Kathy,
If the house has gas, the pipes run through the attic. A number of homes have been struck by lightning and the gas lines running across the attic have burst. This gas fed fire has caused accelerated burn through the attic and eventually (20 minutes or so) the house is "toast", or so have a number of houses. A lightning protection system can be installed to mitigate the potential of damage from a lightning strike.
However, Central Florida is THE LIGHTNING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. Don't let yourself be fooled into thinking lightning only strikes houses with gas lines. IMHO, any house in the area should have a lightning protection system, even if it's all electric. I have seen homes in TV that have been struck by lightning and did not burn down - homes with a 4 ft wide hole in the roof to deal with after the storm ends! So it's not just the gas fire problem!
My advice, allow a little extra money to have an LPS installed in your home. And get a reputable installer. We used a1-lightning - we thought they were excellent.
As for the bedrooms - well only you can answer that. How much room do you need? Will a lot of people be visitning at the same time? Do you want to deter a lot of people from visiting at the same time? Do you need a gym? Do you need an office? We decided on 3 bedrooms (technically, 2 bedrooms and a den).
As for moving around TV - many people do move from one house to another. But I think it's more to do with changing needs than to do with making the wrong initial choice. I'm sure some have downsized to pull some cash out of their investment, I'm sure some have up-sized because all the kids want to come every Christmas, etc, etc. Again, up to you.
The best thing about TV is it's difficult if not impossible to make a bad choice. As many here have said, everyone thinks their village is the best! My guess is you will too! Good luck!
|