What's the difference between those who say they plan to hold until retirement and then fund retirement by selling off their rentals and the guy who states that he has a one-year time horizon?  

However...in this crazy environment, I'm thrilled to be getting my full principal back with a lot of uncertain events on the horizon.  

@Drew Sygit I wouldn't necessarily agree with your last statement--real estate does not always ultimately increase in value on a long enough time horizon.

With number 5 on the horizon, is there any recourse to be aware when contacting banks/brokers? 

I have a very long-term investing horizon 

Doubt it'll stay that way on a 10-year horizon. 

And then I would ask what your investment time horizon and goals are.

Buying your primary residence now, with a long term horizon, makes sense.  

Predicting a 2x or 3x appreciation with a 10-15 year horizon seems like a bet I'd like to be on the other side of at the current moment.Buying a condo versus renting one seems like a solid plan, but in my opinion some of the critical assumptions are off.  

Many investors typically will have varying cost of funds (how they finance the investment), different investment horizon (2, 5, 10, 15 years etc.), variations in local market conditions where they invest and expected minimum rates of returns that vary.