Can't you just picture
a screen porch right here,
there's still space for barbecuing.
[Michele Lorette] Perfect for a cocktail pool.
What's a cocktail pool?
[narrator] Software engineer Alan and wife Lisa
are looking for a family vacation home
in Port Aransas, Texas.
[Michele] You've got the Gulf of Mexico, that's your sunrise.
You've got the bay, that's your sunset.
- [Alan] You can see the beach. - [Lisa] Yes.
[Alan] You can hear the waves.
[narrator] He wants a low-maintenance condo right on the water
where he can come and relax.
I can see our girls.
- [Lisa] Fighting? - [Alan] No.
- This is... - Because this bathroom is tiny.
[narrator] Lisa's more interested in a big house
where their five kids can come visit.
-[Lisa] This is great. -[Michele] Isn't this beautiful?
I can't see the beach. I can't see the ocean.
But you can hear it.
[Lisa] This is exactly what Alan needs,
he just doesn't know it.
- [doorbell rings] - [theme music playing]
[Alan] Which key is it? You remember?
- [Lisa] The one that goes in the lock. - Okay.
[Lisa laughs] It fits.
I am currently a first and second grade teacher in Austin.
[Alan] And I'm a software engineer.
[Lisa] When I met Alan, I was his son's preschool teacher.
I would stay behind even if Quentin wasn't at school.
I would come over and help.
- You would show up, yes. - I would show up.
[Lisa] And we've been married 25 years.
There's five kids total.
[Alan] The last one is a senior in college right now,
so basically, we are empty-nesters.
- [Lisa] Are you hungry? - Yes, I'm always hungry, please.
[Lisa] Okay, good point. Cheese? Fruit?
[Alan] Yes.
[narrator] A few years ago, they sold their home in California
and moved to Austin, where she has family.
But the lure of the beach kept calling.
[Alan] And it's like,
"How far away is the ocean from Austin?"
"It's, like, four hours."
Uh, that's a drive.
Once we got here I was like,
I fell in love with the island, you know?
It does remind me of how we lived in California.
[Lisa] You can sit, eat dinner, watch the ships come in,
just stare at the bay, it's just beautiful.
What will be nice
is when we have our own place.
We're staying in a short-term rental here in Port Aransas,
looking for our vacation home.
We're kind of polar opposites.
I am an impulsive person, and when I see it, I love it,
and this is what I want.
- Right then and there. - And, right. [laughs]
[Lisa] Alan is very meticulous.
I'm an engineer by trade, and therefore
there is a certain way of doing things.
This is nice, kitchen opens up to everything,
it's really, it's really cool.
- It works out. - [Lisa] A little narrow.
[Lisa] We want something big enough for everyone.
Also, maybe 2,500 square feet?
[Alan] Are they all coming at the same time?
- Yes. - Oh, okay. Just checking.
At least three bedrooms, three bathrooms,
we need enough space to share with our family.
And just where I'm from, um, the bay area,
a lot of the houses, even the older houses, are very modern.
I just really like that and I think it sort of fits our personalities, too.
Some French doors that go out into the garden,
and you can go walk down the garden into where the pool is,
and maybe have a barbecue out there in the yard.
- All the outside stuff that I don't wanna do. - No, no.
Why I want the condo is,
there's no maintenance, there's no nothing,
a place where I could actually relax.
Beach view, balcony, ocean.
I know the beach view, the beachfront, is gonna be expensive.
$900,000 is where I am very comfortable,
you know, going to.
To me, that money, that extra money is worth it.
Short-term rentals, that's one of our goals.
It's not to make money off of it,
it is basically to pay the HOA fee,
to pay the property tax.
Whereas I'm willing to walk,
I don't think five minutes is a long time to walk.
And then we save some money.
I'm willing to go, max, $700,000.
But let's see what's out there.
It can't all be based on numbers and facts.
It's gotta be how you feel, your emotions.
- Everything works out perfectly in the end. - Yes.
- As long as we do what I want. - [laughs]
- [Alan] I see the beach. - [Lisa] You do?
I see, I can, well, I don't see the beach,
- I can see where the beach is. - The dunes.
- I can see the dunes, yes. - Okay.
[narrator] Lisa and Alan are starting off at a single family home
just five minutes from the beach.
- [Michele] Hello. - Hi, Michele.
- Welcome. - [Lisa] Hello, Michele.
- [Alan] Color, eh. - [Michele] Changeable.
- [Lisa] Yeah. - [Alan] It's like, looking at all the other ones
in the neighborhood, we get the brown.
[Michele] Well, you go through your HOA,
get an approved color, and you can repaint it.
