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

Michaelhill
Explorer
Jun 22, 2022
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2g_s
Explorer
May 01, 2021
Sorry the OP hasn't returned to see if any of this talk helped.

Now is definitely a seller's market but having to buy another house in a couple months he'll be paying a premium also.

If it were me I'd sell and plan on full-time RVing for a while; not a couple months like he plans. I wouldn't buy another house at today's prices. It's absurd what homes are selling for. If settling down, I'd buy in a very nice mobile home park - some are awesome; or keep the RV for traveling and buy a RV lot in a warm area for winter living.
doxiemom11
Explorer II
Apr 30, 2021
I'd sell the house as long as you know you won't want to move back into it. We knew if we bought again, it wouldn't even be in the same state. Sell it so you are free to buy wherever and whenever you want. Store minimum things. You may want different styles of furniture (new) to go with the new place in the future. Only keep things that are special to you. You can always rent an apartment to try an area out and/or for the buying process/ purchasing new furniture , any remodeling you would like to do etc before moving into the new.
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 26, 2021
LouLawrence wrote:
You don't want to return to this place/home. Sell.
Wasn't that easy!?
Yes very easy to then extend the few months to be the rest of their lives depending on value and cost.

If money is short, keep the house for now. If money is easy, then by all means sell it now and bare the consequences if any because you have plenty of $$ either way.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Apr 26, 2021
joezippy wrote:
monkey44 wrote:
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.

Well said, taking it one step further, such is true in life...

I think it's interesting that a discussion of shelter (move or not) turned into a discussion about investments (taxes and money)... Linked, but not the same... Anywho... :h

Finally, when looking for "idiots" always look to thyself first, then to others. To the question poster, I wish good luck and no "idiots"! :) Cheers.

Actually, the question is about financials. The OP asked whether they should sell their home now or after they finish traveling for a "few months". Whether they take to RVing, a cruise, or an international flight, the concern is whether it's best to sell now or wait until they return from the trip to sell.
LouLawrence
Explorer II
Apr 26, 2021
You don't want to return to this place/home. Sell.
Wasn't that easy!?
Sjm9911
Explorer
Apr 26, 2021
Before you consider anything, think about whete you want to move to. This may have impact on what you do. Check the market to see avalibility. In NJ, you cant buy something if you wanted to. Homes are selling with , no inspections and 20 to 50 k over asking just from the online pictures. Just something to consider.
joezippy
Explorer
Apr 26, 2021
monkey44 wrote:
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.

Well said, taking it one step further, such is true in life...

I think it's interesting that a discussion of shelter (move or not) turned into a discussion about investments (taxes and money)... Linked, but not the same... Anywho... :h

Finally, when looking for "idiots" always look to thyself first, then to others. To the question poster, I wish good luck and no "idiots"! :) Cheers.
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 26, 2021
wapiticountry wrote:
Interesting point. Never thought about it, but you can bet there is someone elected to office that believes owning a home for decades and seeing that home appreciate over those years makes them ”rich “ and deserving of a punitive tax. That $500k exclusion could join the dodo bird if some get their way.
Or like many deductions the exclusion could taper off to zero only for the high earning taxpayer.
wapiticountry
Explorer
Apr 26, 2021
Ivylog wrote:
“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.
Interesting point. Never thought about it, but you can bet there is someone elected to office that believes owning a home for decades and seeing that home appreciate over those years makes them ”rich “ and deserving of a punitive tax. That $500k exclusion could join the dodo bird if some get their way.

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sell home or not to sell

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