Dreams, goal setting, and action plans play a starring role at the turn of the year. You may be considering the full time RV lifestyle. Good for you!
If you are a home owner that’s a piece of the puzzle that must be in place before you hit the road. In this short Young Fulltime RVer video I’ll share with you a few questions to ask yourself when pondering this issue.
[vimeo 8472613]
Happy New Year everyone! Be safe and dream big!!
Evanne
PS – Explore the Young Fulltime RVer page for more fulltime insight.
michael cianci
if you have never rv’ed before but had a dream about it, keep the house. if already rv’ing and love the lifestyle, ditch the house and hit the road. i sold everything and hit the road 5 yrs ago and never looked back. i am 45 and single, still work, but may retire in the next 5 yrs. for those worried about a home base and still want the rv, there are so many rv home base options around so you can have a little casita and the rv (such as escapees rv club home base options) or crf communities. as for getting sick, again escapees rv club has its famous CARE center (Continued Assistance for Retired Escapees). it like assisted living for rv’ers. you can stay long or short term. you stay in your own coach and they provide meals and basic services. some come for convelescing after an operation and leave and others come to “hang up the keys” and stay involved in the rv lifestyle with a little assistance. so if you research it, the options are out there. i personally will not have a house again. when i am done traveling, i can live in my motorhome parked permanently. happy trails!
mike cianci
99navigator/03wrangler
Evanne RV Cooking Show
Hi all – what great discussion and ideas exchanged on this post. When we set out on the road 9+ years ago we sold our house and saved a nice chuck of change in various investments. Now that houses can be found at very reasonable prices we thought we’d begin looking. But upon further thought, the idea of it all just doesn’t appeal to us, so, the RV-life it shall be…for now.
Sorry, Jallen, I’m no accounting whiz…just wanted to get some wheels turning – so to speak. HOWEVER, a very kind Marlan wrote a blog post titled “Is an RV a good investment?” and created a spreadsheet for all to see. Very illuminating!
http://www.rv52.com/2010/01/is-rv-good-investment.html
Thanks Marlan for the terrific post and spreadsheet and all for the comments…keep ‘em coming!
Evanne
Thomas Becher
Remember all GOOD things must come to an end. As we age we will not be able to continue on the road due to eyesight, arthritis,hearing ect. At that time we come off the road and need a place to stay. Will it be a familiar place, or a new strange place with more traffic than you can handle? In my travels, and i’ve been a lot of places, I guess I’ll come home to Wisconsin and the city I now live in. The traffic is getting worse,Things are getting farther apart. The weather is cold right now,but I really don’t have to go out if I don’t want to. I guess what I don’t like in my travels is the traffic and the unfamiliar surroundings, Even now a trip to the mall that used to take 10 minutes now takes 20+, but I know where it is. My house has gained 75K since I bought it whereas the Fifthwheel has lost value to the tune of 15K. You stand to loose a lot more than that in a motorhome and will you afford the tires and other repairs?
Gregg
Again, fulltiming is just that, no permanent home on a foundation. It is definately not for everybody but if you put in the time research the information you will find out that there are literally millions of folks who’s only home can be driven down the road. It’s true RV’s depreciate, so if you are looking at this as an investment stop now. It’s a lifestyle choice. A way of life. Most full size livable, fulltime styled RV’s are capable of offering anybody a surrounding comfortable enough to convalese from just about any ilness including cancer and many medical facilties offer full hookup parking so you can drive to the facility of your choice and bring home right with you. Can you imagine the cost savings if you didn’t have to be in a hotel or other living arrangement if you had to stay close to a hospital while healing. This lifestyle is not for everybody, that is true. The rest of us (me included for now) are just campers.
mrt_whit
What was this about?? sell..rent..do what your heart says. Alot of people will give you free advice. but only you know what is best for you.
Will you need to work? lots of jobs out here! dont need to work, you will have an easier time on the road.
We sold and currently are looking. we have given ourselves 5 years to find greener fiels. as of yet, we have found 2
loving life and living as free soles
Ronald
We leased out house when we hit the road in Sept. ’05. That was no problem as we have several rentals. Our daughter-in-law handles things for us. We always go back to our “home” area in the northwest for the summer because we like it there that time of year and we get to catchup with the grandkids!
I am no financial genius, but I would never consider selling real estate and putting the money into anything but a fairly conservative investment. Real estate always seems to recover and gain value, even in the worst of times. Of course, that is probably due to my “advancing” age!! Especially when an rv is a depreciating purchase. I would run all of the numbers several times to see about leasing your house first. Of course, if you know that you wouldn’t be interested in ever returning to that area as a home base or in advancing age, that is something else.
We are currently exploring areas for a winter base, especially with real estate prices down right now. We’re certainly not ready to stop traveling, but the depressed prices is making it too attractive not to look.
So, we probably aren’t “fulltimers” by many people’s definition of it!! I call ourselves “fulltime travelers,” since we don’t hang out in any one place much more than 2-5 weeks!
Bruce & Chris
KEEP THE HOUSE!
From a financial point of view, your RV is depreciating, your house is appreciating.
From a practical point of view, you must be realistic and understand that —- happens. What if, one of you become seriously ill? Would you really want to be living in you RV while convalescing from an illness such as cancer? I would not. I would imagine most of us would be forced to sell their RV and their dreams with it. Why not have the best of both worlds. That way you can have a “home base” to recooperate until your ready to hit the road again.
No matter what, sooner or later you will no longer be able to, or no longer desire to live/travel in an RV. Then you can sell your RV and return to your happy home.
Gregg
I have been researching the possibilities of full timing for some time now and am a few years from making that decision, but from everything I have read it seems that becoming a full timer is just that, going out full time, no sticks and bricks. I can understand having a place to store the stuff that you can’t take with you but it seems that most just come back and sell or give away what’s left.
Jallen Martin
I expected to hear something a bit more substantive; like the tax implications of keeping the real estate, along with some sample calculations. Or a spreadsheet showing an example of the time value of a real estate mortgage versus exercising a chattel an RV, or how to compute the residual value of the investment of one versus the other.
This was a pretty lightweight review of all the things everyone surely considers anyway. Sorta like the recipe for an omelette. Sorry, Evane, but was looking for more meat
Herb and Ardy Jones
Watch the real estate markets! We sold our house at a peak and are now ( 3 years of full-time) watching for a fovorable purchase for down the road. We are also shopping markets in places we like as we travel as we would not return to where we were.
Mike Hammer
We are a older couple having to make the same decision and it is a hard one to make after so many years in a house. The suggestion that you try full time for a year and then make the decision I think is the best for us. House is paid for and we can turn all utilities off. We live in the south so do not have to worry about pipes and such as do folks in the north. Have friends that will look after home and property.