Don't sell your property/home... - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Don't sell your property/home...

Dog Folks · RV-Dreams Family Member

Your opinion and experience.

Not mine.

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dog Folks wrote:
Your opinion and experience.

Not mine.

You haven't finished experiencing yet, Dog.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

We had no interest in keeping our home. It was close to work, but not family. It was also expensive to own, the costs would have caused us to come off the road after a few years. Even without going fulltime we would have moved somewhere else. After 10 years on the road we still have no good idea of where we would land, but it would not be in the Seattle area where our home was.

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

bjoyce wrote:
We had no interest in keeping our home. It was close to work, but not family. It was also expensive to own, the costs would have caused us to come off the road after a few years. Even without going fulltime we would have moved somewhere else. After 10 years on the road we still have no good idea of where we would land, but it would not be in the Seattle area where our home was.

Ah ..but, you're thinking of landing, Joyce.

'Do it' before the money runs out.

Bill and Jodee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Happy New Year Millie,

I think one "clincher" is that your property was paid for when you sold it. That is a rare circumstance these days and thus the property becomes more of a burden than a joy. We knew when we bought our home three years ago we would never pay it off and had no plan to keep it when we went fulltime. So for us the sale will be just part of the plan. I imagine for many the real challenge comes from being between you and me - with a lot invested and a lot left to pay for. Cost of living and weather play a part as well as health and family circumstances.

Like every other topic covered on this forum, the answers are different for every other person. One person's regret is another person's dream realized. Certainly if someone is currently in the situation you were in at the time you sold, it is worthwhile to carefully consider their decision to sell and to listen to your experience without dismissing it out-of-hand. I'm sure we can all look back at a situation where we wish we had listened to that person with more experience......check out your hair in your Freshman yearbook picture!

I'm glad you took the time to express your regrets and suspect you'll even feel better having shared it

. Now that it's been said you can move on and embrace the adventure of finding a new property.

"Don't look back, you aren't going that way."

Jodee

2riker2go · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dog Folks wrote:
Your opinion and experience.

Not mine.

Yes I agree. Sorry that it worked out that way for you Millie, but everyone is different. Yes, we also think of settling down somewhere someday. But if we hadn't sold our house, we wouldn't be living this great life of travel and exploration. We would still be stuck in NY, "enjoying" below zero temps and spending 40+ hours a week working at jobs we didn't want to be working at to pay for a mortgage on a house we didn't want to live in anymore. So for us, selling the house was the way to go.

Bill and Jodee · RV-Dreams Family Member

I just noted that I was born on your birthday, five years later.

So "you go first" and I'll learn from it

.......

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

No, we are not thinking of landing anytime in the next few years. But we have had enough friends and relatives that have had medical or other surprises that we keep it in mind, just in case. We have kept the money safe for another place, including current prices.

Holding onto your property all those years would have cost you money, for taxes, etc. The log home would needed upkeep, houses fall apart if left alone. There would have been some yard work, just to maintain access to the home. You would have had to make trips there to check on it, miles and time. How much less money would you have now if you kept the place? You would have less.

-- Edited by bjoyce on Saturday 4th of January 2014 12:38:49 PM

French Bikers · RV-Dreams Family Member

To start I would say I understand your point of view about the present value of the property you sold years ago. In my case I've been planning going FT many years ago and the dream is getting closer. I've owned 4 houses in my life, each time I was buying low and work on the house to sell with profit thinking about the purchase of my RV. You are right FT is like everything else in life meaning there's an end, my decision is already made I will sell the house I'm living in right now, will I have regret I don't think so because it will have help me live my dream and a way of living. The way I see it, is when you're getting older you want to enjoy more than having to take care of a property. My goal is to FT as a way of life, if for whatever reason I can no longer travel I will settled down somewhere. I can't predict the future but let me tell you that I will do everthing to acheive that moment I've been waiting and working for. FT is more than a two weeks trip it is a way of life, I might FT 2-5 or 10 years but I know it is for me and won't regret it. I don't think you were thinking of today when you sold your property, therefore I don't agree with your message "Don't sell your house". The majority is selling because they need the $$$$ to buy their RV, many are selling because they want their mind free, it is a personnal choice. Because of those two reasons I intend to sell my house therefore I don't agree with your advise.

BTW don't regret, you probably had a lot of fun during those years maybe it is time to move on and make other plans and decisions.

Good luck in your future
Jean

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

We sold ours - no way did we want to end up in NH with long cold gray winters - and were full timers for 11 years. Ten years in our current coach and 1 year in our first 30 footer with no slides.

We did however have an exit plan.
We put all of the proceeds from the home sale away for when we decided to get off the road. We were able to pay cash for our motor homes from existing cash reserves and still had a substantial amount left in addition to the home sale proceeds.
Although we never considered ourselves as being "made of money" we probably fall into your definition of that state.

