Hey, my wife and I bought a place (2nd home) in Port A (sunrise cottages in town) in January 2019, and it's worked out great so far. I agree with an earlier post that there may be some buying opportunities this fall given the current environment. We live in Denver so we only use it once, maybe twice/year. We did a little better then break even last year (including paying the mortgage, travel, and all expenses) and will still do ok this year despite the COVID shut down in March and April.
I recommend buying it as a 2nd home. You get better financing terms/rate and only have to put 20% down (versus 20-30% as an investment property depending on the lender. As a 2nd home, the only rule I'm aware of is that you can't rent it out to a single renter for 6 months or longer...don't think you have to occupy it yourself for 14 days...if you do, you can always have friend or family stay there for part of that time to meet that requirement.
We also decided to purchase a 4 BR home as you can cater more to families and get more rental income. It's worked out well so far and a 4 BR home in Port A is very affordable (at least compared to Denver). You can usually find one in the $350-$450k price range...especially this fall.
Other important considerations, is to find a good property management company, especially if you don't live relatively close. We use Silver Sands, and they are great. RE taxes and insurance is expensive. We pay about $10k annually on just RE Taxes and insurance, so budget for that, but we did gross just over $40k our first year. Operating expenses are another $10k- $15k/ year depending on use. Then you have the mortgage. Our home is booked about 75% in the summer months and 20-30% the rest of the year and we did find some winter Texans that rent it out from late December through March 1st which helps.
As for taxes, it's how the property does on a net basis, not gross, so just have a good accountant and keep track of expenses. You also get to include interest expense as a tax write-off.
Last piece of advice...have at least 3-4 months of operating plus debt service reserves funded in a reserve/savings account at all times do that you can cover your mortgage and expenses during downtimes...like this one. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I grew up in central Texas, graduated from A&M in 2001 and love Port A!
Good luck!