Winter on the coast.
Let summer pay for it.
A coastal home you live in for a few months each year, in the quiet autumn and winter season while it is snowing back home, and let to visitors for the rest of the year, when demand here is at its peak. Set up properly, the rental months carry the cost of owning it.
Most buyers want the coast in July.
You want it in January.
A typical second-home buyer wants the beach in summer, exactly when the property could be earning the most. That is the expensive way to own on the coast.
Turn it around. Spend the quiet months here, when the beaches are calm and the weather is mild, and let families from across Texas book the house through spring break and summer. You enjoy the coast when you need it most, and the summer season pays for it.
Test the numbers
before you fall in love.
Pick a property type, set your financing, and choose the few months you plan to spend here each year. The example keeps November to February, and every assumption can be adjusted. The starting figures come from Port Aransas sales and rental data from the last twelve months. They are market figures, not a promise for any single property.
The example uses 6%. For reference, the Freddie Mac 30-year average was 7.03% on 24 September 2026, and second homes and investment properties usually price above that; ask your lender about rate buydowns.
Tap a month to switch it between your own use and the rental calendar. Most owners keep November to February, the coldest months back home and a quiet stretch of the rental year, and leave March for guests, since spring break is one of the strongest weeks of the year.
Fees
Ownership costs
About 1.60% in Port Aransas and 2.20% on North Padre Island (2025 adopted rates). A second home receives no homestead exemption.
An estimate. Condo dues often include the building's windstorm cover. Quote every property.
Port Aransas 2-bedroom condos median about $1,090 a month; Cinnamon Shore and Palmilla Beach about $570.
- Gross rental income
- Management & platform fees
- Mortgage (principal & interest)
- Property tax
- Insurance
- HOA, utilities & maintenance
- Cash flow for the year
- Loan paid down (average a year)
- Home value growth
- Net result after equity
Own your winter,
or rent someone else's.
The fair comparison is not owning versus nothing. It is owning versus paying for a winter rental every year.
Net cost of ownership for the year, counting the equity you build
What you are
building meanwhile.
This is a long-term home, not a trade. Every mortgage payment the rental season helps cover pays down the loan, and by the end of the 30-year mortgage the home is yours outright, having grown in value along the way.
From the payment schedule
Estimates for illustration only. Cleaning fees and hotel occupancy taxes are paid by guests and passed through, so they are left out. Results exclude closing costs, furnishing, income tax, vacancy between bookings beyond the occupancy you set, and the cost of your own utilities while in residence beyond the monthly figure above. Home value growth is an assumption, not a forecast: the long-run averages come from Zillow Home Value Index data, and values on this coast fell from their 2022–23 peak before steadying. Actual performance varies by property, season and management, and past or average performance does not guarantee future results.
Trade the lake house
for the coast.
If you own a rental or second home somewhere else — a lake cabin, a ski condo, a property you let out — a 1031 exchange can let you sell it and roll the proceeds into a coastal home here, deferring the capital gains tax instead of paying it on the way out.
More money goes into the new home, which means a larger down payment or a cash purchase — the setup that brings this strategy closest to net zero.
- Sell through a qualified intermediary. The proceeds go to the intermediary, never to you.
- Identify within 45 days, close within 180. Both clocks start the day your current property closes.
- Let it fully for the first two years. To stay inside the IRS safe harbour, rent at fair market rates and keep personal use to 14 days, or 10% of the days rented, in each of the first two years. It is also the ideal time to build the home’s reviews and booking history.
- Then winter here. From year three, your plans can change to include months of your own. Agree the timing with your CPA first.
A 1031 exchange applies to property held for investment or business use. A second home used only by your family does not qualify on the way out, and the new home must be genuinely rented on the way in. Deferral is not forgiveness: your basis carries forward. Plan every exchange with a qualified intermediary and a CPA before you list.
Federal tax is estimated at 20% on long-term gains plus the 3.8% net investment income tax, the top brackets. Depreciation recapture and selling costs are not included.
Available to put into the new home
A mild winter for you,
a busy summer for the house.
A real winter escape
Compare an average January high of 33°F in Chicago or 24°F in Minneapolis. Snow here is close to unheard of.
A tax-friendly state
Texas has no personal income tax, and the state constitution has prohibited one since 2019. How that applies to you depends on your residency, so ask your CPA.
