Your father-in-law would be the first place I'd start since he may have friends who've retired and gotten past their home shop days.
You're at the right place to discuss needs and what machines would be best. We all love to help folks figure this stuff out and members here span the range from mini through full industrial. The PM machines have a good reputation and consensus is you won't be disappointed. But since you started out looking at a 12" lathes you might want to consider which machines would give that and fit your space....
John
Getting to know people who have machines has been a huge help for me. Once you get to know people it seems like stuff is popping up all the time. People get a new machine and need to sell the old, have a machine that they just don't use anymore and want to make some room or they know somebody who has a machine to sell. Ebay and CL are kind of a pain and who wants a bunch of strangers nosing around their shop, so if they can sell privately through word of mouth it is better for all involved.
About half of the machines I have, either came to me directly from somebody that I know, or because somebody I know, knew a guy that was selling. The rest were either purchased new or I found them on CL.
There are other reasons to consider a 12-13" swing lathe, in general they use standardized chuck mounts (D1-4 mount has a wide selection of chucks and easier to mount), holders (BXA) and tooling like standard tapers. They tend to have fewer change gears and have more rigidity. Bolton makes inexpensive machines, but the few people I know that have purchased them regret the purchase due to poor functioning/quality, no post sales support and lack of replacement parts. There are two lathe suggestions that you might consider looking at, but they are a bit more:
PM-1228VF-LB https://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1228vf-lb/
EISEN 1224GH (w/o floor stand) https://eisenm.com/products/eisen-1...hp-single-phase-220v-with-floor-stand-and-dro
If you could possibly squeeze in another 5" of length you might look at the PM1127. You still have to deal with change gears but beyond the additional 1" of swing you get a larger spindle bore and a D1-4 spindle instead of the kind of funky flange system used on many of the smaller lathes including the PM1022/1030. The 1127 also has a wider bed (7" vs 5.33") than the 1022 so should be a little more rigid.
It seems my initial research was poor. I didn't even know the correct questions to ask. I'm going to go back to the drawing board, including trying to layout the workshop to find more space. I really want a QCGB. The extra width on the ways would be nice as well...... same with a D1-4 spindle.
Perhaps I should just work on getting this mill where I want it and put back some additional cash for the lathe that will work for me. It would be nice to have one piece of equipment that isn't a pile of garbage.
If we all knew everything, we wouldn't need anything on this site other than the look at what I bought and look at what I made threads.
I am a fan of smaller lathes, but a lot of that has to do with my doing mostly small work.
There are definite benefits to bigger machines than just that they are bigger. Bigger also usually comes with more features, at least for the machines that you can buy new. Vintage machines open up lot more options, and a lot more concerns.