For nearly five years, we have worked closely with the Southern Environmental Law Center to develop recommendations for updates to the real estate disclosure form in South Carolina that would require much more comprehensive information be provided to people looking to purchase property. Since 2019 the form has accounted for FEMA flood claims, but there was a growing need to provide additional information around potential flood impacts and hazards that can occur when living in a coastal community or adjacent to a body of water.
Thanks to the hard work and leadership of the South Carolina Real Estate Commission, the disclosure form was updated with many of these changes earlier this year and went into effect in June. This will provide much more transparency for consumers and education for property owners who increasingly must understand the risks associated with owning property in vulnerable areas.
The Resilience Plan highlights these recent updates and identifies the need to include future additions that speak to the risks and vulnerability associated with owning property in coastal communities, such as along beaches. The Plan also identifies the need to include these updates in the statute, to ensure these requirements are made permanent in law. Additionally, there is information and data publicly available to inform more of these risks and vulnerabilities, but it needs to all be in one easily accessible place. The Conservation League is very committed to working with state resource agencies and the Office of Resilience to develop this moving forward.