How Much Do Condo HOA Dues Change What You Qualify For in Myrtle Beach?

Condo HOA dues aren’t a side expense you pay after the mortgage. Underwriting puts them inside the payment it measures you against, dollar for dollar, the same as principal and taxes.

Here’s what surprises people. Two units listed at the same price in the same ZIP code can produce two very different approvals, and the gap is usually the association: the dues, the master insurance policy, and whether that policy leaves anything for you to cover on your own. Fannie Mae rewrote a large part of these rules in 2026, so a lot of what you’ll read elsewhere is already out of date.

Do condo HOA dues count against you when you qualify?

Yes. They’re part of the housing payment underwriting uses, not a separate bill on the side.

Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide B3-6-03 defines monthly housing expense, called PITIA, as principal and interest, property, flood and mortgage insurance premiums, real estate taxes, ground rent, special assessments, owners association dues and any subordinate financing payment. PITIA is just the shorthand for everything that has to be paid on the property each month. That whole number goes into your debt-to-income ratio, or DTI, which measures your monthly obligations against your monthly income.

One useful detail in that rule: utility charges attributable to the common areas and bundled into your dues do count, but utility charges billed to your individual unit don’t. And the dues get entered on the loan application as their own line, so they’re visible from the first day rather than discovered at underwriting.

The practical effect is straightforward. Every hundred dollars of monthly dues is a hundred dollars less of mortgage payment you can carry. That’s why a lower-priced oceanfront unit with heavy dues can approve for less than a higher-priced inland townhome with light ones.

What happens if the building has a special assessment?

A special assessment is a one-off charge the association levies for something the regular budget won’t cover, usually a roof, a seawall, elevators or storm damage. It has its own line in the PITIA definition, so an assessment you’re paying monthly is part of your housing payment.

The bigger risk is to the building rather than to your ratios. Under B4-2.1-03, updated August 5, 2026, if a special assessment is associated with a critical repair and the issue hasn’t been remediated, the project is ineligible. Not harder. Ineligible. The condo questionnaire the association fills out asks for current and planned assessments with amounts and purposes, so a plan that hasn’t been voted on yet still surfaces.

Ask the association two questions before you go under contract: is there an assessment on the table, and what is it for. A cosmetic assessment is a budgeting problem. A structural one can end the loan.

Why does the master insurance policy matter to your loan?

Because your lender has to verify it, and because what it doesn’t cover becomes your problem and your payment.

Under Fannie Mae B7-3-03, updated August 5, 2026, the master policy has to carry at least 100 percent of the estimated replacement cost of the project improvements, written on a Special coverage form or, at minimum, the perils covered by a commercial Broad form. Deductibles are capped two ways: no more than 5 percent of the master policy coverage amount, and no more than $50,000 per unit. That per-unit cap is new, from Lender Letter LL-2026-03, and it applies to loan applications dated on or after July 1, 2026.

You’ll hear the terms all-in and bare walls thrown around locally. Those are insurance industry shorthand, not Fannie Mae categories. The current rule asks a simpler question: does the master policy cover the inside of your unit, and does it carry a per-unit deductible.

When do you have to buy your own HO-6 policy?

An HO-6 is a condo unit owner’s policy, sometimes called walls-in coverage. Under B7-3-04, you need one if any part of your unit’s interior or its improvements isn’t covered by the master policy, or if the master policy has a per-unit deductible.

That second trigger is the new one, and it catches a lot of Grand Strand buildings. Even a master policy that covers your interior fully will force an HO-6 if it carries a per-unit deductible. The HO-6 has to be written on a replacement cost basis, has to cover the greater of the uncovered interior or the amount of that per-unit deductible, and its own deductible can’t exceed the greater of 5 percent of the coverage amount or $2,500.

And then that premium lands in PITIA too. Get a real quote before you set your price range rather than guessing at it. Integrated Insurance Solutions can price an HO-6 on a specific building, which is more useful than a rule of thumb, because deductibles here vary building to building.

What do wind and flood do to a coastal building’s policy?

Wind first. A coastal master policy often carries a separate, higher deductible for windstorm or named storms. That’s allowed, but under B7-3-03 each individual deductible has to independently satisfy the same limits. A wind deductible written as a percentage of building value on an oceanfront high-rise is exactly where this breaks.

If the master policy excludes or limits windstorm, the association has to obtain acceptable coverage for the excluded peril, typically a stand-alone policy. That’s the part worth understanding: you cannot buy your way around a wind-excluded master policy with a personal policy. It’s an association-level fix, on the association’s timeline, and your closing waits on it.