We made the decision to leave the full time life two summers ago when we bought a home in CO. We were able to pay cash for it.

I do agree with what you say if all of the money from selling your house is used to finance your full timing lifestyle and you have no viable exit strategy.

I have friends in that boat. They financed a new motor home for 20 years and folded the unpaid portion of a loan on their last motor home into the loan on the new one. That was 11 years ago and they are still owe much more on it than it is worth.
Health issues are now forcing them off the road and they are staying in two rooms of a duplex rented in conjunction with their daughter. It is way too cold there to live in the motor home.
I suspect they will let the motor home be repossessed and stay with her as long as possible, then go into public assisted living.

I suspect the reality of the situation is now being felt by them but they still seem to be happy with having those years on the road.

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sure.. if you have a paid for gem of land that is dear to your heart AND you don't need the money out of it move on to your next life adventure AND it's where you might reasonably want to return to in the future - it makes sense to keep it.

That's not true for everyone however. And there's no right or wrong answer to this question, it's a personal one that we each must assess for ourselves.

I had property with a mortgage greater than the value of my home after the market crashed, and higher upkeep costs than anything I could have offset by renting it out. And, it's in an area I have little interest in returning to. I was already on a path of moving to another area of the country because the area no longer served my needs. So your advice would have made no sense for my situation.

I fully trust that the right opportunity will present itself to be exactly where I'm meant to be at any point in my life. I have no regrets for the past, and look to how to bring the greatest amount of joy to the future.

I truly hope you're able to find your joy in wherever your adventures take you.

- Cherie

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill and Jodee wrote:
Happy New Year Millie,

I think one "clincher" is that your property was paid for when you sold it. That is a rare circumstance these days and thus the property becomes more of a burden than a joy. We knew when we bought our home three years ago we would never pay it off and had no plan to keep it when we went fulltime. So for us the sale will be just part of the plan. I imagine for many the real challenge comes from being between you and me - with a lot invested and a lot left to pay for. Cost of living and weather play a part as well as health and family circumstances.

Like every other topic covered on this forum, the answers are different for every other person. One person's regret is another person's dream realized. Certainly if someone is currently in the situation you were in at the time you sold, it is worthwhile to carefully consider their decision to sell and to listen to your experience without dismissing it out-of-hand. I'm sure we can all look back at a situation where we wish we had listened to that person with more experience......check out your hair in your Freshman yearbook picture!

I'm glad you took the time to express your regrets and suspect you'll even feel better having shared it . Now that it's been said you can move on and embrace the adventure of finding a new property.

"Don't look back, you aren't going that way."

Jodee

Happy New Year, Jodee!

Well. I felt obligated to tell of my experience, Jodee ...as it is very devastating, and wouldn't want anyone else to go through it.

It's true ..the land was paid-off.

I lived off the sale of that property for years and years ...until the money ran out because of enterprise failure.

Now that I'm older, I want to own a piece of ground to stand on in my old age. - Apartment living, subdivision living is not for me, having to deal with noisy neighbors.

...living in the middle of a minimum 5 acre property ...there's no problem from neighbors.

Yearning,

Millie

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

I didn't expect so many responses!

I'll come back to answer the rest of you's later!

Happy New Year!

Millie

jrzygrl64 · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree this, like all others involved in following ones dreams, is very personal to each persons or couples situation.

Bill and I own our home - no mortgage. We have paid cash for our truck and 5er. IF I thought we might like to live where our current home is again someday, I would consider keeping it, however, I am not emotionally attached to the house or the area, therefore it is being sold. Our hope is to sell the house, add that money to the current "bank" and (at least mostly) support ourselves on it. We will not be rich ($$ wise anyways), but we will be ok. If needed (and I am sure it will be) we will do some type of workamping, be it camp host, Amazon for a seaon, whatever to supplement. I believe with my whole heart that what we will not have in $$ will more than be made up for with the freedom and time and being together that giving up the house will help allow.

I respect everyone's opinion, yours included Millie, and I especially respect your voice of experience, I just don't see that applying to us at this time. Everyone has to make the best decisions they can where they are in their life with the best info they have at that moment. I am sure you did that at the time when you sold your house, and I am sorry that you regret that decision today. Maybe that voice of experience will help someone else avoid feeling that way down the road, which is part of the beauty of this forum. Voices of experience have caused me to reconsider selling my car (admittedly a much smaller decision), so when something does apply to my situation, I do listen and appreciate that someone said something which makes me say maybe my initial thought process wasn't right.

Good luck on your search for a new place to settle down.

