Address & Financing

This is my plan also, proceeds from house, down payment for dream MH. Also looking for feedback on this, thx!

YES salesman was trying to make a sale..that's is what they do. Can't blame them because once out of building only a small percentage come back and buy.

Never have financed a vehicle especially an RV but have read:
Some finance companies ARE persnickety when it comes to legal address
Some don't have issues

Check with the finance company....be up front with them
Do you belong to a credit union. They seem to be better at the financing


Where do you plan on 'residing' (domicile state)?
May have an impact on financing

I was told the same thing by the salesperson, but we had coordinated buying the rig with selling the house anyway so were not impacted. With our Escapees legal address, though, we've handled all types of financial and legal dealings without owning a home - including buying a vehicle.

I'd do as Old Biscuit suggested and check with finance companies and be up front with them. I'd suspect that if you have good credit and a down payment - they'll loan you money so long as you have a legal domicile address.

prodeville wrote:
I'm researching life in an RV full time.
I've been getting a lot of information from this forum that has been very helpful.
The other day I was at the RV dealer and he told me that I should purchased a RV before I sell my house because the finance companies won't do the loan if I don't have a fixed residence. My plan is to use some of the proceeds from the sale of my home as a down payment for the rig. So how do I get around this? My plan was to use one of those mail services as an address? Has anyone experienced this hurdle before or was the salesman trying to get me to buy right now?

Bank software is sophisticated enough to recognize mail forwarding services and addresses such as those provided by Escapees. Residency is but one factor banks use to determine whether or not they are going to approve a loan. It may not automatically disqualify you from obtaining financing, but it will lower the bank's internal score which they use to ultimately determine who qualifies and who does not.

It depends upon who the RV dealership uses for financing. Some companies like Bank of the West fully understand the RV lifestyle and full-timers. They don't hold using a mailing service as a residence against you.

Some others do consider you not being a 'home owner' a mark against you.

Quite frankly, I'd suggest you call a couple RV finance companies - those who advertise as financing RVs. See what their rates and terms are. Compare them to what the dealership offers. You should get a better deal if you have a couple companies offering you a loan.

While still in the house - And assuming pretty good credit rating -

Take out a loan shortly before you are out of the house, use it to buy your RV, and then pay it off with the proceeds of the house. If the house is used as collateral, or even if it isn't, the interest cost will be minimal.

** On edit - On edit, I think I need to be more clear.

My suggestion is to take out a personal loan (use the house as collateral if need be) just before you sell your house and use the money as a down payment on the new RV. Then pay off the loan after selling the house. The interest for a few months (3-6 ?) will be minimal.

Thanks to everyone for all the info!

We were told it does make a difference. Not only with the ability to get a loan, but possibly the interest rate you will be charged. Our dealer told us they Google your address to make sure the house is not for sale.

We purchased and financed ours prior to selling our house.

Try Bank of the West