North Myrtle Beach

The test is statutory: § 38-75-310(5) draws Horry County's coastal area as everything east of US 17 or Bypass 17, whichever runs farther west. The beach side of North Myrtle Beach is east of it and inside, where wind and hail can legally be excluded from a homeowners policy and bought separately; Barefoot Resort, across the Waterway, is west of the line and outside it, where wind stays inside the homeowners policy. A specific address can sit on the far side of that road from the rest of its street, so the declarations page and your insurance agent settle it — not the town name. How wind and hail coverage works here →

That is a per-parcel question, not a per-town one — zones change block to block and sometimes lot to lot. What decides it is the FEMA flood zone for the specific parcel: inside a Special Flood Hazard Area (the A and V zones) federal law directs a regulated lender not to make, increase, extend or renew the loan unless the building is covered for the term of it. Zone X carries no federal mandate, though a lender may still require coverage as a matter of its own policy. Pull the zone for the actual address before you write an offer, never a neighborhood-level impression. Flood zones, decoded →

South Carolina assesses an owner-occupied legal residence at 4% and everything else — second homes, rentals, land — at 6%, under S.C. Code § 12-43-220. Those ratios are state law, so they apply the same in Horry and Georgetown counties. The 4% is not automatic: you have to apply for it, and the Horry County Assessor's guidance is blunt about the consequence of not doing so — an automatic 6% assessment. The rest of the bill depends on the taxing districts the parcel sits in, so ask the county assessor for the real figure on the real address before you rely on any of it. Horry County property taxes, explained →

The city's own position is notably different from Myrtle Beach's: North Myrtle Beach states there is currently no special zoning or permit process for short-term rentals beyond standard business licensing. You still need a business license, renewed annually, and you must collect and remit rental accommodations tax to the city, county and state, and comply with the ordinary ordinances on trash, parking, noise and occupancy. An HOA can still restrict rentals more tightly than the city does, so read the covenants for the specific property. Investment property on the Strand →