- [Lisa and Alan] Okay. - [Michele] Easy fix.
[Michele] This is listed at $665,000.
- [Lisa] Oh. - And HOA fees is what?
HOA is $1,000 a year.
- [Lisa] A year? - It's a year, and it includes the gazebo,
swimming pool, and a golf-cart accessible
- boardwalk over to the beach. - [Lisa] Okay.
-[Lisa] So that's for... -Golf cart? Yes. I like that word.
[Michele] Screened-in porch.
[Alan] That's kinda cool.
I can hear the beach, maybe.
I can't see the beach.
[Michele] You can hear it, it's only about a five-minute walk.
It has a detached house, I think Lisa would like it
and can visualize her family being here
for a lot of different occasions.
I find Alan, his focus is just gonna be,
"Where's the water? Where's my view?"
This house is zoned, non-short-term rental,
they can sprint for 30 days or longer,
which makes it not as popular
as people wanting to come down here and get investment properties.
But it does have a lot of amenities,
so I'm hoping that maybe they see the value in that.
- [Lisa] This is big. - [Alan] I can see everybody here.
- [Lisa] Yes. [laughs] - [Alan] Cool.
- [both laughing] - It's good for you,
socialization is good for you.
[Lisa] I love this space,
can you imagine just pushing this out a little bit?
[Alan] Maybe do, like, a little, um,
- breakfast nook-type of counter, countertop. - [Lisa] Mmm-hmm.
[Lisa] Yeah, white countertop, blue counters.
- Blue counters? Yes. - [Lisa] Blue cabinets.
- Oh, cabinets. Oh, okay. - Blue cabinets, white countertop.
- [Lisa] That's a... yeah. - [Michele] Wanna go outside?
[Michele] This little development is surrounded by a lot of ponds.
[Lisa] You could go out there fishing, Alan,
- you could take up fishing. - [Alan] Taking in the little pond, yeah.
[Lisa] Yeah, there's probably fish in there.
Could we put a pool out here?
You just need to get approval through the HOA.
- [Lisa] Okay. - [Alan] Kinda small for a pool, don't you think?
[Lisa] Oh, maybe a water, other water feature,
if we can't have a pool, just put a water feature out here.
Put the ocean out here?
-We could put a picture of the ocean out here -[Alan laughs]
if that would make you happy.
[Lisa] I think Alan is much pickier than I am,
and he has to have things done a certain way.
He might think that he wants the ocean view,
but there is water back there
and you'll hear the water, I think it'll be just fine.
- [Michele] Let's go to the bedrooms. - [Lisa] Okay. Sounds good.
[Michele] Here's our first bedroom.
[Lisa] Oh.
It's a nice room, might be a little small
just getting everyone in.
[Michele] In between them you've got your full bath.
[Lisa] I like the tub.
Not too many changes, just the counter,
put another sink in here.
And we wouldn't even necessarily have to bring in a contractor,
these are things you could do in your free time.
- In my free time? - [Lisa] Yes.
[Alan] I'll add it to my list.
[Michele] Now remember, paint is your friend.
[Lisa laughs]
- [Alan] Ooh. - [Michele] If you don't like the color,
you can change the color.
[Lisa] A little bit of paint goes a long way.
This is a good size.
[Michele] If you do want to have somebody in here,
- Winter Texans would love this area. - [Lisa] Okay.
- Thirty days or longer, those are the restrictions. - [Alan] Thirty days or longer?
There are 30 days or longer. So you could rent it for maybe
$3,000, $3,500 a month.
[Lisa] So maybe two months out of the year, we rent this out.
- Then we couldn't come here then, though. - I know, but,
there's other places we can go.
[Lisa] And there's definitely...
[Alan] Oh, Lisa, look at this. This is kinda cool. We need to keep this.
[Michele] This is for your hamper.
- Oh, it's a hamper, okay. - Okay.
And then you got your linen.
So I would have to explain to the kids what a hamper is.
- [Lisa] Not the floor. - [Alan and Michele laughing]
[Lisa] And here's the primary.
- [Lisa] The floor is different. - [Alan] Yes.
-Nice big room, though. Got a king-size bed. -[Lisa] It is.
[Alan] Ooh, big bathroom.
- [Alan] Has your tub. - [Lisa] It does. What is this?
[Lisa] Oh, that's for the toilet.
So we could change some things around
- and some rocks on the floor. - [Alan] I don't know.
[Lisa] It's lower than what we would like to pay.
I could easily see everybody here.
- I can definitely see everybody here. - [Lisa] Yeah.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
- [Lisa] He enjoys it. - [Michele] Okay.
