We bought a 3 BR (I had to be talked into it as I thought 2 would be fine for the next few years while we were mostly renting it out). Boy am I glad we did. Mostly because it gives us more options when we have visitors. When we bought, we had 1 grandchild, now have 2 and who knows how many more. We have 4 kids between us, and once in a while we have 2 or more there at a time, along with the 2 grandchildren. These have been short visits, but nice to be able to accommodate everyone, which we couldn't in a 2 bedroom.
Also, there have been a time or two when I have had a girls' weekend there and the extra bedroom comes in handy. When we retire, I can see that even when we have just 1 couple visiting, we will still be able to have our "office space." We currently have a bed in the 3rd bedroom, but think we will change it out to a sofa bed and make it more of an office when we are living there. We also have another queen size airbed and a crib mattress and a pak n play.
Mostly we've had 1 couple renting, but I don't think we try to get any more rent than for a 2 BR as I think most couples don't care if they have a 2 or 3. However, I think we do get the occasional extra renter who may want to have room for visitors, and occasionally we rent to 2 couples. The worst rental as far as wear and tear was for only 2 people. Just naturally messy. In our experience, short term (1 week in off season) renters leave it messier, treating it more like a hotel room. Since we've had no real damage, we think the extra rent we get has been worth it. By the way, I rent it privately, using a couple of websites - vacationrentals.com and thevillages4rent.com. The secret to renting January is not to rent Feb. and March separately before having Jan. rented either alone or in combination. It's not that hard to rent it for the season to one couple, the season being Jan thru March, you just have to not get nervous. If you stick with a management co., would think you can instruct them to do that next season.
Another reason to have the 3 bedroom is that we have decided not to "buy up" after moving there as we originally thought we might. I can't tell you how many people I've met, mostly while golfing, who say they've bought down (went from a designer to a 3 BR CYV) because it's less maintenance, less expensive, more privacy, etc. I've had others tell me if they were going to do it again, they would buy a CYV instead. In an ideal world, I'd have a designer overlooking a pond, but since that's not comfortably in our financial reach, I'm personally happier in our private CYV that I would be in a ranch or a designer that doesn't have a private lot. I think most of the move-uppers I've met (who go from a CYV to a designer) had 2 bedroom CYVs.
Talked to one couple shortly after buying who said they made a mistake buying a ranch, as they were Canadian snowbirds and just felt the upkeep was more expensive on the ranch, although the prices were comparable.
That said, if you plan to be a snowbird, and don't have children or multiple couples visiting at the same time, then the cost of a 2 bedroom CYV is indeed less, and taxes are slightly less on a 2 BR. Utilities might be very slightly less, but I imagine this is more a function of what walls/windows get most of the sun. I believe bonds are the same. I also think the 3 BRs have retained their value better in the recent real estate market, but have no scientific data to back that up. Just my opinion, although I do check on price/availability of CYVs frequently. Part of that depends a lot on location.
Of course, lots of people who start out as snowbirds eventually become year-rounders rather than the reverse.
Anyway, that's MHO, but then again, I think there's always the penchant to rationalize what you bought and why. Probably if I had bought a 2 BR, I'd be justifying why that was the best deal, etc. and same if I had bought a ranch. I guess the best thing to do is "love the one you're with", especially if it would be a financial hardship to switch. If you haven't made the decision yet, though, you have my take (you did ask
.
If money was no issue, I'd probably prefer to have a corner lot 3 BR CYV with an extended lanai. As it is, I'm perfectly happy with our 3 BR interior CYV and the chance to spend any extra money on travel, and just not having to watch our pennies too carefully.
This turned into a pretty expansive post, but I think I covered all my bases!