[Packer Fan]

I will give you my view that somewhat differs from others. We have fallen in love with TV. We bought a home in 2013 and that is at least 10 years before we retire. We furnished it and are letting the renters pay it off. They are doing a heck of a job to. It is largely a financial decision as I was looking at diversifying my investments anyway. Based on my experience we are going to probably buy a second house when we pay off the first late next year.

I have to disagree about a Villa though. Why buy a Villa for $185-$200K when you can buy a designer for $240-280? The payments are not that much more. More people to rent to and you get more than enough rent to offset the difference. My designer is rented from September to April for the 3rd year running. Very positive on the cash flow. I would buy a stripped down designer (no granite counter tops, etc) for the renters. You get no extra for the upgrades anyway. Location is important - close to pools and probably south of LSL

As far as appreciation - It appears Designers have fairly good appreciation for the normal run of the mill ones. I have been looking at Designers with a view - not so sure they are climbing as much, but not going down either.

The nice part about having the home is we come down about 3 times a year when we don't have renters (ok, so May and August are not prime Florida season, but anytime is GREAT in TV). Free vacation basically.

There are several websites that help with renting, so it is easy and you don't need a management company, just a home watch.

I figure it this way, in the next 10 years, prices are only going to go up, and the rent is going to keep coming in. Rents have gone up every year for a long time.
Ed