Kelly

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill and Jodee wrote:
Happy New Year Millie,

I think one "clincher" is that your property was paid for when you sold it. That is a rare circumstance these days and thus the property becomes more of a burden than a joy. We knew when we bought our home three years ago we would never pay it off and had no plan to keep it when we went fulltime. So for us the sale will be just part of the plan. I imagine for many the real challenge comes from being between you and me - with a lot invested and a lot left to pay for. Cost of living and weather play a part as well as health and family circumstances.

Like every other topic covered on this forum, the answers are different for every other person. One person's regret is another person's dream realized. Certainly if someone is currently in the situation you were in at the time you sold, it is worthwhile to carefully consider their decision to sell and to listen to your experience without dismissing it out-of-hand. I'm sure we can all look back at a situation where we wish we had listened to that person with more experience......check out your hair in your Freshman yearbook picture!

I'm glad you took the time to express your regrets and suspect you'll even feel better having shared it . Now that it's been said you can move on and embrace the adventure of finding a new property.

"Don't look back, you aren't going that way."

Jodee

ps. Regarding enterprise failure:

A friend and I had a choice of 2 investments.

#1 ...To buy a Hotel at Coco Beach, Costa Rica.

#2 ...To tow specialty cars from California to Costa Rica. - Cars are hugely expensive down there.

We picked the specialty car idea.

...long story short ...what a flop!

Money Gone!

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Millie: It seems that the problem in your case was not having an "exit" plan. I would agree that it is not a good plan to take your nest egg and live off of it until it is gone. We went apartment, house, mobile home on a rented space, house, mobile home on acre, fulltime in RV park, house (cash purchase), fulltime in RV park, house (cash purchase), house (cash purchase, and are now looking to return to an RV. No regrets except buying this last house because the plan fell through to find a program for our adult son with DS but good thing is that now, he will stay with us until we are no longer able to care for him which he wants more than anything else. It was funny because all the "stuff" that went into storage was only a burden that limited our choices while looking for another place to put it in.

We met the most lovely couple in their 80's that were living in an older HR TT when we were in AL staying in an RV park. They had traveled and so enjoyed visiting with others and their little lot was filled with flower pots. Another man, in his 70's, was living in his motorhome and working for the park and still took the motorhome out a couple times a year to visit family. In AZ, we met couples that had set up their RVs to live out of in parks. They liked the security of having others around them, people that cared enough to help out and check on them. I've met so many wonderful and delightful people.

I have a friend, now 71 years old, and she and her husband put off travel but had finally bought a used truck and 5th wheel to snowbird for the winter. Her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and now, they have sold the truck/trailer and must sell their home, one they have been in for over 40 years. The cost of maintenance and taxes are too much for them. They will be moving into income adjusted senior housing so even the best plans can get hopeless kinks. I can tell you that this woman with her strong faith in God marches on accepting all the challenges that she has faced and will face. She is a master of making lemonade out of lemons.

We sold a house in 2000 and now it worth 3 times what we sold it for. No sour grapes here. Life marches on.

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

You must also consider how much will cost to keep your S&B home for all the years you fulltime. Remember, as the property value escalates so does insurance and property tax. Of course you could rent it out while you're gone but then you'd have to pay someone to manage the property while you're away, repair damage caused by renters, pay for insurance, repairs, the utility bills while it's vacant. Plus most insurance policies won't cover a vacant property (plus insurance and taxes is more if you are renting the property than if you are living in it.) I don't know where you live, but in Louisiana where insurance costs are high ( due to hurricanes, floods, etc.) the property tax and insurance add up to about 5% of the value of the property yearly, plus you have the upkeep expenses, such as grass cutting, repairs, etc. If you could limit this to 1% per year you're still looking at a 6% alligator - or $30,000 per year out-of-pocket to keep that $500,000 property. That's about what I plan on living on in retirement. If I chose to keep my property what would I live off of?

True, the value of land typically appreciates, but the value of any structure depreciates over time. To many it makes more sense financially to sell your property (or in my case file for bankruptcy as I couldn't afford to keep my alligator of a S&B home) and invest any profits you might have. If you are afraid that the land prices might rise to an unaffordable level, you could always invest the sale proceeds (if any) into the financial vehicle of your choice or buy a pocket full of gold coins which they can't tax yearly (and there's no need to insure) like your land and house. And if history is any indication of future value the price of gold should inflate at least the same as the price of your land - especially since there's no taxes coming out of the inflated price each year.

Right now I'm living in a rented mobile home on a nice piece of property in the country for less than half of what it cost me to live in my old S&B home. Why would I want to buy anything when I can rent so cheaply? I could live in a fulltime RV parked in a RV park for even less. Besides your needs and desires will most likely change over time and if you do decide to buy something later (and spend far more to live in it) at least you can make that decision then, buying a house the size and location you desire at the time, not something in a place you don't want to retire in at a size that was once suitable to raise a family, but will be far too big for a retired couple (or God forbid, an aging widow/widower) to clean and care for, heat, cool, insure, pay taxes on, etc. IMHO

Chip

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

HHHHmmmmm................I intend on using the same exit plan I had in the S&B.......good Life insurance...good burial insurance.....and a massive heart attack the day it gets to tough!!!!!!!

