How HOA Fees Affect Your Mukilteo, WA Mortgage Approval

By Glenn Hoch, Washington State Licensed Mortgage Broker, NMLS #71716 · Published October 27, 2026 · Updated October 27, 2026

Mukilteo HOA fees rarely get the attention that price and down payment do, yet they sit inside the same calculation that decides how much a buyer can borrow. A buyer pre-approved for a price range can find that a condo near the ferry or a house in a newer subdivision qualifies for less than expected, simply because the listing carries monthly association dues.

This guide walks through how lenders treat HOA fees on a Mukilteo mortgage, with the rules read at the source in October 2026: Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, HUD's FHA handbook (Handbook 4000.1, last revised August 12, 2026), and the VA's credit underwriting chapter. It also covers the Washington association laws that decide what a buyer gets to see before signing, and the Mukilteo numbers that explain why dues matter more here on some homes than others.

Glenn Hoch is a Washington State Licensed Mortgage Broker at Barrett Financial with more than twenty years in mortgage lending and over a thousand closed loans. He works from an office in Freeland, a ferry ride from Mukilteo, and helps buyers in Mukilteo, Everett, and across Snohomish County qualify with the full monthly cost of a home in view, dues included.

How Lenders Count Mukilteo HOA Fees

Lenders measure two things against gross monthly income: the housing payment on the home being bought, and the housing payment plus all other monthly debts. Homeowners association dues go into the first number, which means they also flow into the second. The three major loan types say so in nearly the same words:

Fannie Mae spells out the pieces. Monthly housing expense is principal and interest, property, flood, and mortgage insurance, real estate taxes, ground rent, special assessments, any owners' association dues, and payments on any second mortgage on the home. Dues include utility charges for the common areas but exclude utility charges that apply to the individual unit. Lenders must enter association dues on the loan application along with every other housing cost.

The ratio ceilings HOA fees count against

The ceilings vary by loan type, and they are the reason dues matter. Fannie Mae's guide sets a maximum total debt-to-income ratio of 50 percent for loans run through its automated underwriting system, Desktop Underwriter. For manually underwritten loans the base is 36 percent, which can stretch to 45 percent with the reserves Fannie requires. FHA's manual underwriting chart starts at 31 percent for the housing payment and 43 percent for all debts, with higher tiers that depend on compensating factors. VA looks at a 41 percent ratio alongside residual income. Each of those limits includes the HOA fees.

The debt-to-income ratio guide explains front-end and back-end ratios in full, including what counts as debt. This page stays on the association side of the payment.

The Numbers: What Mukilteo HOA Fees Do to a Qualifying Budget

A simple illustration shows the trade. The figures below are hypothetical and are not a quote. They show only how the ratio math works.

In this example the dues take about 7 percent of the money available for housing. The loan amount shrinks by whatever $450 a month would have carried in principal and interest at the buyer's rate, term, and tax bill. The income did not change, the debts did not change, and the buyer's maximum price still moved. That is why Glenn asks for the dues on any home before treating a pre-approval amount as a firm price ceiling.

Why HOA fees weigh more on a Mukilteo condo

Mukilteo's housing stock explains where dues bite. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2020 to 2024 counts 5,906 owner-occupied homes in the city. Of those, 4,789, about 81 percent, are detached single-family houses, 313 are attached homes, and 785, about 13 percent, are in buildings of three or more units, which in an owner-occupied count are mostly condos.

Prices split along the same line. Zillow's home value index for September 2026 puts a typical Mukilteo single-family home at about $959,800, down about 2 percent from a year earlier, and a typical Mukilteo condo at about $380,700, down about 3 percent. On a condo, the association often covers the roof, siding, grounds, and master insurance policy, so the dues are a larger share of the total monthly cost. A dues figure that barely registers on a single-family budget can be a meaningful slice of a condo buyer's approval.

HOA fees near the Snohomish County loan limit

The 2026 conforming loan limit for a one-unit home in Snohomish County is $1,063,750. With typical Mukilteo house values within reach of that line, many buyers are deciding between a conforming loan and a jumbo loan. HOA fees do not change the loan limit, but they do change how much loan a buyer's income supports. A household right at the edge of its ratio can find that dues on one home keep it under the conforming line while a similar home without dues does not, or the reverse.

How Each Loan Type Treats Mukilteo HOA Fees

Conventional loans

Fannie Mae counts the dues in full, minus nothing except unit-level utilities. If a condo's dues pay for the heat or water inside each unit, that part does not belong in the housing expense, while utilities for hallways, lighting, and other common areas stay in. Most houses in planned communities carry dues for common property only. Fannie defines a planned unit development as a project where association membership is automatic and assessments are mandatory, so the lender treats those dues as fixed, not optional.

FHA loans

HUD's handbook lists homeowners or condominium association fees and special assessments in the total mortgage payment, the figure behind both FHA qualifying ratios. It also allows one adjustment Fannie handles differently: the portion of a condominium fee clearly attributable to utilities may be subtracted before computing the ratios, provided the borrower documents it, for example with statements from the utility company. On a condo with utilities bundled into the dues, that documentation can help. The FHA loans in Everett guide covers the program more broadly.

