re: Gulf Shores/Orange Beach condos - good or bad idea to buy?

We own two beach condos, from your OP I would not buy one. There is money to be made, but beach houses are no different than any other rental in returns. You simply can't just pick out any place and expect it to have a return whether it's short term, commercial, beachfront, city, etc.

Honestly, unless you have $50,000 or more above and beyond your downpayment I wouldn't recommend a beach rental either. A vacation property can require $15k easy some years in repairs whether that is an assessment, damage, or just upgrading. Ac systems need to be replaced about every 7 years on the beach for example, you can push that but if your system goes out in the summer it's bad news and very pricey.

The main key really is appreciation. Either buy at the right time or the right price, but preferably both.

Lastly, you can't use it a lot during peak times. The 10-11 weeks of summer generally are about 50% of your gross rent. Our two properties peak summer is about 40% but we are very lucky and we are local so we are able to rent them very well. Some beach houses 2-3 blocks from the beach for example, peak summer could be 60%+ of your gross rental income. You use 2 weeks of summer and that could be 10% of your gross rent. But you'll also have 50-100+ nights that are almost impossible to rent that you can use all you want for not loss.