Short answer: Most of the large ones do, and the fee can be bigger than the Town's own 0.25% transfer fee. From the associations' 2026 documents: Palmetto Dunes charges the buyer 0.5% of the price (plus $250 from the seller), Port Royal 0.5%, Leamington 0.75% on homes, Indigo Run three times the annual assessment ($8,454 for a home) plus $375, Palmetto Hall a $3,400 capital reserve fee, Windmill Harbour one year's assessment, and Hilton Head Plantation a capped capital improvement fee whose current amount isn't published. Long Cove requires club membership with a $75,000 initiation fee. Confirm the current figure in the association's closing letter for the specific home.
Key facts
- Palmetto Dunes POA: Community Enhancement (Transfer) Fee of 0.5% of the purchase price, payable by the purchaser at closing; Administrative Processing Fee of $250, payable by the seller; 2026 annual assessment $2,000 (PDPOA attorneys and realtors page).
- Palmetto Dunes also: holds a first right of repurchase on properties sold (a waiver is part of closing) and inspects a property when it receives a closing request (PDPOA).
- Sea Pines CSA: publishes its 2026 annual assessment ($2,065 improved lot, $1,233 unimproved) but no transfer fee on its official site; the rental registration is non-transferable on sale (Sea Pines CSA).
- Port Royal: 0.5% of the price on home sales since May 2017; the association doesn't say who pays (Port Royal Plantation, prospective landowners page).
- Leamington: residential enhancement fee of 0.75% with no cap (Leamington fact sheet, revised January 26, 2026).
- Indigo Run: transfer fee of three times the annual assessment, $8,454 for a home and $7,182 for a lot in 2026, plus a $375 administrative fee; the purchaser owes it (Indigo Run Community Owners Association).
- Palmetto Hall: capital reserve fee at closing of $3,400 for a home, $1,500 for an unimproved lot (Palmetto Hall POA).
- Hilton Head Plantation: the purchaser pays a capital improvement fee within 7 days after closing, capped by a formula in the declaration; the current dollar amount isn't published (HHP POA declaration).
- Windmill Harbour: the purchaser pays a transfer fee equal to the most recent annual assessment (Windmill Harbour Association). It's outside the Town limits, so the Town's 0.25% fee shouldn't apply.
- Long Cove Club: membership is required; the initiation fee is $75,000 for contracts after April 15, 2026 (Long Cove Club covenants, Ninth Addendum).
- Not published: Shipyard and Wexford don't publish closing fees on their public sites; get them from the association.
- Separate from the Town fee: the Town of Hilton Head Island charges 0.25% on sales inside Town limits, on top of any community fee.
- Disclosure form: the South Carolina Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement asks the seller about HOA charges, resale and rental restrictions, and special assessments (SC LLR).
What is a community transfer fee?
It's a charge a property owners association collects when a home in the community sells, set by the community's own governing documents rather than by the Town or the state. Names vary: transfer fee, enhancement fee, capital contribution, initiation fee, administrative or resale certificate fee. Some are a percentage of the price and some are flat. Some fall on the buyer, some on the seller.
They're different from the Town of Hilton Head Island's 0.25% real estate transfer fee, which applies to every sale inside the Town limits and funds the Town's Land Acquisition Program. A buyer in a gated community can owe both. See the Town transfer fee.
Which Hilton Head communities charge a fee at closing?
Here is every fee we could verify from the association's or club's own documents, checked October 2026. Where an association doesn't publish its fee, we say so instead of repeating figures from agent pages.
| Community | Fee at closing | Who pays | On a $900,000 sale | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmetto Dunes | 0.5% Community Enhancement (Transfer) Fee | Buyer | $4,500 | PDPOA |
| Palmetto Dunes | $250 Administrative Processing Fee | Seller | $250 | PDPOA |
| Port Royal Plantation | 0.5% transfer fee | Not stated; set it in the contract | $4,500 | Port Royal Plantation |
| Leamington (homes) | 0.75% residential enhancement fee, no cap | Not stated; set it in the contract | $6,750 | Leamington POA fact sheet |
| Indigo Run | 3 × annual assessment ($8,454 home, $7,182 lot) + $375 administrative fee | Buyer | $8,829 (home) | Indigo Run COA |
| Palmetto Hall | Capital reserve fee, $3,400 home ($1,500 lot) | Not stated; set it in the contract | $3,400 | Palmetto Hall POA |
| Windmill Harbour | Transfer fee equal to the latest annual assessment | Buyer | One year's assessment | Windmill Harbour Association |
| Hilton Head Plantation | Capital improvement fee, capped by formula | Buyer | Not published; confirm | HHP POA declaration |
| Long Cove Club | $75,000 club initiation (membership required) | Buyer (new member) | $75,000 | Long Cove Club covenants |
| Sea Pines | None published by the CSA | Ask the CSA | Confirm | Sea Pines CSA |
| Shipyard, Wexford | Not published on their public sites | Ask the association | Confirm | Resale documents |
On a $900,000 Palmetto Dunes purchase, the buyer's community fee ($4,500) is twice the Town fee ($2,250). Add both to your estimate in the closing-cost calculator.
