A guide for buyers on the Alabama Gulf Coast

Before You Buy
a Beach CondoDown Here

The five things I check on every condo deal — and roughly what each one costs you if nobody checks it.

I have been selling on this coast since 2003. Over 2,500 closings. In almost all of them, the thing that surprised the buyer was not the price. It was something in the documents nobody told them to ask for.

So I wrote down the questions I ask on every condo deal. That is all this is. No pitch in here, and nothing held back so you have to call me to get the good part.

Nothing held back so you have to call me to get the good part.

Send it to me — 13 pages, free, no cost or obligation.

What is in it

Thirteen pages. Eight questions. No pitch.

  • 01Pick the building before you pick the unit. On this coast the building decides the dues, the rental rules, the insurance and the resale.
  • 02What it actually costs to own one. The four numbers that decide whether you keep the place — dues, insurance, taxes, assessments.
  • 03The hurricane deductible, not the premium. What a 5% deductible really costs you before coverage starts, and the construction standard that cuts it.
  • 04The special assessment question. The four documents to ask for, and the one written question almost nobody asks.
  • 05Can you legally rent it out? Orange Beach runs two different sets of rules and the zoning at your address decides which one you are under.
  • 06Boat slips. Deeded versus assigned, what comes back on resale, and why the run to the pass is part of the price.
  • 07What the money buys, town by town. Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Perdido Key and Fort Morgan side by side, with June 2026 medians.
  • 08The four mistakes. The ones I watch buyers make down here, and what each one costs.

2003

Selling on this coast since then. Full time.

2,500+

Closings. The questions in this guide came out of them.

Orange Beach

Where I live, full time, since 2020. Not a call center.

Who wrote it

Robb Colley

Coastal Stays Realty · Orange Beach, Alabama

Full-time Realtor since 2003, over 2,500 closings, and living in Orange Beach full time since 2020. Before real estate I was a private investigator, a bail bondsman and a recovery agent. Finding things people could not find was the job. That is why “if I don’t know the answer, I’ll find it” is not a slogan here. It was the last career.

My clients start as clients and end up as friends. Mostly because I answer the phone.

If you read it and still want to call, my number is on the last page.

I answer. 251-727-6977

Coastal Stays Realty · Alabama license #74121 · Florida license #BK3355189 · Equal Housing Opportunity

This guide is general information about the Baldwin County and Alabama Gulf Coast market. It is not legal, tax, insurance or lending advice. Market figures are accurate as of August 2026. Have HOA documents, insurance quotes and contracts reviewed by the appropriate licensed professional.

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