did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

[jimnang]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

One way to maybe have the best of both worlds may be a Reverse Mortgage. You get money each month instead of paying, keep your home (paying only taxes, insurance and min. utilities) and can be on the road for however long you like. In some cases it won't work but it's worth looking into.

 

[onthecoach]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

I sold my house in 2005....fortunately, when the market was sizzling!!! Made enough profit to buy the new motorhome....and have been living the dream ever since. Just DO IT!! Of course, you did need to have an "EXIT PLAN"....DH has a house in CO that is rented right now....so that is our exit plan.

Hope we see you on the road!!!

 

[hamdave]

RE: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

gamblingjackt - 1/30/2008 8:19 PM My wife saids the house is her security, and is not sure. I say you only live once and you should do what you want. We been retired 2 yrs. and spent 1yr on the road and love it, each time we come home we fix up the house to sell it and then chicken out.

I am going to side with your DW. Mine feels the same way she does and so do I. We decided to 'experiment' with a used class A. I can tell you now that the 'full-timing' is not what we will do. We are still trying to figure out just how we want to do this, and at this time, we think shorter trips are probably in order. My rig is not suitable for fulltiming anyway. I have camped in tents, no-tents, and had an older class-C years ago. You can get a used rig a lot cheaper than a new one, keep it maintained yourself, and not do away with the 'stick house'. You should sit down and figure out what the overall $$/mile is, just so you have information. There are several folks on these forums who have done that and have spreadsheets available. You just change the numbers for your particular circumstance.

Good luck in your choice(s)

 

[DARLING]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Honey & I have been camping all our life together. Starting with tents(when we had little money), upgrading to pop ups(we thought we had arrived),then to our 1st class c(1 of many),then finally to a class a(3 total) to the one we have now which ws to ba our last one befor full timing. WE were ready.

We put up the house for sale, mowed the grass, cleaned the windows, and waited for buyers. Because we have a mfg home on 3 acres most people thought cheap trailer. All we got was bargain hunters and cheapos. But that's OK with the market is slip sliding lower and lower. We will just have to adjust our time line. Stuff Happens for a reason.

But for now our unit is right here, not in storage yard where vandals or varmints can attact. Honey keeps packing & unpacking the compartments for what he thinks we will need not just everything that in in the garage now. Any suggestions as to what he REALLY need to keep would be appreaciated. Thanks

Darlin

 

[DL Rupper]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Hey Darlin, wow that sounds funny. Tell him to try to sort out his tools and determine which ones he wants to keep. If he's like most men he will have 3 different tools to do the same job. If you are going to full-time he will really need to pare down the tools. Only keep the ones required to do most day-to-day jobs. I don't think he will be doing major engine overhauls on the road. Besides most RV parks are fussy about letting you do much repair work on engines and the like. Most flat don't allow it.

Since you have been camping you will already have a good idea of what you need as far as hoses, extension cords, surge protectors, autoformers, electrical adaptors, water filters, etc. go.

I carry a 12 V and 115 V air compressor for maintaining my tires. I check the air pressure every time I move. It's much easier to pump the tires up at the camp site if you lose pressure or the temperature radically changes from summer to winter, if parked very long.

Small vacuums/shop vac's come in handy. I even carry a little green Bissell machine made for shampooing upholstery. Works great for doing my carpet by hand.

I'm sure you will get lots of ideas.

 

[DARLING]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Thanks DL
He already has the compressor. He has a thing about tires & their pressure. Both on the RV & the car. Hose is even long enough to reach the car when it is on the dolly to check its tire too. Safety First.
WE have 3 fire extinguisher inside the RV & 2 more in the compartment & 1 even in the car.

I will keep checking back for more helpful tips.
Darlin

 

[DARLING]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Oh I forgot to ask.
A masherator(?) for the sewer. Good thing? or something esle to go wrong?

Darlin

 

[karyljm]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Sell it and when you get tired of full timing then just buy another one, by then you probaly will want something smaller anyways. Of course it depends on where your house is. If you are in most states you might not get your moneys worth right now :bleh:

 

[brenboy]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Hi: I hope someone reads this. We are losing our beautiful 3 BR/3BA home in La Jolla, a very rich community in San Diego, and losing the two condos we've been renting. We got some bad advice from a financial planner who said we really needed to use the equity in our home and buy a second condo--almost immediately after the purchase the market started to nose-dive, and now we are way over extended, and the market is dropping like a rock. Each condo has lost over $100,000 value, and they are negative amortization. We screwed up big time. We are looking in to getting a really nice 5th Wheel to live in at a couple of nice campgrounds here in San Diego. We have a friend (husband & wife & 2 little kids) and they thought the market was about to crash, so two years ago they sold their condo banked the money and started full timing in a 5th Wheel, which they've been doing for over two years now, saving a lot of money every month. Now that the real estate market has hit near bottom, they're looking to buy another home which will be must cheaper than two years ago. They were very smart. If we move into a 5th Wheel or Toy Hauler full time, we'll also start saving a lot of money, and could save a lot. I want any thoughts and advice and suggestions from others who can tell us what we're getting ourselves into, what we should be aware of, and what things would be best to consider so the transition is smoother. I'm pretty well set on a model that has the extra half bath, and after reading an RV magazine, realize I need a converter or something so I can watch TV without running the generator. Please help with any thoughts. I appreciate any input. Mark.