He just likes to pretend that he doesn't.
- [Lisa] Um... - I couldn't see the beach.
No, but there's water right outside of that door, and...
- [Michele] You can hear the water. - I can hear the water.
And I bet you can smell it.
[Alan] It's exactly what Lisa wants.
But then again, if I'm going to the beach,
I wanna be able to see the beach.
[Lisa] I am sure this is exactly what Alan needs,
- [Michele] Perfect. - He just doesn't know it.
[Lisa] It's cool, but far from town.
Wonder why Michele picked this place.
[sarcastically] Gosh, I wonder why.
Maybe for me?
Possibly, I guess.
- Maybe not. - Doesn't look like for me.
[narrator] With Alan convinced they should be in a waterfront condo,
that's what they're seeing today.
[Alan] This is $709,000.
Oh, it better be an amazing view of the ocean for that much money,
- [laughs] - because that seems like a lot of money.
I think the HOA fees are only $951.
Uh, yeah, there better be a valet.
[Alan laughs]
With champagne.
That's a lot of money for...
an HOA fee.
Yeah, but it includes everything,
the outside insurance, it does have a pool.
Pool's nice. I want a pool.
- Very nice, look at that. - Wait.
- [Lisa] That's it? - That's it.
[Lisa] You've checked this out before you came here?
Yes.
- So, you knew... - I saw all the pictures.
[Lisa] So, you knew.
Just humor me and let's just take a look.
- [Michele] Hello. - [Alan] Hi, Michele.
- [Lisa] Hello. - [Michele] Welcome.
- [Alan] I think it looks nice. - I think it needs to be power washed.
[Michele] This building had some
exterior damage from Harvey, 2017,
but they're gonna be re-painting the exterior,
so don't be, don't be afraid.
-[Alan laughs] -[Michele] This is a beautiful building.
[Michele] This is, these are brand-new elevators.
- [Michele] They look... - [laughs]
[Michele] They're gonna be fine.
They gotta take their wood off, but again,
it's still a construction site.
So come on in, you're gonna love it.
[Lisa] Uh...
This unit happens to be the penthouse,
so the views,
you're just not gonna see these views anywhere else on the island.
Even though it's not in the heart of town,
development is happening on both sides of us.
I think the complex is gonna be a little concerning to Lisa
because it's not quite there on the outside.
But I think he's gonna have to take some time
and convince Lisa that this property has a lot of value.
This is your three-bedroom,
- two-and-a-half bath. - [Lisa] Okay.
[Michele] So there's over 1,400 square feet.
-[Lisa] Oh, that's a little small. -[Michele] Half-bath.
[Michele] Nicely remodeled kitchen.
[Lisa] I really don't like the countertops or the cabinets.
- [Lisa] Definitely... - Paint goes a long way on cabinets.
[Lisa] It does.
- Um... - Do you like the dishwasher?
[Lisa] I do, the appliances are great.
But I think it's a little too closed off.
Like, I'd like to be able to have access to people out here.
Technically, this condo is move-in ready,
but there are so many things that I would need to change to make it ours,
and to feel comfortable in it.
[Alan] Look. This is, this is why we're here.
[Lisa] That is amazing.
- [Alan] Let me see. - [Lisa] No.
[Lisa laughs] Alan, please don't.
- [Alan] You can see the beach. - [Lisa] Yes.
- [Alan] You can hear the waves. - [Lisa] You can see the beach.
[Lisa] But you can't use the balcony,
- what's the point? - [Alan] Right now.
[Michele] It's being redone.
They're doing floor by floor, all of this will be replaced.
Come on, let's look at the rest.
This is your primary bedroom.
[Lisa] Wait, this is the primary bedroom?
This is the primary bedroom.
Look, this is how you separate it for privacy.
-Very common in Port Aransas -[Lisa] Wait...
in condominiums.
- [Lisa] No. - It separates the primary bedroom
to the living area.
It allows you the opportunity to open up the living area.
At nighttime, it becomes private.
No.
- [Lisa] That doesn't even make sense. - [Alan] Yes, it does.
[Lisa] No.
[Michele] You can rent anywhere from $400 to $700 a night.
It's managed through the complex,
so you're not having to worry about any rentals,
any maintenance or any of that.
Complex will take care of that for you.
That would be nice for you,
- Yes. - because you usually want to...
- Yeah. No calls at 1:00 in the morning. - Yeah.
- [Alan laughs] - Let's look at the primary bathroom.
Okay.
This needs to go.
