Mortgage Broker in South Carolina
Home Loans Inc is headquartered in North Charleston and licensed across all of South Carolina, so the things that quietly decide a deal here are home turf for us: this is an attorney-closing state, your 4% legal-residence tax rate has to be applied for, and coastal flood insurance lands straight in your monthly payment. We shop every loan type across a wholesale lender network on one application, then guide the local details a single bank often misses.
One application, every loan type, shopped across lenders, not one bank's shelf
A mortgage broker is not a bank. A bank can only offer its own products at its own pricing; we are licensed to take a single application and shop it across a wholesale lender network, so the same South Carolina borrower can be matched to the lender whose rules and pricing actually fit the file. That difference matters more than most buyers realize, because lenders layer their own credit overlays on top of agency rules, and a file that one lender declines another approves on identical numbers.
We originate the full program range statewide, from the Upstate to the coast: VA loans for the state's large military community, conventional loans, FHA loans, USDA loans for rural South Carolina, jumbo loans for the coastal luxury markets, first-time buyer programs, and refinances. Whatever path fits, the goal is the same: the right loan for your situation, with the local details handled before they become a problem.
Founder Jason Sharon is a Navy veteran who built Home Loans Inc in North Charleston and has spent 8+ years originating loans across South Carolina. That is why this page reads like a lender's map of the state rather than a brochure: the closing rules, the tax ratios, the flood math, and the metro-by-metro lending realities below are the things we navigate here every week.
South Carolina is an attorney-closing state, and that changes your timeline and costs
This is the first thing out-of-state buyers and even some lenders get wrong here. In South Carolina, a real estate closing is the practice of law. Under the State Supreme Court's ruling in State v. Buyers Service Co., the title search, the loan and title documents, the closing itself, and the recording of the deed and mortgage must all be conducted or supervised by a licensed South Carolina attorney, not a title company or a notary. The same rule applies to a refinance, not just a purchase.
A real attorney reviews your title
An SC closing attorney examines the title for prior liens, encumbrances, and faulty conveyances and is accountable to the court. It is genuine legal protection on the largest purchase of your life, baked into the process by law.
We coordinate the attorney into the file
Because the attorney must conduct the closing, we line up title work and the closing attorney early so your timeline does not stall waiting on the title package. Out-of-state lenders routinely miss this and lose a week.
Attorney fees are part of your cash to close
The attorney and title charges are real line items in South Carolina. We build them into your cash-to-close estimate up front so the number you see at application is the number at the table.
We originate every loan type across South Carolina, Upstate to the coast.
Apply for the 4% legal-residence rate, or your escrow gets the 6% bill
South Carolina assesses an owner-occupied primary home at a 4% assessment ratio. A second home, a rental, or any non-owner-occupied residential property is assessed at 6%. That is a 50% jump in your taxable value for the exact same house, and on a financed home it flows straight into your monthly escrow and therefore your qualifying payment.
The catch that costs people real money: the 4% rate is not automatic. You must apply for the legal-residence (primary-residence) classification with your county assessor and prove the home is your primary residence. Buyers who skip that step, or who assume it carries over from a prior owner, get billed at 6% and watch their escrow account balloon. As your broker, we flag the legal-residence application as part of your closing checklist and size your escrow to the rate you will actually pay, not a guess.
This is also why we ask early whether a home is a primary residence, a second home on the Grand Strand or Hilton Head, or an investment property: the assessment ratio, the down payment, and the loan program all move with that answer.
Flood insurance and SC closing stamps, folded into your real number
Two South Carolina costs derail more deals than the interest rate ever does, because borrowers do not see them coming. We do, and we build them in before you write an offer.
Flood insurance lands in your PITI
Across the Lowcountry, the Grand Strand, and the barrier islands, many homes sit in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area where flood insurance is mandatory. The premium is added to your monthly PITI, which is what your debt-to-income ratio is measured against, so it can lower your maximum loan amount. We pull the flood determination and price the premium into your pre-approval, not after you are under contract.
SC deed recording stamps
South Carolina charges a deed recording fee of $1.85 per $500 of value (that is $1.30 to the state and $0.55 to the county). It is the state's version of a transfer tax, customarily paid by the seller, but it shapes your overall closing math and we account for it so nothing on the settlement statement surprises you.
Preferred-risk vs high-risk zones
Two homes on the same coastal street can carry very different flood costs. We help you tell a mandatory-coverage Special Flood Hazard Area from a lower-cost preferred-risk zone, because that difference changes your buying power.
Wind and hail on the coast
Coastal South Carolina also carries separate windstorm and hail considerations that affect your hazard premium and escrow. We make sure your total insurance picture is in the qualifying math from day one.
Already own here and want to lower a payment or pull equity? Start with our refinance guide. Buying your first place? See first-time buyer options.
South Carolina down payment assistance and the SC mortgage tax credit
The South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC Housing) runs the programs that put homeownership within reach for buyers who are income-eligible. We originate these alongside the standard loan types, and we keep current on their fast-changing limits and deadlines.
SC Housing forgivable DPA
The SC Housing Homebuyer program pairs a first mortgage with forgivable down payment assistance at 0% interest and no monthly payment, structured as a second lien that is forgiven if you stay in the home for the program term. It is one of the most practical ways into a first home in this state, subject to county income and price limits.
