Upstate South Carolina | Two seller stories
The Payments Were Current. The Paperwork Stood in the Way.
Twice in 2026, we worked with Upstate sellers who had made a large down payment on a home and kept up with every monthly payment, only to face an unexpected obstacle when they wanted to sell. The person who had originally sold them the property claimed they still owned it and refused to come to closing.
Both sellers had bought through owner financing. Neither had an agent or attorney guiding the original purchase. Years later, problems with that paperwork left the title clouded and put the next sale in question.
Two Sellers, a Similar Problem
These were separate transactions, but the problem was nearly identical. Each seller held a contract giving them the right to sell. Each had made a substantial down payment and paid on time. Yet when it was time for us to buy, the original owner would not cooperate with the closing.
That is a hard position to be in. The sellers had followed their payment agreements, but the paperwork from their original purchases had become an obstacle to moving forward.
The same issue came up in both transactions: the sellers were ready to move forward, but the original owners were standing in the way of closing.
Our Closing Attorneys Stepped In
We brought the issue to the South Carolina real estate attorneys handling our closings. The attorneys stepped in and made clear that the contracts would be enforced. In both cases, the original owner came to the table and signed.
The legal work belonged to the attorneys. Our role was to keep working toward the purchase while they addressed the contracts and closing paperwork. Both families reached the closing table.
Why We Kept Working Through the Complication
A complicated transaction is still a person’s home sale. In these two cases, the sellers needed a buyer willing to stay involved while the attorneys dealt with the obstacle. We worked through that process with them instead of treating the paperwork problem as the end of the conversation.
These are the outcomes of two specific transactions. A different owner-financed purchase can involve different documents and different title issues, so these stories do not establish what will happen in another sale.
“Owner financing can be a great path to homeownership, but when nobody’s guiding the process, the paperwork is often wrong, and it comes back to bite the buyer years later. We’ve had two sellers this year who did everything right, with big down payments and every payment on time, and the original owners still tried to block the sale. We’re a licensed, professional operation, and every closing runs through a South Carolina real estate attorney. We were able to stand up for our sellers, get the original owners to honor the contracts they signed, and get these families to the closing table so they could move on with their lives.”
Dave Costello, Director of Operations, Your Choice Home Buyers
Have a House to Sell With Complicated Paperwork?
If a past owner-financed purchase is making it difficult to sell, contact our team and tell us about the situation. We can discuss a potential purchase, while questions about ownership and contract rights belong with a South Carolina real estate attorney.
We work with sellers across the Upstate communities we serve, including the Greenville area. You can tell us where the property is and what is holding up the sale.
You can also read our home selling FAQs or request a cash offer to start a conversation about your property.