Flood works differently. If the building sits in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, meaning any zone starting with A or V, the association has to carry a Residential Condominium Building Association Policy or an equivalent private policy for at least the lesser of 80 percent of replacement cost or the maximum NFIP coverage available. If the master coverage meets that test but the per-unit amount falls short of what’s required for a one-to-four-unit property, you carry a supplemental policy for the difference, and that premium is another PITIA line. Look the zone up yourself at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov before you fall in love with a unit. Coastal insurance changes what you qualify for on the Grand Strand more than any other single factor.

One nuance on escrow. Federal law generally requires lenders to escrow flood premiums, but there’s an exception when the coverage is provided by the condo association and the association pays the premium as a common expense. A supplemental policy you buy yourself is different territory, so ask rather than assume.

What can the association’s answers do to your loan?

More than most buyers realize, and more this year than last.

Lenders collect the association’s answers on a condo project questionnaire, Fannie Mae Form 1076. The form itself is optional; the requirements behind it are not. Here’s what those answers are measured against:

• Delinquency. No more than 15 percent of the total units can be 60 days or more past due on common expense assessments, and the same 15 percent test applies to each special assessment.
• Litigation. A project where the association is a party to pending litigation relating to safety, structural soundness, habitability or functional use is ineligible.
• Critical repairs. Material deficiencies, mold, water intrusion, advanced deterioration, or unfunded repairs costing more than $10,000 per unit make a project ineligible until they’re addressed. So does an evacuation order for an unsafe condition.
• Reserves. The budget has to fund replacement reserves at a minimum of 10 percent today, rising to 15 percent of the annual budgeted income assessment for applications dated on or after January 4, 2027.
• Reserve study. For applications dated on or after August 3, 2026, a study has to be prepared by a qualified independent third party, completed within three years, and the project has to budget the highest recommended reserve allocation in it. Letting the reserve balance run toward zero is no longer an acceptable funding method.

The change that matters most: LL-2026-03 retired the Limited Review process for applications dated on or after August 3, 2026. Established buildings that used to pass with a light document set now get a full look. The new Fannie Mae condo rules are the reason a building that financed easily in 2024 can be difficult today.

What I’d actually do

One thing, and do it before you write the offer: ask the listing agent for the association’s current budget, the master insurance declarations page and the most recent reserve study. Those three documents answer nearly every question above, and they cost you nothing but a phone call.

Send them to me with the address and I’ll tell you what the file will look like before you’re emotionally committed to the unit. Get pre-qualified and we’ll build the number around the real dues and the real insurance instead of an estimate.

Frequently asked questions

Do HOA dues affect how much house I can qualify for?

Yes. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-03 includes owners association dues in the monthly housing expense, known as PITIA, along with principal and interest, taxes, insurance and special assessments. That total goes into your debt-to-income ratio, so higher dues reduce the mortgage payment you can carry.

Are common area utilities included in my dues counted?

Yes. Utility charges attributable to the common areas that are bundled into your association dues are included in the housing expense. Utility charges billed to your individual unit are not.

Do I have to buy an HO-6 policy on a Myrtle Beach condo?

You do if any part of your unit interior or its improvements is not covered by the master policy, or if the master policy carries a per unit deductible. That second trigger is part of Fannie Mae B7-3-04 as updated August 5, 2026, and it applies even when the master policy otherwise covers your interior.

What is the maximum deductible allowed on a condo master insurance policy?

Under Fannie Mae B7-3-03, no more than 5 percent of the master policy coverage amount, and no more than $50,000 per unit. The per unit cap comes from Lender Letter LL-2026-03 and applies to loan applications dated on or after July 1, 2026. A separate windstorm deductible has to satisfy those same limits on its own.

Can a special assessment stop me from getting a condo loan?

It can. Under Fannie Mae B4-2.1-03, if a special assessment is associated with a critical repair and the issue has not been remediated, the project is ineligible. A levied assessment you pay monthly is also counted as part of your housing expense.

About Travis Buis

Travis Buis is a loan officer with Elite Home Lending serving Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, working with buyers and homeowners across Horry and Georgetown counties. Condo financing is a large share of what he does here, which means association budgets, master insurance policies, wind and flood coverage, reserve studies and the project eligibility rules that decide whether a building can be financed at all. He explains the mechanics first so you can make the call, then handles the loan once you have. Get in touch.

Travis Buis, NMLS #1711446. Elite Home Lending, LLC — NMLS #2788023. Equal Housing Opportunity.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not a commitment to lend or an offer of credit. Program terms, rates, and eligibility standards are set by lenders, investors, and agencies and are subject to change without notice. Loan approval is subject to underwriting, credit approval, and property eligibility. Calculator results are estimates only. Nothing here is tax or legal advice — consult your CPA or attorney for your situation.