Jake62 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Millie,

I, like the others, appreciate your point of view. But it's more of a financial planning issue rather than simply keeping your residence and hitting the road. We sold our house in Tucson this last summer and are not looking back since it was larger than we wanted without our kids, even if one day we return to Tucson. We plan to use the proceeds from our house to purchase a DP; however, we have other money for whenever we decide to purchase another property, wherever that may be.

The financial issue is what you did with the proceeds of your residence once you sold, since the money could have been invested in the S&P 500, which averaged around 10% for the last 25-year period, and your $25,000 investment would now be around $367,000. Yes, not the $500,000 that the property is now worth, but remember, you're not paying property taxes, insurance, fire, renovation, utilities, and maintenance on the property this entire time. In addition, had you kept that property, what money would you have lived off, since you stated above that you lived off the proceeds of this property for years?

No one ever will claim that buying a depreciating asset like a MH or 5er is a good investment, but to say someone should not sell their property is not only a personal choice, but really a financial planning decision, wherein other financial avenues can be explored for an eventual successful exit plan, if applicable. Four years ago, my DW & I celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Hawaii and spent a considerable sum. We'll never see a nickel back on our investment, except for a lifetime of memories. We look forward to making more memories when we hit the road.

Good luck in locating a future property.

Tim

-- Edited by Jake62 on Saturday 4th of January 2014 08:13:54 PM

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

At my age I have yet to find my place I call home. Born overseas, raised on military installations all over the place, built, bought and sold 6 houses in 25 years of living in the same 500 mile square, I'll chance finding a place called home. Home is our 5'er and whatever neighborhood we happen to be in. Our exit plan is to pass awhile quietly while our passengers are screaming!

PIEERE · RV-Dreams Family Member

When I was younger and got married the dream of the log home after the kids were grown and the investment home sold for more than we paid! Life dealt me no roses, but the stuff that stinks sure found me! Well No more Wife; no more kids and lived in an RV since 1994 I wouldn't know how to live in a S&B and wouldn't want the upkeep and taxes.
How does that song go; "Go your own Way". I am with Lucky Mike; Good life insurance and a final exit plan! But until that time I love the feeling of moving the scenery in my back yard whenever I get the urge. I had a Severe Heart Attack 18 months back and when the next Big One comes; I may just stay home instead of seeking medical help. I am not saying I'm in any hurry for an Exit; but I sure don't want to have to go through the struggling and grief again!!!! I have an appointment with the VA Cardiologist The 15th and I also am going to do the Final Exit paperwork should something unexpected happens.
I'm 62 and owning a S&B sounds like a rude joke to me now! I have even been offered Low-Income housing for the disabled; which would be cheaper than living in the RV and paying the rent and utilities. I have to be comfortable settling in a community and I don't believe I have been doing a good job with that! LOL! Big Wheels; Keep on Turning; Rolling On! Just my 2 cents for what it's worth!
PIEERE

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

2riker2go wrote:
Dog Folks wrote:
Your opinion and experience.

Not mine.
Yes I agree. Sorry that it worked out that way for you Millie, but everyone is different. Yes, we also think of settling down somewhere someday. But if we hadn't sold our house, we wouldn't be living this great life of travel and exploration. We would still be stuck in NY, "enjoying" below zero temps and spending 40+ hours a week working at jobs we didn't want to be working at to pay for a mortgage on a house we didn't want to live in anymore. So for us, selling the house was the way to go.

I think the key word here is ‘temporary’, Striker.

Quote …”be living this great life of travel and exploration.”

I’m right with you on ‘that one’ Striker’! - I had a ‘fantastic’ time traveling and exploring!

…but we must remember that the RV life is ‘temporary’ for most people ..not ‘forever’.

…you’ll want to put your feet on the ground ‘quite a few years’ before they rest your tired old wrinkly carcass in a hole somewhere.

‘Peace’ is all you'll want in your last few years …so get in an assured position 'now' to have enough money to be able to achieve that goal.

When you're 90 to 100 years old, you're not going to be wanting to deal with an unruly inconsiderate neighbor.

In an apartment building, you've got 4 individual chances of being harassed. - The people on either side of you, and the people above/below you.

'Unless you're lucky' the odds of not getting unnecessarily harassed by 1 of the 4 entities is slim. - 'Luck' ? ...whoever has that!?

Yuh! 40+ hours a week working at jobs you didn't want in the first place would really suck!

…especially having to do that in subzero temperatures part of the year.

Edit by moderator: Removed gif. Terry

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill and Jodee wrote:
I just noted that I was born on your birthday, five years later.

