Before you choose an agent in North Charleston, read this

What I do once you call

The mechanics change at the state line

• Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in South Carolina, and a South Carolina licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
• South Carolina levies a tax on income; Florida does not. It is a change worth modelling against the housing cost before you commit to a price range, and it is a question for your own tax adviser rather than for any real estate agent.
• Expect an attorney at the closing table in South Carolina. Florida closings typically run through a title company instead, so the cast of characters, the fee structure and the sequence of the last two weeks will all look unfamiliar.
• Like Florida, South Carolina has coastal exposure and a named-storm deductible regime in its property insurance market. The mechanism will feel familiar; the numbers will not necessarily.
• Neither the homestead exemption nor the Save Our Homes cap travels with you out of Florida. South Carolina sets its own assessment rules, its own exemptions and its own limit on how fast a bill can rise — confirm the specifics with the local taxing authority rather than assuming a Florida analogue exists.

Where the line actually falls

If you are selling in North Charleston rather than buying, this introduction matters more, not less. A listing agreement is a contract for a fixed term with a named brokerage, and it is considerably harder to unwind than a conversation with a buyer’s agent. So take longer over it than you think you need to. Ask what the agent will actually do in the first fortnight, ask in writing what it costs you to end the arrangement early, and do not sign anything on the first call — including anything I put in front of you, which is nothing at all.

What I will not do

I will not read your South Carolina contract and tell you it looks fine. I do not know that state’s standard form, its local addenda, or what its courts have made of the wording, and a Florida licensee’s reassurance about a contract in another state is worth precisely nothing. Put it to the agent, and where the sums are significant, put it to an attorney licensed where the property is.

Selling here, buying there

A tenanted Florida property does not empty because you have decided to move. The lease runs with the property, the tenant holds rights until it ends, and both of those facts sit in the middle of your closing date whether or not they are convenient. That is Florida work and it is mine to do, but it wants a start measured in months rather than weeks, so raise it on the first call rather than the fourth.

What to ask before you sign anything

• Do you work alone or as part of a team? If it is a team, ask who writes the offer, who attends the inspection, and who I will actually be speaking to at nine o’clock on a Tuesday morning.
• How are deposits handled in South Carolina — who holds the money, what amount is customary, and at what point does it stop being refundable? Get that answer before you write the cheque rather than after.
• What goes into an offer here besides the price, and what do sellers in South Carolina expect to see attached to it? Local custom on this varies more than people moving between states tend to assume.
• If I am buying before I have seen the property in person, what will you do on my behalf and what will you refuse to do? A clear answer to the second half of that question is worth more than the first.

Other cities in South Carolina

• Hilton Head Island
• Mauldin
• Greenville
• Sumter
• Goose Creek
• Anderson
• Charleston
• Mount Pleasant
• All of South Carolina