We're shopping for a second home and considering either a beach or lake house.

Any suggestions (or warnings) on area beaches and lakes? 

the insurance on beach property will kill you- for good reason- I'd go with lake property- 

That's why I'm considering both.

Any idea what insurance on a beach house costs each year? Is newer construction cheaper to insure? 

cheap isn't a word you'd ever use with beach front property insurance- 

I would only consider lake house. Ain't no way I would want a beach house. I'm sure insurance alone would blow me away and from what I've heard, taxes in/around Galveston are sky high. 

Lake house... 

Lake house. Definitely.
*Things rust on the beach.
*Rising sea levels
*Hurricanes
*Sharks!!! 

Consider: Lake houses are noisy i.e., Jet skis and speed boats especially during the weekend. And forget sleeping in. Every Boater knows the smoothest water is early in the morning.

My friend sold his quiet, private, end-of-the-road lake house because of the trash that washed over and collected on his corner of te lake, bags and bags and BAGS full from inconsiderate weekend visitors. Often he'd come home to his shady lake acreage and find people picnicking on his property. He had it so well landscaped, they said they thought it was a park. He'd often pick up trash from these so-called park-goers, too. 

Cheap is a relative term. New construction should be cheaper to insure since the home follows the most current building codes.


Thanks, Tink. What lake is that? 

Noisy ones was Lake Livingston. Trashy one was Lake Houston. 

DPR - depends on whether you want ocean or lake. Is fishing or boating important? Is scenery and beach important? 

All the things you mentioned are of equal importance. I'm interested in hearing what other peoples experiences are. 

I had 2 condos in the San Luis- best of both worlds, except the monthly maintenance fee would choke a horse- 

Real pirates take what they want. Get both. Sheesh. 

Mountain Cabin 

now THERE'S an idea! just don't put it where there are fires every year! 

Which do you enjoy more? The ocean or a lake?

I love both! They have different pros and cons...so, depending on your preferences, go with the one the best fits your needs and lifestyle. 

Hill Country! 

All of the above. 

I decided long ago that it made more sense for me to rent a cabin once or twice a year at different places and let the owner worry about broken pipes, taxes and insurance. 

Hill Country!

Yeah baby 

Good point, Ava. I'm weighing the pros and cons of buying vs renting.

I've been to Bolivar / Crystal Beach dozens of times and always enjoyed it. I don't have much experience on the other side of Galveston. Hoping someone that been to both could share their thoughts on both areas. 

I decided long ago that it made more sense for me to rent a cabin once or twice a year at different places and let the owner worry about broken pipes, taxes and insurance.

Agree with this. ... Or a Time Share, however Time Shares proves to be more expensive in the long run, i think? 

I prefer the West End Galveston beaches and farther South. Actually, prefer Corpus/Padre Is. 

I had a neighbor who rented a house whenever they decided to go during the summer. The next summer they rented a house every other weekend. Since it was a lease, she said it really killed them when something else came up and they couldn't go. Are you going to hire someone to do upkeep? It is a pain to drive up and know that there is yard work in your future or drive up just to do yard work. How long are you willing to drive? We know people who have a place at Lake Fork. A lot of time, Friday evening comes and you just don't feel like driving that far. I would look on VRBO and check out different areas. You can look up the tax info and get some idea of the cost of the property and the taxes. I read where insurance on the coast was out of sight. Of course, if you pay cash, you live dangerously! lol 

Are you looking for actual beach/view property or would you consider someplace like Tiki Island, Bayou Vista, etc?
You don't have to fight summer traffic across the causeway and onto the island (assuming you're just looking for a retreat) and a lot of the residents (at least on Tiki) are just weekenders.

A large majority of the homes will come with boat/ski lifts, crime is pretty much non-existent, and there is a real sense of community.

I can't speak for lake homes, but I love Tiki Island.

Insurance is insane, and wear and tear on coastal homes is pretty significant. Every year there are deck boards to replace, underwater lights to repair, palm trees to trim.

Renting is a good option if you don't want to invest too much $$$, time and energy.
I believe up front on Tiki there are some condos for rent/purchase too. 

I took the liberty of finding the perfect house for you.

I'll maintain it for you, every weekend!

Your dream home! 

Sweet!

If I was a fraction as wealthy as Bob tells everyone he is I'd write a check right now. 

Pm me questions about beach home buying. Everyone can kick it around but I have two and can give you the good and the bad. You definitely want to understand part of your enjoyment will be working on the house.
The questions to consider would be how much you want to spend. Beach homes are pretty pricey now. $500k might get you a view. The rentals help with taxes and insurance. If you have a note, you have to have flood insurance and that is the most. Our investment has paid off wonderfully but we bought 20 years ago on the water and now, one of these days retiring on the money made on the homes. You will probably not use the home as much as you think and it is hard to be in two places. One usually gets neglected. We almost bought a lakefront in Atascocita for our primary home. I wish we had but I would never say no to a beach home. I just wish I had about 4 more. 

I love the beach. We've had our beach house since 1993. We were still living in Dallas when we bought it and could only use it one weekend a month plus vacation weeks. We tried renting it but that didn't go well for us. I got tired of renters tearing stuff up and leaving the place filthy and we were renting only to people we knew personally. No one takes care of your property like you would. Yeah, the insurance is high and maintenance is constant but sitting on the beach watching the waves roll in is so peaceful especially this time of year. Another plus is when it's hot in town it's still cooler at the beach and there's always a breeze. We even enjoy being there in the winter when no one is around. 

Growing up we had a beach cabin and we were always at the beach. I'm leaning heavily towards the beach.

We looked again today. House last priced around 350k have the tax appraised for at least 100k less than that. The tax rate on bolivar is 2.02%. Not that bad really.

The big question is insurance. I have no way to look that up. And apparently Bolivar has a "zone a" with lower rates.

Anybody know anything about insurance rates in Bolivar? 

Call Gabourel Insurance in Beaumont 409-898-2693. They've done our insurance since 1993. Just paid ours last week. Windstorm was $1792. Fire & EC was close to $1000. Haven't gotten the flood insurance bill yet. On Bolivar we have A Zone and V Zone. A is cheaper. It's all about elevation. Before Ike we were A now we're V. Flood insurance is actually cheapest of the 3 insurances you'll need. Our house is an Ike survivor that we've spent the last 7 years working on. DH is really slow plus we still like to have fun & relax a little too. Nothing like the beach in October. Fishing is good, it's not hot and the tourists are gone. 

Mamadog, Flood for us is the most expensive. I am waiting for the flood policy but we have been told to connect with Lloyds because they write a better and less expensive policy. I think last year our flood was $6,600. We are at the waters edge though. 

LadyBB -- what subdivision and when was your cabin built? Do you know which zone you're in?

Is flood insurance thru the gov't? 

LBB - I think my DH said that our flood should be about $650. this year. It went up $250. due to the surcharge NFIP started charging this year. Our house is located 3 blocks from the beachfront and was built in the early 80's shortly before Hurricane Alicia. 

I think built in 76, my deck is 15 feet or less from the ocean but I believe a lot of our area pays a bunch. We are at the San Luis Pass just beyond West Beach. I would love to have a $650 flood bill. My house in Atascocita was almost that for flood. Flood really doesn't pay much either. We have had engineers check out our home every storm and it stays strong. It is really amazing.