Its cheaper to rent the place and have no headaches. Once you buy, you either spend most of your vacation fixing things or you stop going there. If you are serous about having an investment property, have it in your own town.

If you are buying a rental check the CCR's to see their policy. How many rentals are in the building? How many are allowed. Do you have a management plan if you rent?

In my parents community in FL, the minimum rental is 1 month. It is not a rental resort and they don't want people coming and going. My parents own a SFH, but also had a condo in the same development that they rented out, usually to Canadians for 3 - 5 months at a time.

In a high rise type building, higher units are usually more desirable due to views and being further away from street noises.

It depends on a few things. If it is more than 1 or 2 bedrooms, you would probably be renting it out to families. In that case, a lower floor might be better for access to the beach. If its a one bedroom, the higher floor is probably better for couples or singles where the view is more important.

In a high rise condo in Florida with water views, higher is more desirable and the price difference per floor as you rise can be anywhere from $10,000 per floor on up to $30,000 plus per floor.

All good points, thanks. I will say that, even on the 12th floor, the noise from the waves was so loud that the large balcony was pretty much unusable. I would have thought we were high enough up...

The prices seem to go up when you GO UP, but for me I have always foind the first floor to be the most convenient, both for bringing things in from the car (not waiting on an elevator) and quick access to the ocean/beach. In our condo complex in Florida, you have to own for two years before you can rent your unit. I agree that noise is far less the higher you go, but ocean sounds (to me) aren't noise. People are noise.

cpartist -- thank you for that factoid. If the waves weren't so extreme during our visit, listening to the surf may have been soothing versus painful.

All Real Estate is local, but one fact remains: location, location, location. If you buy the worst unit in a great building, it will always be the worst unit and will never resell it for what the other units are selling, whether you live there or rent it out. You may get renters for the same price, or nearly so, because they want the amenities that the community offers but they don't care as much for a temporary situation (unless it's really bad, overlooking the trash dumpsters or something while everyone else gets the ocean view).

In a high-rise, the top floor, penthouse, will always be the most desirable because you'll have the best views and won't have someone living over your head (think about someone walking with heels on a tile floor above you - or big dogs clack-clacking their nails as they trot around - whatever). They will always sell for more and will rent for more.

Depending on the floor plan and view, end units are usually more desirable than "middle" units and units next to or across from the elevator are less desirable.

Low-rise buildings, four stories or less, slightly different rules apply.

And here's one rule of thumb (although beach buildings are usually built so that all the units face the water), I've found that full water view is worth about $15K over no water view for otherwise the exact same unit.

How that applies is if you buy on the second floor (the level above the garage, sometimes called the first floor) - although it has quicker easier access to the beach (one extra-high flight of stairs) - you might not have a view if it's been landscaped - you might just be looking at the tops of palm trees.

There's a gorgeous high-rise condo that one of my buyers keeps looking at that is making me crazy. He wants the water view, but whenever he sees one listed under $600K he sends it to me - "what about this one?" and then I have to remind him that there is no view for the 5th floor and below (the upper three floors are between $800K-$1.5M) due to the huge live oaks and landscaping beyond. And then I remind him that this particular complex has over $1000 per month in fees and maintenance. And he has to join the Club (at $60K initiation and more monthly fees and minimums). But I digress....the point is: view.

Either way, for Florida beaches, if it's relatively newer construction, there is no "ground floor" because it has to be raised and the space "under building" used for parking. So there are stairs or elevator for everyone. If it's older and the beach level has living units, the flood insurance is going to be pretty high - which will be paid as part of your monthly maintenance/condo/association fees. It will probably be spread out amongst all the units evenly, so even an upper floor is going to be paying the high rate. (I don't believe the multi-family units were "grandfathered" into paying the lower rates)

And you will still need to pay for flood insurance for your unit in addition to hazard and liability.

In our FL condo, several 1st floor units have been broken into (through the patio). The view on the first floor doesn't compare to higher up.

Then again, during "the season" renters won't car what floor you are on -- demand is that high!

I know you didn't ask about this but be mindful of assesments. Ocean front condos take a beating from the elements and 5 figure repair and maintenance assessments are not unusual.

Be mindful of assessments period if you buy a condo. While owning our oceanfront condo, we have been assessed for parking lot repaving, hallway tiling, painting the buildings, new carports etc... We had a board who's motto was to make ours the "best on the beach." Especially during the boom years when they mistakenly thought there was no end to the value going up. Boy, that was an expensive few years!

We bought the least expensive 1BR 2Bath Ocean View in our complex in South Maui. This gives us one of the lower assessments (only Garden View is lower), and we rent only to singles or couples. Everyone in the complex enjoys the landscaping, pools, hot tub, jacuzzi, tennis courts, BBQ's, etc. and the excellent beach across the street.

We employ a local agency to handle keys and any urgent problems. They retain the right to rent it out when I do not have guests booked. This has been much less a headache that a SFH rental we owned locally, but, yes, anything near the ocean takes a beating.

Deciding whether to invest in apartments in Chicago or the Maui condo wasn't hard. We spend as much of the winter at the condo as we can.