SC Mortgage Tax Credit (MCC)
The SC Mortgage Tax Credit Certificate converts part of your annual mortgage interest into a federal tax credit of up to $2,000 per year for the life of the loan. Note the program is set to sunset on June 30, 2026, so timing matters, and we will tell you straight whether you can still capture it.
We check eligibility, not guess
These programs carry county-specific income and sales-price caps and first-time-buyer rules. We run your numbers against the live limits for your county so you know what you actually qualify for before you fall for a house.
South Carolina metros, by their real lending realities
South Carolina is several distinct housing economies, and the loan that fits depends heavily on where you are buying. After 8+ years originating across the state, here is how the major markets actually break down for a mortgage file.
Charleston and the Lowcountry
The state's priciest coastal market: jumbo-territory pricing on the peninsula, Daniel Island, and Mount Pleasant, plus heavy flood-zone exposure and older historic stock with appraisal quirks. We handle the jumbo math and the flood premium together. See our Charleston and Mount Pleasant pages.
Columbia and the Midlands
The capital, plus Fort Jackson (the Army's largest basic-training post) and nearby Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, drive a deep VA loan pipeline. More affordable inventory makes conventional and FHA strong here too. State and university employment keeps demand steady.
Greenville-Spartanburg Upstate
One of the fastest-growing corridors in the Southeast, powered by BMW's Spartanburg plant (11,000+ workers) and Michelin's North America headquarters in Greenville. We see a steady stream of relocation buyers who need fast, clean pre-approvals to compete in a tight, appreciating market.
Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand
Second-home and investment country, where the 6% non-owner-occupied tax rate and condo warrantability decide the deal. Condo projects must clear lender approval, so we verify a specific building early before you commit to a unit.
Hilton Head and Bluffton
Luxury coastal pricing that routinely pushes past the conforming limit into jumbo territory, with resort-community HOA documentation and flood considerations layered on. We structure jumbo files and second-home financing for this market specifically.
Rock Hill and the York County line
Effectively a Charlotte suburb: commuter buyers crossing the state line for North Carolina jobs while buying in lower-tax South Carolina. We handle the cross-border income and the SC-side closing so the move is seamless.
Every loan type, matched to the South Carolina buyer in front of us
VA loans
With a military footprint this large (Fort Jackson, Shaw AFB, Joint Base Charleston, Parris Island), VA is core to what we do: zero down and no monthly mortgage insurance for eligible buyers. VA loans.
Conventional loans
For 2026 the conforming limit runs to $832,750 statewide (South Carolina has no high-cost counties), covering most of the market with flexible down payment and PMI-removal paths. Conventional loans.
FHA loans
Lower-down-payment, flexible-credit financing that works well in the Midlands and Upstate's more affordable price bands. FHA loans.
USDA loans
Much of rural South Carolina outside the metro cores is USDA-eligible, which means zero down for qualifying buyers and incomes. We check the address against the eligibility map for you. USDA loans.
Jumbo loans
Above the conforming limit on the coast (Charleston, Hilton Head, Kiawah, Isle of Palms), we structure jumbo financing with the documentation those lenders require. Jumbo loans.
First-time buyers and refinances
From SC Housing DPA and the MCC to streamline and cash-out refinances as equity builds, we map the full path. First-time buyer and refinance.
Why South Carolina buyers choose a broker over their bank
Talk to a South Carolina mortgage broker
Home Loans Inc: Jason Sharon, Mortgage Broker
2557 Ashley Phosphate Rd, North Charleston, SC 29418
Licensed across all of South Carolina · NMLS #1281448 · Company NMLS #1728740
How a South Carolina mortgage actually goes
1. Real-numbers pre-approval
We take one application, confirm the loan type that fits, and build a pre-approval that already includes the SC closing attorney costs, the right tax ratio, and any flood premium for the areas you are shopping.
No surprises later2. Shop the file across lenders
We send your file across a wholesale lender network and match you to the lender whose pricing and overlays fit, instead of pitching one bank's single version of the program.
The right lender, not the only one3. Coordinate the SC attorney closing
We line up the closing attorney and title work early so the legally required attorney-supervised closing does not stall your timeline, and we keep the legal-residence application on your checklist.
Local rules handled4. Close, then keep optimizing
We drive the file to the table, then stay available as equity builds for a streamline or cash-out refinance down the road.
Refinance options →Why South Carolina chooses Home Loans Inc
Jason Sharon founded Home Loans Inc in North Charleston after serving as a nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy, a background that shows up as precision on every loan file. He holds NMLS #1281448 (company NMLS #1728740) and has spent 8+ years originating loans across South Carolina, from Upstate relocation buyers to coastal jumbo files to rural USDA deals.
Because we are a veteran-owned broker and not a single bank, your file is shopped across a wholesale lender network on one application. South Carolina families have left 430+ reviews at a 5.0 rating, and we are BBB A+ accredited. You will work with a local broker who knows this state's closing rules, tax ratios, and flood math, not a call center reading from a national script.
Rated 5.0 by the families we serve.
Jason knows his stuff! We highly recommend him for your mortgage needs! He responds timely, provides information you didn't know you needed, puts the client needs first, and makes common sense adjustments throughout the entire process.
Jason and his team did an amazing job for me. They communicated often and made the entire mortgage process smooth and efficient. I can genuinely say that they are honest, trustworthy and strive to provide the best service possible to their clients.
Jason has been awesome since the beginning. He has been communicative, professional, KNOWLEDGEABLE, and honest. I am very happy with all my services so far, and I recommend UWM!