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Consumer Guide · Greenville SC & Upstate South Carolina

FOR
HOMEBUYERS

Buying or selling a home in Greenville SC, Travelers Rest SC, or Upstate South Carolina? This guide explains how to vet your agent, what dual agency really means, and the red flags that led to Case No. 2025-CP-23-05006 against Robert Jackson Batson of Linhart Realty Group LLC d/b/a RE/MAX Results, Travelers Rest, SC.

Before You Sign with Any Real Estate Agent in South Carolina

• Verify the agent's SC real estate license at verify.llronline.com — check for active status and any disciplinary notations
• Search the agent's name and brokerage in the SC Public Index (sccourts.org) — look for any civil lawsuits filed by or against them
• Ask directly: "Do you represent the seller, the buyer, or both in this transaction?" — get the answer in writing
• Confirm that any dual agency is disclosed in writing and that you have signed a Dual Agency Consent Agreement (required by SC Code § 40-57-350)
• Request a Buyer Representation Agreement before any agent shows you a home (required since August 17, 2024 per NAR settlement)
• Get every financial figure — cash to close, net proceeds, commission — in writing from the settlement company, not just verbally from the agent
• Review the SC purchase agreement (SCR Form 310) — especially Section 24, which requires mediation before litigation for any dispute
• Ask whether the agent knows the buyer personally — any personal or professional relationship with the other party must be disclosed

7 Warning Signs of Real Estate Agent Misconduct in South Carolina

Every one of these red flags is alleged in Case No. 2025-CP-23-05006 against Robert Jackson Batson of Linhart Realty Group LLC d/b/a RE/MAX Results, Travelers Rest, SC.

• Acting as dual agent without written consent. Representing both buyer and seller without a signed Dual Agency Consent Agreement violates SC Code § 40-57-350 and is grounds for license revocation.
• Providing materially inaccurate financial figures. In this case: cash-to-close stated as $17,318.14 by text message; actual settlement figure was $21,999.64 — a 21.3% discrepancy that caused the seller to sell a vehicle in reliance on the false number.
• Failing to disclose a conflict of interest. The buyer in this transaction was the agent's personal contact and a licensed SC real estate agent — a material conflict never disclosed to the seller.
• Using emotional or spiritual pressure to rush a decision. Invoking God, blessing, or religious obligation to pressure a financially distressed client into proceeding with a transaction constitutes undue influence under South Carolina law.
• Bypassing mandatory mediation. Section 24 of the SCR Form 310 purchase agreement requires mediation before litigation. Filing suit without mediating is a breach of the contract's dispute-resolution terms.
• Conditioning settlement on retracting a regulatory complaint. Demanding that a seller retract an SC LLR complaint as a condition of settling a dispute may violate 18 U.S.C. § 1512 (witness/complaint tampering).
• Filing civil litigation against a party after they filed a regulatory complaint. A lawsuit filed four months after an LLR complaint — especially when settlement was conditioned on retracting that complaint — is a recognized pattern of retaliatory lawfare.

What Is Dual Agency and Why Does SC Law Require Written Consent?

How to Research a Real Estate Agent in South Carolina