You can sell a condo with a special assessment on it. But the contract has to say plainly who pays it, and until that’s settled most buyers will simply subtract the full amount from their offer — often more, because uncertainty prices worse than a known number.
The letter usually arrives with no warning and a number that doesn’t feel real. Twelve thousand. Twenty-two thousand. On some buildings, considerably more.
I’m Adam Seguin. My business partner Jeremy Resmer and I run Myrtle Beach Home Buyers, and together we’ve bought more than 400 properties across Horry and Georgetown Counties. Here’s what’s driving these assessments and what your actual options are.
Regime fees, not HOA dues
South Carolina has its own vocabulary here, and it matters when you’re searching for answers.
Condo buildings in this state are organized as horizontal property regimes under the South Carolina Horizontal Property Act, Title 27, Chapter 31. What most of the country calls HOA dues, we call regime fees. Your building has a master deed, not just a declaration.
Grand Strand regime fees commonly run from around $200 a month to well over $1,500, depending on building age, location, and amenities. A special assessment is separate — a levy on top of the annual budget, usually for a capital project or a shortfall the budget can’t absorb.
Your share isn’t negotiable
This surprises people, so it’s worth being clear about.
Under the Horizontal Property Act, owners contribute to common expenses pro rata according to the percentage interest assigned to their unit in the master deed. That percentage is set under § 27-31-60, and it can’t be altered without the agreement of all the co-owners in the regime.
So arguing that you’re on the ground floor, or that you never use the pool, doesn’t change your share. Your number comes off a percentage fixed when the building was created. Check your master deed for your percentage interest — that’s the multiplier on every assessment the building will ever levy.
What’s actually driving Grand Strand assessments
Insurance. Master policy premiums on coastal buildings have moved hard. Some Grand Strand buildings that were paying $300,000 to $400,000 a year in total insurance are now at $600,000 to $700,000 or more. Associations have pushed regime fees up 10% to 25% in a single year to absorb it, and one North Myrtle Beach association saw monthly charges nearly triple. It’s the same market pressure driving wind and hail costs on single-family homes here.
Deferred capital work. Buildings that put off roof replacement, elevator modernization, balcony repair, or HVAC upgrades are now doing that work with or without adequate reserves. Assessments of $20,000 to $50,000 per unit have shown up in older oceanfront buildings.
There’s also a trap in the master policy itself. Coastal master policies typically carry named-storm deductibles of 2% to 5% of insured value rather than a flat dollar amount. On a large building that deductible is enormous, and the association can pass it straight through to owners as an assessment after a storm.
Check your loss assessment coverage before you do anything
Most owners don’t know this line exists on their own policy.
Your HO-6 unit-owner policy almost certainly includes loss assessment coverage — often at a token limit like $1,000. If the assessment comes from a covered peril, such as the master policy’s named-storm deductible after a hurricane, it may pay part of your share, and raising the limit is usually inexpensive. The S.C. Department of Insurance publishes consumer guidance if your carrier is unclear about what applies.
The important distinction: loss assessment coverage responds to covered losses. It will not pay for deferred maintenance, a reserve shortfall, or a planned capital project. Storm damage assessment, possibly. New elevators, no.
Call your agent and ask what your limit is before you assume you’re paying the whole thing yourself.
Who pays at closing, and why a pending assessment stalls financing
Whoever is on title when the assessment is levied typically owes it, but the contract can allocate it either way — and the negotiation is usually where the deal lives or dies.
Any buyer will order an estoppel letter, sometimes called a resale certificate, from the association. It states your dues, any unpaid balance, and any pending or approved assessment. There’s no hiding it, so plan to disclose and negotiate.
Financing is the harder problem. Lenders reviewing a condo building look at reserve adequacy and pending litigation, and an unfunded assessment is a signal that the building’s finances are strained. That can slow or kill a mortgage approval on your unit even when your own finances are perfect.
Not sure where your building stands? Call (843) 507-5058 and we’ll walk through the documents with you.
The real math: pay it, disclose it, or sell as-is
A worked example, not a specific sale. Say a two-bedroom oceanfront unit worth about $260,000 with a $22,000 assessment approved for balcony and roof work.
Scenario A — Pay it, then list. You fund $22,000, or take the association’s financing plan and pay interest. The building is now in better shape, but sale prices rarely rise by the full amount spent — expect to recover part of it. Then 6% commission, plus regime fees every month the unit sits. Grand Strand condos move slower than single-family homes, so budget for that.
Scenario B — List it with the assessment disclosed and unpaid. Buyers subtract the $22,000, and frequently more, because they’re pricing the risk of another assessment behind it. Meanwhile your regime fees keep running.
Scenario C — Sell the unit as-is for cash. The assessment gets settled at closing, the regime fees stop, and there’s no financing contingency to fail.
The honest read: if you can fund the assessment, paying it usually beats disclosing it unpaid. Buyers discount uncertainty more heavily than they discount a known, completed repair. Scenario C makes sense when you can’t fund it, when the reserve study says more is coming, or when the unit has been sitting and the fees are bleeding you.
How we buy condos with assessments attached
Step 1 — Send us the building and unit. We pull the master deed percentage, the recent minutes, and the reserve study ourselves.
Step 2 — We look at what’s behind the assessment. One roof project is different from a building with three deferred systems.
Step 3 — We show our math, including how we’re treating the assessment.
Step 4 — You pick the closing date. No lender review of the building’s finances, so a strained reserve doesn’t stop our closing.
FAQ
Q: What’s the difference between a regime fee and an HOA fee in SC? A: They’re the same idea with different names. South Carolina condos are organized as horizontal property regimes under Title 27, Chapter 31, so the monthly charge is called a regime fee.
Q: Can I sell my condo before the special assessment is due? A: Yes. Whoever holds title when the assessment is levied normally owes it, but your contract can allocate it to the buyer instead. Either way it will appear on the estoppel letter.
Q: Can I dispute my share of an assessment? A: Generally no. Your share is set by the percentage interest assigned to your unit in the master deed, and under § 27-31-60 that percentage can’t be changed without the agreement of all owners in the regime.
Q: Will my insurance pay any of a special assessment? A: Possibly. HO-6 policies include loss assessment coverage, often at a low default limit, and it can respond when the assessment stems from a covered loss like a storm deductible. It won’t cover deferred maintenance or planned capital projects.
Q: Why did my building’s insurance cost go up so much? A: Coastal master policy premiums have risen sharply across the Grand Strand, with some buildings seeing total insurance costs roughly double. Named-storm deductibles of 2% to 5% add further exposure.
Q: What happens if I just don’t pay it? A: Special assessments are mandatory. Nonpayment can bring late fees, interest, a lien on your unit, and in some cases foreclosure proceedings by the association.
The bottom line
A special assessment is a financing problem before it’s a value problem, the same way an uninsurable roof is on a single-family house. Once a buyer can see a completed project and a funded reserve, most of the discount goes away.
Before you decide anything: find your percentage interest in the master deed, ask your agent about your loss assessment limit, and read the last two years of board minutes. The minutes are where the next assessment shows up first.
One project and adequate reserves? Fund it and list. Three projects and no reserves is a different conversation.
Got an assessment letter you can’t fund? Get a cash offer on your condo or call (843) 507-5058. If paying it and listing nets you more, we’ll tell you that.