BiggerPockets

Hi Brandi, there are some decent deals in Oceanside in California. You might get better pricing if you wait a bit as they overbuilt condos up and down the coast. Just be careful of those HOAs!!! I just had a friend pick up a condo in Huntington Beach for the mid-200s just blocks away from the beach. And the prices keep coming down.

Details, details!

Prefer to keep the price under 250K in a location that we could short-term rent it when we aren't using it. 2 or 3 beds would be best.

Would consider almost any location.

Jon, I don't have a great answer for that question. My main goal with this property is to have a beach destination for my family to visit over the years and then use the condo for the "retirement years". We live in Colorado and our plan is to own a place in the mountains and on the beach to go between when we retire.

Having said that, I want the property to pay for itself over the years at a minimum (and preferably pay itself off within 15 years) but I don't know what a reasonable expectation for a property like that would be for annual income.

Any information out there would be great!

I think it is challenging to ask a great vacation home to be a great investment. I'd pick your first priority (vacation right?) and get just what you want. Secondarilly, make sure you get a steep discount and see that it can pay part of it's way. (Easy to rent)

The Texas coast is reasonable. Galveston is working on hurricane recovery. Farther south, Port Aransas near Corpus Christi is a beach I never get tired of going back to and not overly developed. Then at the southern tip of TX is South Padre Island which is pretty nice in winter and the most tropical of the TX coast. You should be able to find condos in your price range at all three beaches.

Carlene,

Thanks for the info - I haven't really considered Italy but will do some research.

Thanks.

Again probably a little further away than you wanted, but Spain may be another option. Some excellent beach foreclosure deals at the moment around 60% below market value.

hello brandi, I can definely help you with your needs, but my condos are around 330k and up, if you interested let me know, i am in cancun and you can check my listings at your convenience.

Hi Brandi,
Wow- I can think of lots of places that would be great. There are beautiful beaches in Mexico (of course), Costa Rica, Panama, some of the Caribbean islands, Belize, Ecuador and many more that are reasonably close to the US and have condos easily within your price range. In fact, you could probably buy two.
Ecuador, for example, was just featured in an article in MSN money. They said that the real estate is offered at "prices unheard of in North America and Europe". They also stressed that the properties are not losing value as is the case in most of the world. All economic indicators are positive and the people are warm and welcoming. I have several clients interested in Ecuador at this time. Of course, I have others who love the fact that everyone is gets excited about vacationing in Cancun or Puerto Vallarta because they are close. This makes them excellent rental properties.
If I can help in any way with more information, etc. please send me a message and I will see if we can start to narrow down the many choices that you have.
I also can help you with the average rents and rates of return in most countries - especially in Latin America.

Gary

How about the space coast in Florida? If interested, PM me.

I have 1 BR + bunkroom in Panama City Beach, FL. It is not in short sale or foreclosure. I has 2 nice baths, oceanfront master and livingroom. It is in a nice oceanfront comples that was completed in 2006. My condo grossed just over 37K in 2008 through weekly vacation rentals, but I do admit rentals are down so far for 2009, due to the economy.

It would also make a good 1031 exchange for someone.

Thanks!