VA loans

VA underwriting builds an estimated monthly shelter expense for the home. For condominiums or houses in a planned unit development, the VA's instructions say to include the monthly maintenance assessment payable to the homeowners association, and if special assessments are anticipated, to use the anticipated amount. Shelter expense feeds both the 41 percent ratio and residual income, the cash left each month after major expenses. Dues therefore reduce residual income dollar for dollar. Veterans and Naval Station Everett families can read more in the VA loans for Everett and Snohomish County veterans guide.

Special Assessments: The Mukilteo HOA Fees That Are Not on the Listing

The listing usually shows regular monthly or annual dues. A special assessment is a separate charge, often for a large repair such as a roof, siding, or a parking structure. All three loan types count it in the housing payment, so an assessment that is levied or anticipated when the loan is underwritten can change the approval, not just the buyer's cash.

Washington law gives owners a say. For associations under the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, RCW 64.90.525 lets the board propose a special assessment at any time, but it takes effect only through the same ratification process as a budget, and it is ratified unless owners holding a majority of the votes reject it. The board may let owners pay in installments. Older single-family associations follow RCW 64.38.025, which requires the budget summary to disclose any scheduled special assessments, the dates they are due, the amount per owner, and the purpose.

The reserve fund is the early warning. When an association's reserves are underfunded, a large repair tends to arrive as an assessment. RCW 64.38.025 requires the board of an older association to tell owners whether projected reserves will cover major repairs over the next thirty years and, if not, what additional assessments may be needed. Reading those disclosures before making an offer is the clearest look a buyer gets at future dues.

What Washington Law Lets a Mukilteo Buyer See About HOA Fees

Which documents a buyer receives depends on when the community was created, because Washington currently runs more than one association law:

• Communities created on or after July 1, 2018, and older ones that opted in, fall under chapter 64.90 RCW. Under RCW 64.90.640 the seller must furnish a resale certificate before the contract is signed or otherwise before conveyance. It must state the assessment currently due on the unit, any delinquent assessments, any special assessments levied and not yet paid, other fees owed to the association, any expense or anticipated repair over 5 percent of the annual budget, whether a reserve study exists, and the current operating budget, among other items.
• Condominiums created before July 1, 2018 generally use the resale certificate under the older Condominium Act, RCW 64.34.425, which also discloses assessments and anticipated repair costs.
• Single-family associations created before July 1, 2018 generally fall under chapter 64.38 RCW, the Homeowners' Associations Act, which has no resale certificate section. Buyers in an older subdivision should ask the seller or the association for the current budget, the reserve study, and a statement of dues and any assessments.

The older chapters are scheduled to give way. Chapter 64.38 RCW is in effect only until January 1, 2028, after which the newer act governs. Until then, the age of the community decides the paperwork, and a buyer's agent or the association can confirm which law applies to a specific home.

Why unpaid dues matter to the lender

Under RCW 64.90.485, an association has a lien on a unit for unpaid assessments, and up to six months of regular assessments can take priority over a first mortgage recorded earlier. That is one reason lenders and title companies want the seller's dues paid current at closing and look closely at association finances, and why delinquent dues on the seller's side get settled through escrow. In a condo, lenders also review the project itself. The condo financing guide walks through those project reviews.

Mukilteo HOA Fees: Five Steps Before You Write an Offer

1. Get the exact dues. Listing figures can be out of date. Confirm the current regular assessment and whether it is billed monthly, quarterly, or annually, since lenders convert it to a monthly figure.
2. Ask about special assessments. Ask whether any are levied, scheduled, or under discussion, and read the most recent board minutes if they are available.
3. Read the budget and reserve study. A budget that shows reserves well below the study's recommendation suggests higher dues or an assessment ahead.
4. Check what the dues include. On a condo, dues that include water, sewer, or heat for the unit can shift how the payment is counted, and may lower a buyer's other monthly bills.
5. Re-run the approval with the dues. Before writing an offer, have the lender update the pre-approval for that specific home. A pre-approval issued for a price range without dues is a starting point, not a final number.

For the wider picture of buying in the city, the Mukilteo, WA mortgage guide covers prices and loan programs, and the Mukilteo neighborhoods map compares areas from Old Town to Harbour Pointe.

How Glenn Helps Buyers Plan Around Mukilteo HOA Fees

As an independent broker, Glenn compares programs from dozens of lenders, so he can show how the same dues play out under conventional, FHA, VA, and jumbo guidelines rather than one lender's rules. His approach:

• Build the qualifying payment with the actual dues and any known assessment, not an estimate.
• Separate unit utilities from common-area costs where the loan type allows it.
• Compare homes with and without dues at the same price, so the buyer sees the real difference in what the income supports.
• Flag condo and planned-community documents the lender will need early, so the review does not hold up closing.
• Update the pre-approval for each home a buyer is serious about, subject to a full loan estimate and underwriting approval.

First-time buyers can also start with the Mukilteo first-time home buyer guide and the Mukilteo home loans page.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mukilteo HOA Fees and Your Mortgage