Change Residency but keep Vacation Home?

One thing to note - many/most/all? - insurance companies coverage will lapse if the home is vacant for more than a time they set, often a month or so unless you have someone checking on it often.
In our case we had to insure the home as a seasonal home which cost us about twice as much as the amount we pay now that we live in the house year round.

DunellenGuy wrote:
...retirement (at age 60 or 62 for me, 62 or 64 for her) and expect to full time for a couple of years...

If you really are only going to fulltime for a couple of years, where do you plan to settle after that? In my opinion, you need to figure in the cost of changing everything over and then again after a couple of years. Things like wills need to be in the state that you want them probated in. If you are going to retire before you are eligible for Medicare and do not have employer provided health insurance, you will need to make sure that you can get coverage that will let you travel. Right now, I think it is still difficult to get health insurance that travels well for those under medicare age in South Dakota. While many focus on the state income tax, there are states that give substantial tax breaks to retirees/seniors. Many states do not tax Social Security. Some like Pennsylvania do not tax traditional IRA distributions. Others like NJ give an exemption of a substantial amount (NJ is $20K at age 62 or above). If you will have a pension, some states allow you to reclaim your contributions in the first 3 years rather than a little at a time over 30+ years.

I don't think anyone can really tell you what will work best for you. You need to do the research and decide based on the best information that you can get that applies to all your needs.

C-Bears wrote:
When we went full time there were tons of those issues when deciding on keeping the stick and brick or selling it. For us it just was not worth it to keep the house.

In another forum a person is now dealing with a tax issue because they kept their home as a 'summer' home, but changed their domicile to SD 13 years ago. Last year they sold their 'vacation' home, but now realize that they can't claim the principle residence capital gain exemption because they don't meet the means tests for the IRS since they have been filing as SD residents, not the residents of the state the house is located in.

Really think through keeping the house if you don't plan to return there.

Barb

I agree with most of the answers. You should be able to establish residency in a different state, therefore claiming that NJ is simply a summer home.

Just remember that a lot of things have to change over. Make sure you understand all your insurance issues when switching to another state. Could there be new rules under the Affordable Care Act for your new state that effects your health care or prescriptions?

Also, some states/counties charge one amount for property tax is you are a resident in that state, and a much higher rate if you own property there and are actually a resident of another state. Will being a non-NJ resident cause your property tax to rise significantly? What are the costs on your homeowners insurance policy when you change it from the current status to part time vacation home where it sits empty for much of the year?

When we went full time there were tons of those issues when deciding on keeping the stick and brick or selling it. For us it just was not worth it to keep the house.

If NJ was your current domicile, keeping the home there has the potential to raise questions on your change of domicile. But if your current domicile is outside NJ, then its not a worry.
The keys are to make it very clear with no lingering attachments, that you have completely left your previous domicile state, at least initially. Move all your personal accounts & attachments to the new state, then be sure that you dont spend an extended period in any one state thats long enough to trigger the automatic residency in that state.
I had 3 part time seasonal homes (in 3 diff states) while I traveled fulltime in my RV and maintained a domicile in SD.

BarbaraOK wrote:
You can own ahome in every single state if you want, does not make you a resident of each state. Follow the rules of the. State you are in and watch length of states in any state you own a house and there is no problem.

Barb

I was wondering the same thing. We're thinking about renting our home for a year before we fully commit to full-timing, but wasn't sure.... Thanks!

You can own ahome in every single state if you want, does not make you a resident of each state. Follow the rules of the. State you are in and watch length of states in any state you own a house and there is no problem.

Barb