[Alan] The countertops is a little bit dark,
- it's, that's true. - [Lisa] Yeah, it needs to go.
- [Alan] Lots of drawers. - [Lisa] Oh, I love the deep shower.
It reminds me of being in Jamaica in one of the caves,
-the waterfall caves. -[Alan] Yes. That is really cool.
[Michele] Let's check out the other bedrooms on this side.
Come on through here, we've got a full bath.
[Alan] I can see our girls.
- Fighting? - No. This is...
Because this bathroom is tiny.
[Lisa] The three of them, their makeup alone, no.
[Michele] Bedroom.
-[Alan] Yeah. -[Michele] Perfect for the kids.
[Lisa] The view is stunning.
[Michele] All right, here's your third bedroom.
You've got the Gulf of Mexico, that's your sunrise,
you've got the bay, that's your sunset.
The view is beautiful, but there's no yard.
It's not a house. I want it big enough where
we can be here with the kids, if my brother wants to come,
if your brother and his family,
and you... we have a lot of family.
[narrator] So, it's back to another house for Lisa,
but Alan's not having it.
I can't see the beach. I can't see the ocean.
But you can hear it.
It's quite a ways away from the beach.
How far is "quite a ways"?
Like, five to seven blocks or something like that.
That's not a far walk.
For you.
[narrator] Today, they're seeing an updated single-family home
with her open floor plan.
-[Michele] Hello. -[Alan and Lisa] Hey, Michele.
[Lisa] I love the siding, the colors,
I love the fence, the grass.
I can't see the beach. I can't see the ocean.
But you can hear it.
That's... I can hear it, yes.
- [Michele] You can hear it. - [Lisa] You're good.
You'll... just, let's give it a chance.
This is great.
[Michele] So this is an open floor plan.
Kitchen, living, dining.
-[Michele] Over 1,500 square feet. -[Lisa sighs]
[Lisa] Oh, that's a little small.
We can have our kids here, we can have our nieces and nephews here,
but not at the same time.
- That would be nice. - Yeah.
But it's also nice to have everybody together.
[Michele] Stainless steel appliances.
[Lisa] The appliances are nice.
[Michele] Granite tops.
I'm not a fan of the galley kitchen,
but I do like how it opens up
so we can see everyone.
This house has just been reduced recently.
Now it's listed at $749,500.
- Okay. - [Michele] But the furnishings do come with it,
- so you will not need to purchase any furniture. - [Lisa] That's a little high.
[Lisa] How long has it been on the market?
- It's been on the market for not quite a year. - Oh.
- It gives us room to negotiate price, because... - [Michele] Absolutely.
They've been on for a year.
[Michele] There's no HOA,
- so this house is zoned for short-term rentals. - [Alan] Yay!
It will probably rent
around $250 to $450
depending on the time of the year.
[Lisa] And we don't have to pay an HOA here.
Yes, but we still have to pay insurance and taxes.
- [Lisa] We'd have to do that anywhere. - [laughs]
[Michele] Let's look outside.
- [Lisa] Okay. - This is probably where you're gonna spend
a lot of your family time.
Plenty of room for a pool.
[Lisa] Or a screen porch.
Can't you just picture a screen porch right here?
There's still space for barbecuing.
[Alan] Would a pool fit here?
[Michele] Absolutely, perfect for a cocktail pool.
What's a cocktail pool?
[Michele] It's a little plunge pool,
renters love to sit in and have a cocktail in the evenings.
You could get your swim-up bar.
- [Alan] Ooh. - [Lisa] It'd be like Mexico.
[laughs] I love swim-up bars, that's nice.
[Lisa] Yeah, that's really nice.
What does it cost to install a full...
[Michele] Uh, a pool would probably run you about $45,000,
depending on the size of it.
[Lisa] Okay. That's not too bad.
- [Lisa] This would be... - [Alan] Look at all this grass.
There are times when Alan gets stuck
and kind of, sort of have a tunnel vision.
And I feel like he's not really looking at the whole thing.
There are gardeners that we can bring in,
we can xeriscape the yard.
So there is very little work.
[Michele] Let's check out the bedrooms.
Got one guest room right here.
[Alan] Floors are different.
[Michele] This is a pine, do you like?
[Alan] Not really.
-I'm more of, uh, more modern, -[Lisa] Uh...
- more other appeal. - [Lisa] I'm not a fan.
And here's bedroom number two, bunk room.
[Lisa] We could reposition this.
Maybe put some video games in here.
[Alan] This is a nice bunk bed room,
if we had to have a bunk bed room.
[Lisa] Well, we would, to sleep everybody.
