Looking to buy my first Boat.. Surf Boat..

First post here and have been reading like crazy trying to decide what will be my first ever boat purchase. I've never owned a boat but have gone out a few times on a friend boat with the family and am hooked. I want to buy this one mainly for wake surfing so I have a few questions. We would like to get a 24ft boat. More friends and family equals more fun.. I think I have a budget of about $75k as I will be partnering with my brother in law. He is more familiar with boats as he has owned an XStar by Master Craft a few years ago. He is set on buying a used X45 Mastercraft with the the 8.1 motor. We think we can get an 07-08 boat for maybe around $60k. The more I read the more I think the Axis A24 would be sweet with the surf gate. His opinion is the Malibu boats don't hold there value like a Mastercraft and are not as nice as far a fit and finish. We could get a 2015 A24 for our $75k budget or close to I would think. Also he thinks that we need a 450hp motor. I'm a big dude at 6'4 260lbs and have yet to have a boat that can pull me up on a wakeboard. Maybe this is technique maybe not but all the boats I have ever been behind have been I/O boats without wake towers. I definitely want a boat that has enough power to pull me out. The Axis boats I have been looking at have a 409hp motor.

So as far as motors go does more power also equal a lot more cost per hour to operate or is it minimal. Bigger always seems better but is it? I don't know.. Does maintenance and other costs also go up with a bigger HP motor? We will use the boat at around 2500ft above sea level in Southern Utah, Lake Mead and Lake Powell....

I'm not against the Mastercraft X45 but I just want to get the most boat for the Money. Is it better to find a low hour used boat or bite the bullet and buy new. Within our price limits. My brother in law also has a friend that has been pulled behind a lot of different boats and he swears the Mastercraft has a better wake and is the best all around boat you can get for the money. I'm going in blind so I have no idea either way. Like I said this is new to me but something I know my family will love and enjoy. We live 15 minutes from a couple of nice lakes and plan on putting a lot of time in the water this next season. In the meanwhile we are shopping for a boat and hoping to make the right decision the first time. I have a moto that goes "Buy Cheap Buy Twice." I don't want to do that and regret the purchase. Hoping some of you will chime in and give me some ideas of what is the best boat to buy and what motor size we should be looking at..

Hope I don't have blinders on about the Surf Gate but I know both my son and I are difference in our stance on a board. I'm goofy and he is regular. So the surfgate appeals to me to be able to change the surf on the fly. I hear the X45 takes about 15 minutes to change the ballast?

School me in boat buying for a first timer so I can make a more educated decision. Now back to more research and reading for me..