Grand Strand Market Data · 2026
Long-Term Rental
Investment Analyzer.
By Devin Day, Operations Officer · Chapter3 Realty · Updated September 9, 2026
Enter a Grand Strand address and financing terms for a full long-term rental report: DSCR, NOI, cap rate, cash flow, appreciation, and nearby permits, with every estimate labeled as one.
Property
Financing
Optional Costs
While it runs
Quick answers for Myrtle Beach investors
What is a good DSCR for a Myrtle Beach rental?
A DSCR of 1.0 means the rent exactly covers the payment. Most DSCR lenders want to see 1.1 to 1.25, and pricing improves meaningfully above 1.25. Below 1.0, expect a larger down payment or a lower offer price to make the deal work.
How much down payment do investment loans require?
Plan on a much larger down payment than an owner-occupied loan for conventional and DSCR investment loans. Non-warrantable condos and condotels often require more, and putting more down generally buys a better rate.
What is a condotel, and can it be financed?
A condotel is a condo building run with hotel-style operations: a front desk, nightly stays, and an onsite rental program. They fall outside standard lending guidelines, so financing comes from specialty and portfolio lenders at higher down payments. That is why many condotel units trade in cash.
Are HOA fees a deal-breaker for condo investing?
Judge the net, not the fee. Many oceanfront HOA fees bundle building insurance, water, cable, pest control, and exterior maintenance, costs a single-family landlord pays separately. A unit with a $650 fee that covers insurance can out-earn a cheaper-fee building that covers nothing. Setting up the depreciation correctly in year one is on our rental depreciation page.
What taxes surprise new Horry County investors?
Three usually surprise people. Rental property is assessed at the 6 percent rate rather than the 4 percent owner-occupied rate. The county levies personal property tax on the furnishings inside a rental. Short stays trigger state and local accommodations taxes on top of income tax.
What insurance does a coastal rental need?
Wind and hail coverage with a percentage deductible, flood coverage priced by zone, and for condos an HO-6 policy sized to fill the gaps in the building's master policy. Quotes vary widely street to street, so price insurance during due diligence, not after.
Which areas lease fastest for long-term tenants?
Carolina Forest, Conway, Socastee, and Market Common consistently show deep tenant pools because demand comes from the year-round workforce, schools, the hospital systems, and Coastal Carolina University rather than tourism.
Do I need a business license to rent out property?
Generally yes. The City of Myrtle Beach and Horry County both require rental business licenses, and short-term rentals can need additional permits depending on the municipality. HOAs often require registration on top of that.
What does property management cost here?
Long-term management typically runs 8 to 10 percent of collected rent plus a leasing fee. Full-service short-term management runs 20 to 30 percent of revenue, with cleaning billed to guests or owners depending on the operator.
What vacancy should I use?
Use 5 to 8 percent for a long-term rental as a planning number, and budget separately for turn costs like paint and carpet between tenants. Furnished monthly rentals run different math because winter tenants book in blocks.
Do nearby construction permits matter?
Yes, in both directions. Clusters of renovation permits usually mark improving streets, while heavy new-unit construction nearby can cap rent growth. This analyzer pulls recent Horry County permit activity around the address automatically so the signal is in front of you.
Should I pay cash or finance?
Borrowed money can help or hurt: financing raises cash-on-cash return when the spread between rent yield and rate is positive, and lowers it when the spread is negative. A common Grand Strand path is closing with a DSCR loan, then refinancing after rents season or renovations raise value. Cash still wins for speed and for condotels.
Estimates based on Grand Strand market data as of 2026. Not a formal appraisal. Verify with a licensed appraiser, CPA, and insurance agent before making investment decisions.
Want a second set of eyes on the numbers?
Send the address and we will pull live comps and read the association documents before you offer. Financing goes through our lending partner.
Long-term vs short-term
Compare rental strategies side by side
The numbers below start with typical Grand Strand figures. Change any of them to match your property and the comparison updates as you type. Short-term numbers are estimates; the real result depends on the exact property and the town rules.
Short-term can earn more, but it takes more work and the rules change street by street. See how Grand Strand short-term rentals work, or have us run your exact property.
Common Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can I still invest here if my property can’t be a short-term rental?
Yes, and this is one of the most useful workarounds on the Grand Strand. Many Myrtle Beach residential zones (and plenty of HOAs) don’t allow Airbnb-style short-term rentals. South Carolina’s 90-day threshold is a tax rule: stays under 90 days are subject to the state accommodations tax. It does not override local zoning. Cities, counties and HOAs set their own minimum lease terms, and those minimums vary, so a 90-day lease is not automatically permitted where nightly rentals are banned. Mid-term tenants such as traveling nurses, remote workers and October-to-March snowbirds are a common way to cash-flow a property in those zones. Before you count on it, confirm the minimum lease term in that city’s ordinance and the HOA covenants for the specific address. Run any address through the analyzer to compare the long-term and mid-term numbers.
What does the long-term rental analyzer calculate?
For any Grand Strand address you enter, it estimates property value, market rent, DSCR, cap rate, net operating income, monthly cash flow, cash-on-cash return, and appreciation, and it flags nearby permit activity.
What is DSCR and why does it matter?
Debt-Service Coverage Ratio is net operating income divided by annual debt service. Investor lenders typically look for 1.20 or higher. It tells you whether the rent comfortably covers the loan.
What cap rate is realistic for a Myrtle Beach long-term rental?
As of July 2026, a Horry County rental bought in the cheaper third of the market returns 4.2 to 7.5 percent a year after costs with a property manager, and 5.1 to 8.8 percent without one. Dividing the same rent by the typical value of every home in the area gives a much lower number, because most of those homes are not rentals. The rental returns page has the figure for each area.
Are the numbers an appraisal?
No. They are an actual screening estimate to compare deals quickly. Confirm with comparable sales, inspections, and a licensed agent before making an offer.
About this analyzer
Enter any Grand Strand address and your financing terms to get a screening estimate for a long-term rental. It returns property value, market rent, DSCR, cap rate, net operating income, monthly cash flow, cash-on-cash return, and projected appreciation, along with nearby permit activity.
It is built to help you compare deals quickly and decide which ones are worth a closer look. The output is an estimate for screening, not an appraisal, so confirm with comps, inspections, and a licensed agent before you make an offer.
Ready to buy a long-term rental here?
Send us an address you are looking at, or have us send you an investment property for sale. We will run the rent, the expenses and the association documents before you write an offer, at no cost.
Call 854.333.2135We answer evenings. Prefer to write? Send us a property.