I too was lurking and finally took a Life Style visit in January. I had the same plan as many of you with the 3-5 outlook but, all I had to do was drive around and open my eyes. I am building a Lily in the Village of Pinellas and close at the end of May. Bottom line.....unless the builder comes up with more property you may not have 3-5 years. All I had to do is look at the massive constuction going on, look at a map to see where the village south boundry was on SR44 and made a decision. Another point especially if you wish to build....you have had many people on TOTV mentioning the fact that they will be building more spec homes. I've heard the same from a few sales agents (this is after I informed them I bought a lot). Rumor has it about 5000 spec homes, sounds like a hell of a lot but considering last year they sold over 2800 new homes, you do the math. So BRING YOUR CHECKBOOK and decide on a model you like. Stretch it out as much as possible and hopefully you find a lot it will fit on. The sales agent can help you with this.

Well.. happy to say the house is now under a P&S
 

And so we are moving to the next step by renting an apartment. Picked a place that will cut our commute times in half. Of course we are reducing our living space by over a half and so we are selling stuff on Craig's list and having yard sales. I rented a storage unit to help manage the process.

When we go for a Lifestyle visit this Fall we'll just have to see. I have a hard time buying new and then renting it out for a few years. All those dings and wear and tear by tenants and so when we finally settle in the newness will be gone. So maybe a resale will be be in our future. About 10 - 12 years old. Since I am handi I figure I will fix it up we we go down full time.

Again just a plan subject to revision.