South Carolina passed a bill clarifying the location of the boundary between North Carolina and South Carolina and enacting additional foreclosure notice requirements for properties affected by the clarification. Under the bill, the register of deeds or the clerk of court for the county must record a Notice of State Boundary Clarification (Boundary Clarification Notice) with respect to any real property whose perceived location has been clarified pursuant to the bill (alerting anyone checking the title of the property that real property may be affected by the bill). The bill also sets forth requirements if a foreclosure action pertains to real property whose location has been clarified pursuant to the bill. In such event, the lender or servicer’s attorney must: serve a copy of the Boundary Clarification Notice on all parties identified in the Boundary Clarification Notice (or known to have an interest in the real property); file a copy of the Boundary Clarification Notice with the court, along with the attorney’s certification that title to the property has been searched and that all parties having an interest in the property have been served with notice of the foreclosure action; and if any party has failed, refused, or voluntarily elected not to file a response in the foreclosure action within 30 days of having been served with the Boundary Clarification Notice, certify that fact to the court. The bill becomes effective January 1, 2017.
See South Carolina Legislature website for the full text of the Statutes: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess121_2015-2016/bills/667.htm