So "you go first" and I'll learn from it .......

Thanks a lot!

Camper Chronicles · RV-Dreams Family Member

Millie wrote:

I think the key word here is ‘temporary’, Striker.
Quote …”be living this great life of travel and exploration.”
I’m right with you on ‘that one’ Striker’! - I had a ‘fantastic’ time traveling and exploring!
…but we must remember that the RV life is ‘temporary’ for most people ..not ‘forever’.
…you’ll want to put your feet on the ground ‘quite a few years’ before they rest your tired old wrinkly carcass in a hole somewhere.
‘Peace’ is all you'll want in your last few years …so get in an assured position 'now' to have enough money to be able to achieve that goal.
When you're 90 to 100 years old, you're not going to be wanting to deal with an unruly inconsiderate neighbor.
In an apartment building, you've got 4 individual chances of being harassed. - The people on either side of you, and the people above/below you.

Hi Millie,
I read through all the posts and your replies and I can definitely feel that is your truth and I respect it. My thought was always that I'd better have kids and treat them right...because at the end no amount of money in the world will take care of you like good kids. But that's my truth and I spent 25 years of my life raising them and honestly who knows how that decision will play out in the end. After raising three teenage girls there were plenty of days when I thought I would be happier with a boat and a dog :) We all make choices ...good ones and bad ones...and we have to live with the consequences of those choices. For me I own it...my choices, my life, good or bad and one of the great things about selling my house is I don't have to do anything. I could live in it until I die or they put me in a nursing home...but I choose not to. I want to see some things before I go and I am not going to see them sitting here. All that being said, that's just me. I have a hard enough time figuring out my own choices let alone anyone else's :) Take care and I hope you get what you are looking for.

-- Edited by Trace on Sunday 5th of January 2014 07:04:43 AM

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

bjoyce wrote:
No, we are not thinking of landing anytime in the next few years. But we have had enough friends and relatives that have had medical or other surprises that we keep it in mind, just in case. We have kept the money safe for another place, including current prices.

Holding onto your property all those years would have cost you money, for taxes, etc. The log home would needed upkeep, houses fall apart if left alone. There would have been some yard work, just to maintain access to the home. You would have had to make trips there to check on it, miles and time. How much less money would you have now if you kept the place? You would have less.

-- Edited by bjoyce on Saturday 4th of January 2014 12:38:49 PM

Great to think that you'll be financially ok, Joyce!

Having to pay $265.00 a year for taxes, compared to paying 7,320.00 a year for rent?

Yes. The log home would have cost for a new shake roof every 40 years...

Well, the yard work? - I already had a lawnmower ...so 'that' chore would have been only a few penney's for gas each year.

Trips to check on the home? Well., I would have shut everything down in the home, and drained the water pipes.

Yes. With no heat in the home, it would have caused mildew to begin rotting the wood inside. - I'd only be wanting to be away for no longer than 3 months at a time.

Yes. It would have been a headache to rent it out. - Unforeseen calls of distress, if the water pump quit working, or something...

...but, despite that inconvenience, I still would have been way better-off 'not selling it' than being in the position I 'm in 'now'!

How much less money would I have now if I had've kept the place?

Not having to pay 7,320.00 a year in rent, I would have had a 'lot' more money.

Beam me up, Scotty! lol

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ok, 'next' in order of postings on my agenda, is to answer and bestow my great wisdom upon Gypsy! ...but I gotta go right now!

Over and out!

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

I guess I'm yet another one to disagree. We had a nice house in a Seattle suburb that was 5 years away from being paid off, which for us meant paid off well ahead of retirement. Our issue? We didn't want a house in a Seattle suburb with 1/2 acre of back breaking yard work, a climate with 10 months of gray sky, etc.

Life on the road for us means early retirement, yep, you read that right. We sold the house, paid off the 5'ver and truck, put extra money in the bank, took our full time jobs on the road and plan to retire early. We are building more of a nest egg on the road, we're able to contribute more $$ to our retirement funds than ever before, giving more to charity and people who really need it, and still are headed for an earlier retirement than we ever dreamed while living in a house with a 1/2 acre lot, a wonderful Mt. Rainier view but a climate that was slowly causing us to slip into a hibernation every winter.

Our exit plan may very well be a site in a park that is filled with primarily FT residents or better yet, 2 parks for 2 different seasons in different parts of the US so we can have reasonable climates year round. No one ever said retirement means you have to own a home, who cares if you are 90, living in an RV lot permanently? What is wrong with that?

BTW, this comes from someone who has watched 2 different parents become FT rv'ers, one went back to a S&B and is hating the ongoing upkeep and maintenance after quadruple bypass surgery and now hip replacement and the other parent and stepdad living in a mobile home park, single wide and living life to the fullest. Guess which lifestyle is in our future? You can very well bet it's not the homeowner situation!!

