Transaction coordinator in South Carolina: Form 310 deadlines, licensing and attorney closings

What does a transaction coordinator do on a South Carolina deal?

The South Carolina REALTORS residential purchase contract is Form 310, the Agreement/Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential). The copy we read is the 06/25 edition posted by Western Upstate MLS. SC REALTORS set March 9, 2026 as the target date for updating its purchase agreements with forms vendors, so confirm the edition in your forms software before you build a calendar from it.

Form 310 leaves most dates blank for the parties to fill in. The coordinator reads those blanks off the signed contract and turns them into a timeline: earnest money, the loan application, the Due Diligence Deadline, the wood infestation report and closing. From there the work is follow-up with the lender, the Closing Attorney and the other agent, plus keeping the broker's file complete.

Does a transaction coordinator need a license in South Carolina?

South Carolina is unusual here because its license law names the role. Section 40-57-30 of the real estate license law defines a broker to include anyone who, for a fee or with the expectation of being paid, "offers services as a real estate consultant, counselor, or transaction manager". We found no Real Estate Commission rule that defines "transaction manager" further or deals with independent coordinators directly. Agents who use an outside TC should ask how that firm reads the definition.

For assistants inside a brokerage, Section 40-57-135(K) sets the limits. An unlicensed individual working under a broker-in-charge may not:

• discuss, negotiate or explain a contract, listing agreement or other real estate document
• answer questions about listings, title, financing or closing issues, beyond information that is already public
• be paid solely on the basis of real estate activity, such as a percentage of commission
• engage in any other activity that requires a license.

The pay rule matters when you set up a TC arrangement. The statute names a percentage of commission as an example of pay based solely on real estate activity. The Commission repeats the same list in its own FAQ.

Which Form 310 deadlines does a coordinator track?

All times in Form 310 are South Carolina local time, and ¶1(F) makes time of the essence for every deadline and performance period in the contract.

The Due Diligence Deadline is the one that does the most damage when missed. During the period the buyer may terminate for any reason or none. Paragraph 8 lists the buyer's options, among them agreeing repairs on Form 525 or terminating on Form 313. If the buyer takes none of the listed steps by the deadline, the contract becomes as-is with respect to repairs. A buyer who terminates for due diligence reasons owes the termination fee written into ¶8. A termination under the financing, appraisal or another contingency does not trigger that fee.

Once the blanks are known, our contract deadline calculator handles the counting.

Who closes a South Carolina home sale?

A South Carolina-licensed attorney, and here that is a legal requirement rather than local custom. In Boone v. Quicken Loans (2017), the state Supreme Court recalled that its Buyers Service decision identified four steps in a residential purchase that are the practice of law: the title search, the loan documents, the closing itself and recording. Each must be performed or supervised by a South Carolina-licensed attorney. Doe Law Firm v. Richardson (2006) added a fifth step, the disbursement of funds.

The SC Bar's Ethics Advisory Opinion 26-01 adds a point coordinators run into. The steps need not be done by the same lawyer, but the lawyer at the closing step must confirm that a licensed South Carolina lawyer completed the others. Form 310 has the buyer select the Closing Attorney, and on financed deals S.C. Code 37-10-102 requires the lender to ask which attorney the borrower prefers before closing.

Earnest money goes to whichever Escrow Agent the parties name in ¶5. The 2023 edition that SC REALTORS posts publicly says, in capitals, that the Escrow Agent will not disburse the deposit to either party until both sign an agreement authorizing it or a court directs it.

Who pays the deed recording fee in South Carolina?

South Carolina charges a deed recording fee of $1.85 for each $500 of the property's value. That is a state fee of $1.30 and a county fee of 55 cents. The statute makes the grantor liable for it and the grantee secondarily liable, and ¶4 of Form 310 says the seller pays all statutory deed recording fees. At September's statewide median of $344,995, the fee comes to $1,276.50, because a fractional $500 counts as a full one.

How is the South Carolina housing market moving?

The SC REALTORS September 2026 report counted 7,701 homes, condos and villas sold statewide, down 2.1% on September 2025. The statewide median price was $344,995, up 1.8%, and average days on market rose to 78. Year to date, sales were up 1.9% at 71,055.

One caution when comparing those rows. The report measures days on market to the closing date in Charleston Trident and Coastal Carolinas, but to the contract date in Greater Columbia and Greater Greenville. A Columbia figure and a Charleston figure are not measuring the same stretch of the deal.

How do South Carolina's regions differ for a coordinator?

Charleston. Charleston Trident was the only market in the table with more sales than a year earlier, and it carried the highest median at $425,000.

Greenville and the Upstate. Greater Greenville sold the most homes of the markets in the table, edging Charleston Trident by eight sales.

Columbia. Greater Columbia had the steepest drop in the table, with sales down 10.1% at a $275,000 median.

York and Lancaster counties. Both are part of Canopy's 16-county Charlotte region, and Canopy MLS serves subscribers in both Carolinas. Our Charlotte page covers files that cross the state line.

What does a transaction coordinator cost in South Carolina?

We did not find a South Carolina TC company that publishes its prices. Across the 21 price cards we checked in October 2026, one side of a deal ran from $300 to $550, and most charge nothing if the deal does not close. Put those figures into our TC fee calculator alongside your own volume.

How do you choose a transaction coordinator in South Carolina?

Ask first how the coordinator fits Section 40-57-30 and, if they work inside your firm, how they are paid. Then test their Form 310 knowledge: which form ends due diligence by repair agreement, when the termination fee is owed, and how they make sure the Closing Attorney has the CL-100 in time. Compare their process with our coordinator checklist.

Freelance TC, TC company or DeedSpring: which fits a South Carolina agent?

The table sets the usual options side by side. A good freelance TC is worth every dollar on a messy file. What most agents are really paying for, though, is someone who never misses a date and always chases the lender. Software does that on every file at once.

To see what the gap means across a year of files, put your numbers into the TC fee per file calculator.

Compare plans on the DeedSpring pricing page.