A proven summer season
In Port Aransas, June alone earns more than December and January combined. Spring break and summer demand arrive just as you head home, and the months you keep for yourself are the quietest of the year.
Easy to get to
Corpus Christi International has nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth and both Houston airports, with San Antonio about two hours away by road.
You will not be managing it
from a snowbank.
An owner who lives 1,300 miles away needs a team on the ground. Mel's network covers financing, bookings, maintenance and protection, so the house runs through the summer without you.
Island Life Stays
Mel's own vacation-stay brand on this coast, built for owners who want their home let and looked after while they are away.
Visit Island Life StaysJen Hobbs · Future First Mortgage
Purchase financing for second homes and investment property, with more than a decade of lending on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Meet JenChristina Luna · Neighborhood Loans
More than 25 years of lending and a Scotsman Guide Top 1% record, including self-employed borrowers and investors.
Meet ChristinaMeridian Home Service Pros
Pest control, pool service, lawn and tree care from one team, seven days a week, so the property stays guest-ready.
Meet MeridianFidelity National Home Warranty
Coverage for home systems and appliances, so a failed air conditioner in July is one call rather than an unplanned bill.
Meet RachelChristensen Custom Homes
For owners who would rather build or remodel a home designed around both uses, from owner storage to guest-ready layouts.
Meet the ChristensensWhat the brochures
leave out.
A strategy like this rewards the buyer who checks the unglamorous details before closing. None of these is a reason not to do it. Each is a reason to do it properly.
Is this address allowed to rent?Registration & HOA rules
Port Aransas requires a yearly short-term rental registration for each unit. Corpus Christi, which includes North Padre Island, charges $250 a year, and does not allow short-term rentals in single-family zoning on Padre and Mustang Island, so on the island this strategy generally means a condo or a property in eligible zoning. Associations add their own rules. Confirm all of it for the specific address during your option period.
Occupancy tax is collected, not earnedHotel occupancy tax
Guests pay 15% in hotel occupancy tax in both cities: 6% to the state and 9% to the city. Airbnb remits the state portion, but in Port Aransas the owner or manager must file and pay the city's 9% every month. It is a pass-through, but it has to be set up correctly from the first booking.
Insurance decides many coastal dealsWindstorm, flood & rental cover
Coastal homes typically need a windstorm policy (often through TWIA, the state windstorm pool), a flood policy and a dwelling policy that allows short-term letting. TWIA held its rates flat for 2026 and again for 2027, but premiums are still set property by property. Quote all three before your option period ends.
Hurricane season overlaps the rental seasonJune 1 – November 30
The Atlantic hurricane season runs through the months the house is earning. Airbnb does not treat a foreseeable storm in season as grounds for a full refund, so your own cancellation policy matters. Keep windstorm and flood cover in force year-round: TWIA does not write new policies while a storm is in the Gulf.
Second home or investment loanFinancing
A second-home loan can need as little as 10% down, but it assumes the home is not mainly a rental. A home let for most of the year through a manager will often be treated as an investment property, with at least 15% down and a higher rate. Tell your lender exactly how you plan to use it before you apply.
Personal use changes the tax pictureTalk to your CPA
Spending a few months here each year means the IRS treats the property as a home you also rent, not a pure rental: expenses are split between rental and personal days, and rental deductions generally cannot exceed rental income. If you buy through a 1031 exchange, keep personal use within the safe harbour for the first two years before you begin wintering here. Model it with a CPA before you buy.
She traded Ontario winters
for the island.
Melissa Hladyniuk moved to Port Aransas from London, Ontario in 2015. She knows what a northern winter feels like, and she knows exactly what this coast offers in its place.
Before real estate, Mel worked in sales and marketing. Today she helps buyers from across North America choose property on this coast that works as a home and as an investment, with a network of lenders, builders and managers behind every purchase.
The full model,
in writing.
- The month-by-month rental calendar, and why March matters
- Worked examples for a condo, a beach house and new construction
- Taxes, insurance, registration, financing and 1031 exchanges, explained plainly
- A pre-purchase checklist for owners who live out of state
This page is general information, not legal, tax, insurance, lending or investment advice. Market figures are averages drawn from third-party sources and change over time; individual property performance varies with location, condition, management, pricing and season. Short-term rental registration, occupancy tax, association rules and insurance availability differ by property and must be confirmed for each address. Consult a CPA, lender, insurance professional and the relevant city before purchasing.