Spartanburg had the third worst foreclosure rate of any large U.S. metro in August 2026, with one filing for every 1,262 housing units. That makes property maintenance in Spartanburg, SC, a growing job for servicers and investors, and it builds on 2025, when the metro ranked 12th nationally at one filing for every 213 homes. South Carolina as a whole had the worst state rate in the country in August, at one filing for every 1,547 housing units, more than twice the national rate of one in 3,569.
The pipeline behind those filings is moving. Lenders repossessed 5,794 U.S. homes in August, up 42 percent from a year earlier, so more of these properties are landing with banks and investors and sitting empty while a plan is made. Empty homes are also the ones most exposed to a new state law on unlawful occupants. Both trends point the same way: the condition of a vacant house is now something an owner may have to prove quickly.
How Does South Carolina’s New Squatter Law Affect Property Maintenance in Spartanburg, SC?
Governor Henry McMaster signed H.3387 on June 30, 2026, and it took effect immediately. An owner can file a verified petition with a magistrate court, and the court is expected to hold a hearing within 24 hours of filing. A sheriff or constable enforces any removal order and can stand by while the owner changes the locks. The law excludes current and former tenants, and the petition has to state that the property wasn’t leased, so landlord-tenant disputes still go through formal eviction.
The faster process rewards owners who can prove the facts quickly. Dated photos of locked doors and secured openings, a record of when the home was last confirmed vacant, and notes on any contact with an occupant all help show that someone had no permission to be there. A house that hasn’t been visited in weeks leaves an owner with little to put in front of a magistrate. Fast court access also does nothing about the damage that builds in an empty house, so the inspection routine still comes first.
Which Rules Apply to a Vacant Home in the City and the County?
Spartanburg County’s property maintenance officers inspect residential properties in the unincorporated parts of the county under the International Property Maintenance Code, while the City of Spartanburg and other municipalities run their own codes. A portfolio with addresses in both places needs to confirm which jurisdiction covers each home before setting a mowing or securing standard. Using one standard for the whole metro can leave a property out of step with the code that actually applies.
East West Maintenance coordinates inspections, securing, lawn care and winterization for property managers and asset holders with vacant homes in Spartanburg and across South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida. With the metro near the top of the national rankings, the homes that get a steady routine now will be easier to sell, and easier to defend if an occupant or a code officer ever asks what condition they were in.