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

Having to pay $265.00 a year for taxes, compared to paying 7,320.00 a year for rent?
Yes. The log home would have cost for a new shake roof every 40 years...
Well, the yard work? - I already had a lawnmower ...so 'that' chore would have been only a few penney's for gas each year.
Trips to check on the home? Well., I would have shut everything down in the home, and drained the water pipes.
Yes. With no heat in the home, it would have caused mildew to begin rotting the wood inside. - I'd only be wanting to be away for no longer than 3 months at a time.
Yes. It would have been a headache to rent it out. - Unforeseen calls of distress, if the water pump quit working, or something...
Everyone's situation is indeed different. I had to pay more than $265/month in property taxes every single month (this is more than many RV parks charge for site rental), and that was with my homestead exemption. If I was renting the house I would not be entitled to the big homestead tax exemption and would have had to pay almost $4,700/yr in property taxes - and this was on a 40 yr old rural home on only 1/2 acre of land here in Louisiana. Add to that another $3,000/yr in homeowners insurance. In Louisiana you have to cut your grass every week or two in the summer. How could I do that if I'm several states away? Good luck getting a yard maintenance contract for less than $100/month. In addition most management companies charge 15-20% of the rent to take care of things when they break, collect the rent check, present a legal eviction notice when it bounces, advertise and show the property to new tennants, etc. You can't fix a broken water pipe, a backed up toilet or a fried circuit breaker when you're 1,000 miles away - and emergency plumbers and electricians ain't cheap. The point I'm making is that though it may work for some, keeping and renting your S&B is not for everyone.
I had to take out a second mortgage for repairs after Katrina and just the interest on my second mortgage was $800/month, not to mention the interest on my first. I doubt that my net rent would have covered the bulk of my mortgage payments - if I could keep it rented most of the time. If you had little taxes, insurance, upkeep and no mortgage to pay, then you're in a unique position, as most of us have one or even two mortgages, plus the rest.
No, for us, it makes financial sense to live the rest of our lives in an RV park, whether mobile or as a permanent resident. Many parks cost less than $300/month rent - some less than $200/month. Some offer an annual lease in the $1,800/year ($150/mo.) range when we finally settle down - water, sewage and garbage included. And many include amenities we could never afford otherwise, such as a swimming pool, free cable, free WiFi, exercise facilities, recreational facilities, etc. I think I'll happily end my life at my favorite, affordable RV park, and consider myself very fortunate indeed.
Chip

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

We haven't even started full-timing yet, but we're already thinking a little about the exit plan. In our case we're not tied to this particular location, so we're going to sell everything except a few small items. We know that we probably won't be traveling the last few years before we die, and we want to see the rest of the country before deciding where to settle down. We started out thinking that we wanted to retire somewhere here in the Ozarks, and actually spent a bit of time checking out various places before realizing that we both wanted to full-time.

One idea that we've kicked around a bit is to trade our motor home for a fifth wheel and park it at Escapees in Livingston, Texas when we get to the point where we aren't able to travel as much. The big problem with that idea, though, is that I don't like that part of Texas in the summer, and summer there is about nine months each year. Of course, as I get older maybe I'll be able to tolerate more heat.

At any rate, we know that God will provide for us and guide us, so we're not stressing about it. Now back to getting rid of stuff.

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

As they say, "Hindsight is always 20/20." Call it a exit plan or a backup plan but if you want to move forward with confidence and not end up in a tailspin, it really is the best way to go. How many have loaded down their credit cards and ruined their credit or defaulted on mortgages that in reality, they couldn't afford if they thought it through? Living for just the moment sounds exciting but what about when tomorrow comes and the cupboard is bare? People make mistakes and have regrets in all lifestyles.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

No matter how much money you have , how big your house is , how fancy your car is....We all end up in the same size hole.............and hearses dont come with luggage racks !!!!!!!!

-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Sunday 5th of January 2014 08:07:05 AM

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'll also throw in an additional consideration. As a couple that has had to "go through and dispose of" the belongings of family members that have passed on, we decided that our sons would have a lot less to try to dispose of and/or possibly argue over. Not that Jo and I have much that either of them would want. Jo was also the executor of her parent's trusts and wills and to this day, we still get letters from taxing entities such as the county where land was once owned.

Also, at one time, Jo and I owned a house and large metal shed on 5 acres. That 5 acres required at least 8 hours per week to mow with a Sears tractor/mower with a 52" deck. We were glad to be rid of the property because of other things that we really wanted to do, but couldn't do. After deciding to sell the last home and buy the RV, we've decided that we will never own land again, save for the two cemetery plots that we've already purchased. Not that it is much, but I'm glad I don't have to mow those plots either.

