South Carolina home loans: SC Housing down payment help, Charleston jumbos, self-employed lending.
From a first mortgage paired with SC Housing's forgivable $10,000 in Columbia to a Kiawah jumbo or a bank-statement loan for a Greenville business owner, you get real numbers and a plan built around your scenario. Mike Certo runs the Charleston branch and closes the files other lenders pass on.
Program figures verified July 2026, details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Our South Carolina-licensed team knows the SC Housing Homebuyer Program, Palmetto Home Advantage, and the county tax rules from Charleston to Spartanburg.
Real numbers, no salesy script. Sometimes a Conventional 97 beats stacking SC Housing DPA, and a Rock Hill buyer deserves to hear that.
A first-time buyer in Columbia, a MUSC physician in Mount Pleasant, a Myrtle Beach short-term-rental investor: we cover the full lender's toolbox.
Mike and his seasoned loan officers handle every Charleston and Greenville file directly. No handoffs. You always know where your loan stands.
Pick the path that fits, from Charleston to the Upstate.
Each guide digs into one type of South Carolina buyer, so a Horry County investor and a first-time buyer in Greenville each land on the facts that matter to them. Buying your first place? Start with our South Carolina first-time home buyer guide.
Down Payment Assistance
SC Housing Homebuyer Program, Forgivable DPA, MCC, plus Chenoa, Arrive, and Essex. The full South Carolina DPA menu, explained simply.
See South Carolina DPA details →Buy Before You Sell
Bridge financing that removes the contingency so a Mount Pleasant move-up buyer can close on the next home before the current one sells. Charleston listing agents call this the deal-saver.
See BBYS details →Self-Employed Loans
Bank-statement, 1099, and asset-qualifier paths for Greenville and Spartanburg business owners. Qualify on what your company actually earns, not the number your Schedule C shows after write-offs.
See Self-Employed details →Jumbo & Doctor Loans
Full doc, alt doc, and super jumbo for Kiawah and Daniel Island, plus the Medical Professionals program used by MUSC and Prisma Health doctors: up to 100% LTV, no PMI, FICO 680.
See Jumbo / Doctor details →Investor & DSCR Loans
DSCR loans that finance below a 1.0 ratio, with sub-1.0 programs on the menu. Standard rentals plus short-term-rental products built for Myrtle Beach and Charleston STR markets in Horry and Charleston counties.
See Investor / DSCR details →First-Time Home Buyer Loans
FHA, USDA, and Conventional 97 with low down payment, paired with SC Housing forgivable assistance. Built for the Rock Hill or Columbia buyer with real-life income and credit, not perfect-paper applicants.
See First-Time Buyer details →A South Carolina-licensed loan officer, not a call-center voice.
Mike Certo is the Branch Manager at Cornerstone First Mortgage's Charleston office. He leads seasoned South Carolina-licensed loan officers and works directly with the buyer and the agent through closing, whether the property sits on Daniel Island or in the Greenville foothills. No junior LO running the file behind the scenes. No handoffs in the middle of escrow.
What you get when you work with Mike:
- Direct line. A real cell phone and return calls within hours, whether you're touring Mount Pleasant or Rock Hill.
- Real numbers. Honest math on whether SC Housing DPA, an MCC, or a plain Conventional 97 actually fits your Columbia budget.
- Files that close. Mike handles the complicated ones: self-employed income, contingency removal, a MUSC resident's student debt, Myrtle Beach investors at scale.
Common questions.
Why does SC Loan Experts have multiple websites?
A Columbia first-time buyer and a Kiawah jumbo borrower ask completely different questions. We built dedicated South Carolina guides for down payment assistance, buy-before-you-sell, self-employed, jumbo, investor, and first-time-buyer paths so each buyer lands on the SC answers that matter. SC Loan Experts is the brand parent linking them, from Greenville to Myrtle Beach.
What kind of borrowers do you typically work with?
Columbia first-time buyers using SC Housing down payment assistance, Greenville self-employed borrowers who need bank-statement or 1099 loans, Charleston jumbo borrowers including MUSC and Prisma Health doctors, Horry County investors using DSCR on rentals, and Mount Pleasant move-up buyers who need bridge financing to drop the contingency.
Do you work with real estate agents?
Yes, complicated files are our specialty. Charleston listing agents bring us their CCBS files (contract contingent on buyer sale) so bridge financing can remove the contingency. Greenville and Columbia buyer agents bring us self-employed, complex-doc, or coastal unusual-property files. Visit the For Agents page for the full South Carolina referral playbook.
What's the fastest way to find out if you can help me?
Call (480) 296-6513 and ask for Mike, or send your Charleston, Greenville, or Myrtle Beach scenario through the contact form. Our team calls you back shortly. Pre-approval on a South Carolina purchase usually takes 24-48 hours once your credit and income docs are in.
Are property taxes really cheaper in South Carolina than up north?
Dramatically, a $400,000 legal residence runs roughly $2,300/year at SC's effective ~0.57% versus $8,900+ in New Jersey. The catch relocators miss: the low bill requires filing the 4% legal-residence application with your county assessor; until you do, you're billed at the 6% non-resident ratio.
Does South Carolina tax Social Security or retirement income?
Social Security is fully exempt from South Carolina income tax, military retirement is fully exempt, and other retirement income gets a deduction (larger at 65+; exact amounts per SC DOR's current guidance). For a purchase, that income still counts toward qualifying, often grossed up where it's non-taxable.
Ready when you are.
Get pre-approved in 24-48 hours, or talk to Mike first about whether SC Housing DPA, a Charleston jumbo, or a self-employed path fits your Greenville or Columbia budget.