISTORY: 1982 Act No. 385, Section 56; 1984 Act No. 355, Section 10; 1989 Act No. 164, Section 3; 1991 Act No. 142, Section 23; 1996 Act No. 355, Section 1.