Homeowners in South Carolina would have to go through mediation before they could sue a builder over shoddy construction under a bill awaiting Gov. Mark Sanford's signature.

Under the law, a homeowner would have to notify the builder of any complaints at least 90 days before filing a suit. The subcontractor or contractor would have 30 days from receipt of the complaint "to inspect, offer to remedy, offer to settle with the claimant or deny the claim regarding defects."

The law is an attempt "to avoid these major lawsuits that just hurt everybody," said Tom Maeser, president of Fortune Academy of Real Estate. "More of the lawsuits would be settled if the two parties would just get together."

Homeowners already have the option of filing complaints with the S.C. Residential Building Commission, which tries to resolve disputes short of litigation.

More than 1,100 complaints were filed during the past fiscal year.

But the law would make mediation mandatory. Any lawsuit filed before a homeowner tries mediation would be stayed.

Legislators, who were supported by the S.C. Association of Realtors, said an alternative was needed to the drawn out court cases to resolve legitimate construction disputes.

The legislation also would require more members of a homeowners association to agree to sue before the association's board members could pursue a lawsuit, which could protect unwilling condominium owners, but it also could make it difficult for any association to file suit.

Many area associations include several hundred owners, and getting them all to agree on anything is next to impossible, said Myrtle Beach attorney Bobby Wylie, who specializes in construction law. A few owners always are uninterested, and a few others may want to avoid even legitimate lawsuits because they fear it may negatively impact their efforts to sell, he said.

"This made it virtually impossible for a homeowners association to file a lawsuit. You can't get 300 people to agree on" anything, Wylie said.

"I would look at it more as a protection to the consumer," Maeser said. "The HOA isn't formed until the developer actually turns it over, and they have certain restrictions until that happens."