If we have to give up the RV as a home, we will simply go back to renting someplace and not worry about it. We aren't ones that feel we "have" to have something to feel like we have a place and we've certainly never have a problem with neighbors. If we do, we will rent somewhere else.

Terry

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lucky Mike wrote:
No matter how much money you have , how big your house is , how fancy your car is....We all end up in the same size hole.............and hearses dont come with luggage racks !!!!!!!!

-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Sunday 5th of January 2014 08:07:05 AM

I'm not going in a hole and I won't detail the reasons. Everyone's situation is different. It is not "one size fit all". Everyone needs to look at their resources, abilities and limitations and make a decision from there. We have taken many calculated risks over the last 30+ years and there is a "high" in it that is probably addictive. Our plan keeps reconfiguring as we move forward. Right now with working the numbers on what we can afford, we are looking at the possibility of a park model on a purchased RV lot in AZ plus either a smaller travel trailer to be pulled by our current tow vehicle or moving up to a B+ for traveling and staying out 3 or 4 months at a time. Our only real requirement is to remain debt-free. Since we have 3 people instead of 2, we work with 150% of issues to solve. And, there is the traveling circus comprised of the 2 dogs, both seniors, and "Sparky" the supersized guinea pig, age 4 1/2 yrs.

We can all look back over the years with regrets but if you could go back and start over or make a change, look at the effects of what that actually would have entailed. We have tried a couple of times to return to a place that we had really liked and the fit wasn't there anymore.

bigboomer · RV-Dreams Family Member

Add another to the disagree and it is all a matter of personal choices. We decided about a dozen years ago that we wanted to retire early and full time rv and set our plans in motion to reach that goal. When we finally decided to pull the trigger and start this lifestyle we knew that we would be looked upon like odd balls and asked the perverbiable "how can you do that and you cannot seriously think you thought this out?"

Well we are 18 months into it after selling our house and about a year from leaving my full time employment and are loving every bit of it. Now like I said we made plans early. We saved, paid down any debt and never have lived above our means. We plan on traveling and workamping for a few years to help offset our expenses. We came to the conclusion a long time ago that GOD gave us food, clothing and shelter and the rest we have to work provide for ourselves. As Lucky Mike bascially said you cannot take the things we attain in life with us to that great house in the sky not built by hands.

Just like anything else in life we all make it what we want of it and also have to learn to live with the decisions we make or don't make.

We have no regrets.

Millie we do wish you all the best with all your future endeavors.

Les

Bill and Jodee · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm often fasinated but seldom surprised by us humans. What a great way to start a new year, looking at decisions we've made, sharing regrets or confirming celebrations, questioning if we will still feel that way in years to come.......and mostly concluding that life is what we make it today.

Agree or disagree, we can thank Millie for the reflection. For those of us who still have our S&B homes hers is a position we seldom see here and provides a reality that exists for at least one person with experience.

What I most take away from this thread is that no level of disagreement is higher than the level of good wishes and concern for a happy outcome from all the contributors

.

Good stuff fellow humans!

Jodee

PIEERE · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jodee; You can say that again!!! Still regretting the decisions we made in our earlier life keeps us stuck in the same place. I like to think that even with all the maladies that happened through my life happened for a reason and i must keep thinking positive and live the rest of the few years as the best and try and make them the greatest years!
I wish every one the the best of life no matter what decision they choose! PIEERE

sologal · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Millie, I understand your point of view and I hope you know how lucky you are to be physically able to still want to live in a no neighbors situation. I myself am very much like you in I will never live in the city or an apartment. Unlike you however I will never come back to a house and yard with all its work. I am relatively young [51] and have lived a life of rving of some sort for many years and I am with mike on this one. My mother died at 52 [ my father was 63] and they were just about to travel [rv style], but 4 months later she was gone. I learned right then and their that tomorrow does not come for ALL of us. I camped, travelled and have lived a lifetime of memories with my partner of 32 yrs. She is only 65 and has only a few more months to live. After her 1st round of cancer 4 yrs ago we were again on the road across all of Canada and I am so glad we have never "waited" to do anything that was important to us. You see an exit plan and money has its purpose for some but not all, some of us will live a happy paupers life [or wealthy for some] and experience what comes our way with open arms until the end. The end just comes a lot quicker than peoples plans sometimes so the enjoyment at having experienced some of life's joys and scenery now is well worth it to many of us. So I will be travelling solo in spring but I will not have regrets that my partner missed all of this because we did travel and had a wonderful life together. Had I waited until retirement I would have many regrets at the loss of our dreams. If my house sells good, if not I am still off in spring and will not be returning to this residence ever and I may end up in Yellowknife for all I know but I will cross that bridge at a later date. So opposite to Millie's experience I hope those of you preparing to go fulltime do so with wide eyed excitement and zest for the upcoming travels of your life. Plan, yes if you need to but don't take to long to get every single detail in tact as time is fleeting and even a short time on the road with the one you love or solo seeing the beauty of this world will be well worth the memories you gain, and in the end that is all many of us will have. Happy New Year too ALL of you!!!