- [Michele] Full bath. - [Lisa] There's no way.
[Lisa] It's a little small.
- [Alan] Oh, let me see. - And only one sink.
[Alan] Our girls wouldn't fight over that, over that sink.
- [Lisa] Uh, yeah, they would fight over that sink. - [Alan] You think so?
[Lisa] They would. That would be, that would be your wish,
- so then they couldn't all be here at the same time. - [Alan] Yes.
[Michele] Primary bedroom.
- [Lisa] This is a pretty good size. - [Alan] That's kinda small.
[Lisa] It's not too bad. I mean, it's just us.
- [Alan] True. - [Lisa] The bathroom's a good size.
- [Lisa] Only one sink. - [Alan] Sink? Yes.
[Lisa] Look, there's your balcony.
[Alan] There's my balcony.
I will concede that the view is not exactly what you had in mind.
Think that's it over there.
- [Lisa laughs] - If I squint and get my binoculars out, I...
[Lisa] If you put your glasses on.
Okay, that might help, too.
This is nice, I do admit,
but there is no beach view.
There's no ocean view.
- There is... - But it's walking distance.
[Lisa] I think maybe we can work with it.
Let's just put an offer and see what happens.
Let's not and say we did.
Lisa's very impulsive,
but on decisions this big,
I think that's not okay.
Is this what we really want?
Think I got everything.
- Checked the beds, checked everything, closet... - Under the bed?
- Yes, I checked under the bed. - [laughs] Okay.
[narrator] Now Lisa and Alan need to decide
if a house or a condo is right for their vacation home.
[Lisa] I really liked the boring brown house.
It was so open.
We can have everybody there.
It's a two to five minute walk to the beach.
[Alan] Price was $665,000,
-which is really good. That's, that's... -That's amazing.
[Alan] There was quite a bit of remodeling.
[Lisa] Yes, but we can make it ours.
[Alan] That's true, but I was hoping for the short-term rentals,
and I do miss my beach views.
The condo was wonderful.
It has the beach view.
I can go out on the balcony in the morning, drink my coffee,
HOA takes care of all the rentals for us.
All the outside space,
we just worry about the walls in.
[Lisa] I did like the beach right there,
the fact that you can stand,
whichever direction you look, you see water.
One of the things I'm concerned about is the HOA fee.
And the other problem is, the front was just,
- when I pull up... - You're talking about the curb appeal?
- [Alan] The curb appeal. - The lack thereof.
[Alan] But they are working on it,
and the value of having an ocean front,
beachfront, is always gonna be there.
[Lisa] But, the blue house.
Now that had curb appeal.
There was minimal work and no HOA.
[Alan] I did really like the color.
I did like the, the fence.
But it was small.
The other thing is, like, it does have a lot of maintenance.
It had a lot of grass.
The price of this one is more than what you wanted to spend.
[Lisa] But we are getting the feeling of a home.
[doorbell ringing]
[Lisa] You guys have to tell us which works.
[Alan] What works and what doesn't work? We're gonna move the couch.
[Amanda] What does Mother want?
- Oh, okay, yeah, right. - [laughs]
[Alan] We got the condo.
We got the views, we got my balcony.
[Lisa] I really didn't want a beach condo,
but it is, it's very comfortable, it's very cozy.
Every room you go into has a view.
Brings some warm colors in and it's perfect.
- [Amanda] What about over there? - [Alan] No.
- [Lisa] So... - Can we try over there?
- [Lisa and Alan] No. - Can we try over there?
[Alan] No.
So the condo was listed for $709,000.
We offered $625,000, trying to go in low,
and we ended up at $675,000.
[Lisa] $675,000 seemed a little high for me at first
with the HOA's fees being what they are,
but after thinking about it, talking to Michele
and having her help me understand that
the cost would be made up through short-term rentals,
I'm okay with it.
We closed two weeks ago,
and we've been here for about a week.
[Amanda] I like that one.
[Alan] I like this one.
The floors are going to be the first thing that goes.
Once we have the floors, then we can take out the other things
and figure that out.
So we're keeping the accordion doors?
- No. - Oh.
[Alan] We're gonna get rid of the accordion doors,
basically do a partition wall that hides into the wall.
And just, like, making it work for us.
Hey, did you want to go to the beach?
Come on.
I love the fact that this house
is the perfect little Mommy [indistinct]
that my kids can come to.
And I think it's working. I've got two down already
and I have three more planning a trip out.
And I know once I get them in my little sticky web of the beach,
they're not going anywhere,
they're coming here and they'll just stay.
[Amanda] I'll come live here and guard it for you.
[laughs]