WE are in a situation where we are thinking about selling our home and buying a class A rv to travel for a few months before we purchase another home. We do not have a mortgage and are both retired with a steady income. We are not new to RVing, recently sold a class C. (we are not selling our home so we can travel, we want a smaller home)Need some advice from anyone that has done this. What to expect? What to plan for and if you regretted it. Thanks!

Don’t know if the housing market is hot in Delaware but if it is, now is a good time to sell but the Motorhome market is hot also. Why did you sell the C if only going to RV for several months??? Are you going to move to a lower tax state or stay in Delaware with a smaller house? The current housing bubble and RV frenzy will bust but hard to say if it will be one year or two years. Selling your home now and using a motorhome for a couple years to buy low in the future might make sense.Hard to give answers when there’s so many questions.

For me the time period of a "few" months would be a big consideration along with the amount of household furniture and items. My inclination would be to sell and not have to worry about leaving a house empty while you travel. There is an expense to that. You would need to pack up and move your stuff into storage and then later on move again to a new place. I suspect that would be cheaper and move convenient than paying for a house you are not using. We did the same thing but our "few" months was close to two years.

If you aren't planning to return to the house (as indicated by your post), sell it. By the time you factor in property taxes and insurance, it will be cheaper to pay for a storage unit for a few months.Then you have better options: - If you decide you love the full time lifestyle, you don't have to worry about the old house. Eventually, you can have a yard sale with the stuff in storage (or give it to the kids) - If you don't, when the time comes to buy a new house, you don't have the issue of having two houses with the expenses they incorporate. It makes a much cleaner purchase process and you don't feel pressured to sell the old before buying the new.

IMO keep the house until you are sure you like full timing. No better place for investment right now than homes in SoCal.

Have to agree with Valhalla, IF you don't plan to go back and live in the house, then sell it now, Save the taxes, insurance and maintenance cost and store the household items you feel you must keep. IF you know where you want to eventually buy again, go ahead and move the household goods to the area to simplify the final move a year or so from now. We're in Va, and are putting the house up as soon as m'ladies health issues are resolved. We will move them to somewhere in the midwest and store them there until we decide on our final landing spot which could be anywhere from SD to NM, to Id. In our case, once we get out west, I don't see us coming back east, so staging them in the region, probably near Denver seems to make sense.

sell home or not to sell | Good Sam Community

39 Replies

wanderingaimles
Explorer
Apr 26, 2021
A nephew of mine really liked Casper WY; you might check out that area. He had to leave because his job went away, otherwise he might be there still.
Wy is a possibility, just have to see if we can get going, She likes it cold, not sure I can stand a winter there, but we'll look. Already bought a small A, installed some solar yesterday, we just need her Doc's to get the last big issue addressed.
valhalla360
Navigator
Apr 26, 2021
toedtoes wrote:
joezippy wrote:
toedtoes wrote:
Honestly, I would be asking my "money guy" (financial advisor) not a bunch of strangers on the internet.

Case in point, folks here are speaking of their own experiences - which may be completely different from the OP's due to timing, location, amount of equity, purchase price, health, family, and so on.

Your financial advisor can give you a projection based on YOUR set of circumstances and then you can base your decision of actual data not hearsay.

Several years back, I was considering buying another house. Rather than just go on the advice of friends, I called my money guy. He gave me a very detailed breakdown of how it would change my future and I decided it wasn't the right decision to buy. At the end, he thanked me for checking with him first because he usually gets the call afterwards when the folks realize they totally messed up and want him to fix it all.

So long as your "money guy" has your best interest in mind and not his money... Been burned that way, so I'm speaking from experience. It's always best to do your own homework. Regardless of what others say, but asking never hurts IMHO. Cheers.

Rule number 1 - make sure your money guy is trustworthy.

Rule number 2 - always verify the information.

Asking on a forum can offer ideas, but it should never substitute for educated advice. If you can't trust your money guy, why would you think you can trust strangers on the internet...

You forgot Rule 3...Find someone who has actual experience with living full time without a home....which most money guys don't have and don't comprehend.

Even if they are well intentioned, the lifestyle is so far outside normal assumptions, that they are likely to give poor advice.
hl_remington
Explorer
Apr 26, 2021
I thank Toedtoes information is right on.
rexlion
Explorer
Apr 26, 2021
wanderingaimlessly wrote:
Have to agree with Valhalla,
IF you don't plan to go back and live in the house, then sell it now, Save the taxes, insurance and maintenance cost and store the household items you feel you must keep.
IF you know where you want to eventually buy again, go ahead and move the household goods to the area to simplify the final move a year or so from now.
We're in Va, and are putting the house up as soon as m'ladies health issues are resolved. We will move them to somewhere in the midwest and store them there until we decide on our final landing spot which could be anywhere from SD to NM, to Id. In our case, once we get out west, I don't see us coming back east, so staging them in the region, probably near Denver seems to make sense.
A nephew of mine really liked Casper WY; you might check out that area. He had to leave because his job went away, otherwise he might be there still.
monkey44
Nomad II
Apr 26, 2021
Some folks on RV.net can be trusted for good advice. Some folks on RV.net cannot be trusted for good advice. The trick is distinguishing between the two. Same with any forum.
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 25, 2021
toedtoes wrote:
time2roll wrote:
toedtoes wrote:
why would you think you can trust strangers on the internet...
We have no agenda or commissions related to the transactions.

And who's to say you aren't all a bunch of idiots? Who's to say you don't take pleasure in giving bad advice?

I can see asking for ideas - which you would then research and vet. But, I wouldn't trust any stranger with financial advice.
Considering the very limited information given this is just for entertainment. Proper advice would be impossible.
philh
Explorer II
Apr 25, 2021
We took a look at the HOT HOT HOT sellers market and sold.

Our retirement plans include a park model in a campground. In November, we moved into the park model and put the house up for sale. It sold the day it was listed.

Still working from home, and work is close enough if I have to go in, but it's a 90 minute drive.

Also sold the TT, and currently waiting for the new truck and new 5th wheel to be delivered.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Apr 25, 2021
time2roll wrote:
toedtoes wrote:
why would you think you can trust strangers on the internet...
We have no agenda or commissions related to the transactions.

And who's to say you aren't all a bunch of idiots? Who's to say you don't take pleasure in giving bad advice?

I can see asking for ideas - which you would then research and vet. But, I wouldn't trust any stranger with financial advice.
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 25, 2021
toedtoes wrote:
why would you think you can trust strangers on the internet...
We have no agenda or commissions related to the transactions.
Ivylog
Explorer III
Apr 25, 2021
“I would not be entering into a 1031 exchange at this time even with an eligible asset sale. A 1031 only delays capital gains taxes. There is a likelihood that the capital gain tax rate is going to rise significantly. If that happens, you may forego a 20% rate today for a 39% rate down the road. That could be a very expensive decision.”
The $500k exclusion on selling your home may still apply but I would sell NOW.

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sell home or not to sell

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