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

To each his own.....some sell everything, some rent storage containers, it's all good....

bigredoes · RV-Dreams Family Member

I read the whole thread......but have nothing to add as I am nowhere near old enough to tell everyone else how to live their lives....

Dog Folks · RV-Dreams Family Member

bigredoes wrote:
I read the whole thread......but have nothing to add as I am nowhere near old enough to tell everyone else how to live their lives....

X2 Well said.

Russ Ranger · RV-Dreams Family Member

Millie,

I have to give it to you for beginning a great discussion.

As would be expected the majority doesn't quite see their exit plan the way it turned out for you. It appears that now you have regrets about having stepped into the RV lifestyle and having tried a financial endeavor that failed leaving you in a undesired financial position.

I'm not sure which of the two actions led to your present situation.

I spent my working years owning businesses and taking risks. A lot of them didn't go the way I had planned. But I understood that with each risk there was a possibility of failure or gain.

Now that we have entered the retirement years we have made the choice to lead a very different lifestyle. That choice does not come without risk. We would rather look back and say we tried rather than to not have tried.

In one of your early posts you wrote to Bill Joyce:

"Ah ..but, you're thinking of landing, Joyce.
'Do it' before the money runs out."

My plan includes not running out of money.

For many of us an "Exit Plan" is in place. That may be because we know from our experience that things don't always go as planned.

It would appear to me that you did not weigh the risks before taking either actions. At least we can all now learn from your experience. Thank you for your post.

Selah · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have an exit plan. Mine is to die in a strange bed at the age of 85, shot by a 19 year old jealous husband. That would only work if DW didn't shoot me first. I do have a fall back plan though.

Every ones situation is different and no one plan fits all but the OP's post is a lesson for those that might be thinking of jumping in without any planning for the future. It is going to happen to as all that at some point that we will no longer be able to travel and we'll have to decide where were are going to take up a permanent stationary home. The question them becomes not only where but how are you going to do that.

manycats · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have two choices: I can die at my desk working to pay my S&B house and utilities or I can die while sitting in a beautiful place watching fauna and flora. Either way I'll be a goner.

Sure, I'd like to be comfortable until I go, but life does not provide any guarantees. I learned as a child to appreciate whatever I had and I try to live that way, if I end up a bag lady pushing all my possessions in a shopping cart, I'll try to find the best spot under a bridge.

Everybody makes BIG mistakes at some point in their lives but you can't go back to fix them. Regrets don't turn back time (at least until we discover time travel) so it's better to ignore them. There are hundreds of old sayings that tell the same thing, even a more modern one: "What, me worry?"

el Rojo and Pam · RV-Dreams Family Member

Russ Ranger wrote:

Now that we have entered the retirement years we have made the choice to lead a very different lifestyle. That choice does not come without risk. We would rather look back and say we tried rather than to not have tried.

Well said Russ. Thanks for the encouragement. I actually said the same thing to Pam last weekend.

Russ Ranger · RV-Dreams Family Member

Here's the bare facts: My wife Terri is in remission from Non Hodgkins Lymphoma and I had open heart surgery in April 2013. She's 60 and I'm 62. You don't see these things coming.

What's the really big risk in life?

Not following your dreams just as soon as you can. There are no "Do Overs" in life. We started our DREAM the first day we could and we will never regret or look back.

Life is very good and we are blessed to be living our dream.

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

It would be far too much to reply back to all of you.

...but, I wouldn't count on 'on-the-road' employment so you don't deplete your money.

I tried that 'prospective business' idea and went belly up into severe impoverishment.

I would like to sail across the Pacific - in a liveaboard sailboat - (had one, one time) to explore Australia. But, I realize 'now' that at age 64 'security' is most important to me first. - An acreage for me to live my dying days peacefully on, unperturbed.

If my sail dream doesn't materialize after that hard-earned purchase of land, I won't much care, because with each year that goes by now, I feel less and less inclined to be jostled around anyway.

Leave me to my forest and happy woodland creatures. :)

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

Russ Ranger wrote:
Here's the bare facts: My wife Terri is in remission from Non Hodgkins Lymphoma and I had open heart surgery in April 2013. She's 60 and I'm 62. You don't see these things coming.

What's the really big risk in life?

Not following your dreams just as soon as you can. There are no "Do Overs" in life. We started our DREAM the first day we could and we will never regret or look back.

Life is very good and we are blessed to be living our dream.

Very well said.......wishing you many years of good health and adventure.....

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ditto, Gene!

Sherry

bigredoes · RV-Dreams Family Member

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did."