Why do websites disagree about these fees?
Because most figures online come from agent pages and old MLS notes, not from the associations. Examples of what we found while researching this page:
- Sea Pines. Some pages say Sea Pines has no transfer fee; at least one other version of a local page cited a $3,500 transfer fee. The CSA's own site doesn't publish one either way, so ask the CSA before you count on either answer.
- Palmetto Dunes seller fee. Some pages list a $200 seller fee. The PDPOA's own page says $250.
- Hilton Head Plantation. Agent pages give a percentage with a dollar cap, and the cap differs from page to page depending on when it was written. The declaration sets the cap by formula (a quarter of one percent of the highest 2006 lot sale, grown each year by 4% or CPI, whichever is greater) and the POA doesn't publish the current dollar figure, so ask for it.
- Port Royal. Some pages say its fee isn't published. It is, on the association's page for prospective owners: 0.5% since May 2017.
- "Transfer fees are charged to the seller." Some pages say this as a general rule. It isn't true for the Town fee, which is typically the buyer's, or for Palmetto Dunes' enhancement fee, which its POA assigns to the purchaser.
Fees also change. An association's board can adopt new fees or new amounts, so a number that was right two years ago may not be right at your closing.
How do I find the fee for a specific home?
Get it in writing from the association before your contract is final. The steps:
- Ask the listing agent for the community's fee schedule and the regime (villa or condo association) as well as the master POA. A villa can have both, each with its own dues and fees.
- Read the seller's Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement. The state form asks about HOA charges, resale and rental restrictions, and special assessments.
- Have your closing attorney request the association's closing or estoppel letter, which shows dues owed, fees due at closing and any assessments.
- Check for a right of first refusal or repurchase, like Palmetto Dunes' first right of repurchase, and make sure the waiver is part of the closing timeline.
- Write who pays each fee into the contract if the association's documents don't settle it.
What else does the association charge after you buy?
Annual dues or assessments, and sometimes rental fees. Sea Pines CSA's 2026 assessment is $2,065 for an improved lot, including $708 for critical infrastructure, due January 16, 2026. Palmetto Dunes POA lists a 2026 assessment of $2,000. If you plan to rent, Sea Pines CSA charges an annual rental registration fee of $300 for 1 to 2 bedrooms, $700 for 3 to 4, and $1,000 for 5 or more, and the registration doesn't transfer to a buyer. These are on top of the Town's short-term rental permit.
How we help
For every home you're serious about, we request the association's fee schedule and resale documents, flag any transfer, enhancement or capital fee and any right of first refusal, and put those figures on your estimate before you sign. If an association won't publish a fee, we'll tell you that rather than guess.
Questions
Can the seller pay the buyer's community transfer fee?
Yes, the contract can provide for it. The association's own documents say who owes the fee, and the contract settles who reimburses whom at closing. Palmetto Dunes, for example, assigns its 0.5% enhancement fee to the purchaser. Put any agreement in writing in the contract.
Is a transfer fee the same as annual POA dues?
No. A transfer fee is a one-time charge at sale; dues or assessments are paid every year you own the home. In Palmetto Dunes, a $900,000 buyer pays the one-time 0.5% fee ($4,500) and then the annual assessment, which is $2,000 for 2026.
Do the Town fee and community fee both apply outside the Town limits?
No, the Town's 0.25% fee applies only inside the Town of Hilton Head Island. A community off the island or outside the Town can still charge its own fee under its governing documents, so check its documents the same way.
Sources
- Attorneys and realtors, Palmetto Dunes Property Owners Association (checked October 2026)
- Assessments, Sea Pines Community Services Associates (checked October 2026)
- Rental registration program, Sea Pines Community Services Associates (checked October 2026)
- Prospective landowners and realtors, Port Royal Plantation (checked October 2026)
- Palmetto Hall at a glance, Palmetto Hall Property Owners Association (checked October 2026)
- Leamington fact sheet (revised January 26, 2026), Leamington POA (checked October 2026)
- Fees (POA/MOA), Windmill Harbour Association (checked October 2026)
- Town taxes and fees, Town of Hilton Head Island (checked October 2026)
- Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement (updated June 2025), SC Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (checked October 2026)