 

[quantoson]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

brenboy,

A converter to watch TV? If your in a RV park, it won't be needed. If your talking about dry camping, at state or US forest service, don't expect to be able to stay for more than 14 days. As for saving money......not really unless you have enough to pay cash. It sounds that your credit may be less than favorable right now and chances of financing an RV might be slim. If you can find financing, then there is the RV park rent with electric bill which in you area runs about 400 to 600 per month for rent and electric. Then add everything you have to put into storage and that cost as well.

Then there is the propane you will use, for the stove and maybe the water heater. So take the hard costs, finance payment, rents, propane, electric, insurance and your maybe looking at 1400 a month real easy. A toy hauler for your belongings, well there are a lot out there but remember that space in the toy hauler cuts down on livable area. And most RV parks won't allow a bunch of toys around the trailer. And many parks now won't allow any RV over 10 years old unless it is in very good conditionor for a short stay.

RVing is not really a cheap way to hobo. If I wanted to save money I would live with relatives and pay rent to them..it helps them and you. And you better love your partner a lot. We see quite a few family campers who are doing what you want to do. They really have a difficult time during this transition period. People have to enjoy Rving to have a good time. If you do it because you have to, well it's like a job...... it has its consequences.

Your fiends banked the money, meaning they most likely bought the RV cash. And then saved money by RV-ing. Their situation is much more different than yours.

Good Luck

 

[jlhallgren]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Hello
This is my 1st time on the forum & have been reading some of the remarks, picked out yours to reply to as you sound so positive.
We just sold our house so now we have to quickly buy a MH, pack up & put things in a storage unit before we get on the road.
We will buy a beaver, Newmar or Monaco but after we find one we will be needing some help to know what to do. Would you be willing to give us advise ?
Thanks
Joyce L Hallgren

 

[KateyJ]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

This is a fascinating thread -- my kids and I are getting ready to make the leap into the unknown in a new (to us) diesel dually truck and a 37 foot 5th wheel. We agree we'll give it 6 months to a year before we decide we're "full time" or not. I have agonized over whether to sell our house or rent it out. I agree with "engineer dude" in that we have been able to buy our rig without selling our house (although that leaves with a VERY SLIM margin for emergencies..). The market is so rotten right now that I imagine our house could sit for months without selling, I'll lose a lot of the $$ I put into it, and I'd have to be coming back to make sure all was okay...but, if I can get it rented out soon, then I have some income to help pad our emergency fund and I can maybe "wait out" the housing slump for a few years. I've been a long-distance landlord (lady) before, so know what that's like. Then, since we are greener than green at this, we also will have a net to land in, in case full time on the road is not what we are hoping it will be.

It's been a long time since I've been so excited and scared at the same time. So much to learn, having never towed more than a popup trailer with a minivan...these forums are terrific. Thank you! Joy, 2 middle-schoolers, 2 dogs, one cat, only one lucky dog will get to stay with us...

 

[The Englishman]

RE: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Who says you have to have a US bank account?

Lots of other places paying higher interest rates and total flexibility. Everything is electronic and efficient.

I spent a year here without one and only needed it cos of my business stuff otherwise I wouldnt have bothered

 

[DL Rupper]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Hey KateyJ, give it 18 mos before you make a decision about full-timing. It takes a least that long before you get out of the old routine and can make an unemotional decision. It is scary when you really get out on the road and move around allot. You never know where you are going to end up for the night. But, after doing it for awhile you start to relax and enjoy.

We sold our house and took off on the road, so we didn't have any other choice, but to stay RVing as we didn't have enough money left to buy another house. For us it turned out to be a great 14 years full-timing. However, in our travels we have come across quite a few disgruntled full-timers that wished they hadn't sold out to go on the road. My advice since the home market is so bad is to hang on to you home as long as you can or until you know full-timing is the right choice for you.

 

[KateyJ]

RE: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

DL, good advice again, thanks! I'm realizing that I really don't feel ready yet to sell my house, and the market is pretty bad anyway. So, I'm working on getting it ready to rent out for the time being. Now, while that means we have a place to come back to, we still have to get rid of a ton of stuff, pack up everything, and even though we have a place to come back to, we won't be able to do that for at least a year.

This house is far too big (and too expensive) for us to keep, anyway, but my hope is that in another two years, the market will be better, and we'll have a little income in the meantime as well as the "safety net".

We go to pick up our trailer in mid-June, and I will be juggling getting the house rented and emptied out with getting the trailer packed and ready for a real departure. There's a state park and lake about 45 minutes from us that we'll use as our base for much of the summer. Low rates and full-time camp hosts who have promised to help this newbie!

KateyJ

 

[ticktock]

Re: did you make a mistake selling the house to go full timming?

Home is where your heart is!!! :blush: