Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 27 > Chapter 50 - The Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act

• Annual percentage rate: The cost of credit at a yearly rate. It is calculated in a standard way, taking the average compound interest rate over the term of the loan so borrowers can compare loans. Lenders are required by law to disclose a card account's APR. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Commission: means the South Carolina Real Estate Commission. See South Carolina Code 27-50-10
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Disclosure statement: means a residential property condition disclosure statement written on a form as required by this article and as promulgated by regulations of the commission. See South Carolina Code 27-50-10
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Listing agent: means a real estate licensee who represents an owner of real property in the sale, lease, or other transfer of the subject real property through the use of a written listing agreement as required by law. See South Carolina Code 27-50-10
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Owner: means each person having a recorded present or future interest in real estate who is identified in a real estate contract subject to this article, but does not include the owner or holder of a mortgage, deed of trust, mechanic's or materialman's lien, or other lien or security interest in the real property. See South Carolina Code 27-50-10
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Purchaser: means each person or entity named as a purchaser, buyer, or tenant in a real estate contract subject to this article. See South Carolina Code 27-50-10
• Real estate contract: means a contract for the transfer of ownership of real property. See South Carolina Code 27-50-10
• Real estate licensee: means an individual licensed under Title 40, Chapter 57. See South Carolina Code 27-50-10
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Real property: means the lot or parcel and the dwelling unit described in a real estate contract subject to this article. See South Carolina Code 27-50-10
• Rental management company: means a licensed property manager-in-charge or broker-in-charge and their associates and employees who manage vacation rentals. See South Carolina Code 27-50-230
• Residential property: means an apartment, condominium, single family home, townhouse, cottage, or other property devoted to residential use or occupancy by one or more persons for a definite or indefinite period. See South Carolina Code 27-50-230
• Right of rescission: Right to cancel, within three business days, a contract that uses the home of a person as collateral, except in the case of a first mortgage loan. There is no fee to the borrower, who receives a full refund of all fees paid. The right of rescission is guaranteed by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). ^{Source: OCC}
• Selling agent: means a real estate licensee who represents a purchaser of real property through the use of a written agency agreement as required by law, a real estate licensee who is a subagent as defined by law who represents the owner, or a dual agent as defined by law who represents both the purchaser and owner. See South Carolina Code 27-50-10
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on ^{Source: OCC}
• Vacation rental: means the lease, sublease, or other rental of residential property for a period of fewer than ninety days, except that it does not include rental of residential property on a weekly or monthly basis pursuant to Chapter 40 of this title, the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. See South Carolina Code 27-50-230
• Vacation rental agreement: means a written agreement between an owner or the owner's rental management company and a tenant, in which the tenant rents residential property belonging to the owner for a vacation rental. See South Carolina Code 27-50-230
• Vacation rental management agreement: means a written agreement between an owner and the owner's rental management company, in which the rental management company manages residential property belonging to the owner for a vacation rental. See South Carolina Code 27-50-230
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.