Wife and I are exploring the possibility of buying a place in Port A area for weekeend getaways and likely for some rental income as well. We're not particularly interested in highrise condos or something with really high HOA expenses. Budget maximum of 350k but would prefer not to hit that. Any advice, pro or con, from anyone with experience or knowledge would be appreciated. I'm going to cross-post on Outdoors. Thanks.

Buy before the rental season kicks up (April/May); don't buy in winter unless it's an amazing deal and you can live without rental for the winter. Look for the house for sale on VRBO to see what kind of reviews it has. Look for high quantity and quality.

Audit the sellers rental history - calendars and financials for 2-3 years.

Treat it as a business. Factor in all expenses; maintenance, HOAs, high insurance if near beach, electric, water, lawn, TV, security.

It is important for you to verify if this is mainly an investment property that will occasionally use or if it is a vacation home that you will occasionally rent. I ask this because:

1) The way you approach the property will be different. What you want to vacation in and enjoy yourself may not always make sense as an actual investment money wise.

2) You will get the most money and demand for your rental during the periods you typically most want to use it yourself. How will you handle that?


Your post mentions rental income second so makes me believe it's primary for vacation for yourself. If that is the case I would be more willing to buy a cheaper place I don't rent out then a nicer one I rent out. The hassle of it all and having people in your place, I don't think you can typically make the finances work unless you rent it during peak times. I am not much help on what areas to look into buying but consider your primary goals with the property and how you want to achieve them as the first thing to figure out.

Thanks for replies. Good info.

My uncle has owned a pretty nice rental in port A for some time. Be prepared to deal with crappy management companies and awful renters.

His place has stuff get broken and things go missing all the time. The level of renters for a beach house in the gulf coast is kothing like having a ski cabin in Colorado. His place rents for over $450 a night and you still have these problems.

Think about renting it out - most people don't get two ****s about your home.