Traveling FT vs being anchored

[travelingbug]

I get that some people simply want the smaller living they get in an RV as opposed to a McMansion. A lot of them don't seem to travel but park and live in one spot (or two if they are snowbirds). For those who do move though, isn't there a great deal more to consider for the full-timing lifestyle? And, after doing away with a house, what happens if you reach a wheelchair stage and can no linger operate in the RV? I know this is several questions all in one, but we are in our 70s and considering traveling with our TT. We envision a couple months in various locations, with very few of our "things" being put into storage for safekeeping (no furniture, just things). What are we not taking into account in our thinking? I'm quite sure we must be missing some vital elements.

[Bumpyroad]

was_butnotnow wrote:
The HOA is only for the road maintenance.
Not a big deal. And the cost is $200 year.

do they have a list of "rules"? if so it is a big deal. My HOA started out basically for maintenance and when people with big city ideas move in things change. reminds me of recently one in CA started fining residents $200 if their lawns were not green enough. of course this was in the middle of one of the worst droughts that they had experienced. My HOA hired a lawyer, had at least 3 in VA to chose from who full timed as HOA lawyers. seems to me that there must be lots of litigation to support them and the litigation means that they have some stupid rules/regulations. The fools in mine wanted to put in a rule that contradicted a laxer county rule and require fences to be 5 or 10 ft from lot line. If both homeowners wanted a fence between them this would mean a 10 or 20 ft "dead zone" between the fences. total stupidity.
I was looking at an adult community outside of Dallas and they sent me their recent newsletter. one recent event was that two women were golfing and noticed that a large bird house at an adjacent house seemed to be too high. yes, they had a rule that unless the bird house was in a tree or under an eave it was limited to xxx ft off the ground and the house in question exceeded that. the response was that at that time TX had an endemic/pandemic/a whole bunch of some disease spread by mosquitos and the bird houses in question were to attract a bird ?? who thrived on them and required a bird house to be located higher off the ground than their rules/regulations allowed. they decided that it would be OK, but why did they put something so stupid into their covenants?
No More HOAs.
bumpy

[was_butnotnow]

The HOA is only for the road maintenance.
Not a big deal. And the cost is $200 year.

[Bumpyroad]

was_butnotnow wrote:
After retiring early at about 55 in 2003 and fulltiming for 8-10 years going south and north with the seasons we three years ago found a winter vacation property in AZ. While still boondocking in Q searched for properties. Prices were at a low so we looked and found a great spot. 2200 sq ft three section Palm Harbor 3 section house with a 1200 sq ft all metal gar/shop east of Tucson on fenced 4 acres.
We now spend about 8 months on the road with stopping in Quartzsite B/4 heading to our seasonal place in Feb. When we get there no need for heat or A/C as we are at 4000 ft. In June it is getting hot so off we go for points northwest.
Now back on topic... We wanted to be where we could get Dr stuff done done while in our seasonal house. We used to go to IA in late spring for a couple weeks for Dr stuff. But what happens if the tests come back not so good. Now we get this done in AZ as we are here for several months if more healthcare is needed.
Now you may ask how do you let a property sit for 6-8 months?
We are at 4000 ft on a dead end road, all fenced and with great neighbors who look after the place. It's AZ after all and at 4K ft not
that bad for summer temps when we are NOT here. We just turn of the water (group well water)and power and not worry. You can do that in AZ don't Ya Know.
We do lock the gate to it all.
Low taxes $1200, no mortgage payments, <$200 a year for water at a shared well, $200 for HOA for road maintenance.
You might want look to AZ for that off the road winter seasonal place that you can when the time comes you can hang up the keys.

you had me sold until you got to the HOA part. 😉
bumpy

[was_butnotnow]

After retiring early at about 55 in 2003 and fulltiming for 8-10 years going south and north with the seasons we three years ago found a winter vacation property in AZ. While still boondocking in Q searched for properties. Prices were at a low so we looked and found a great spot. 2200 sq ft three section Palm Harbor 3 section house with a 1200 sq ft all metal gar/shop east of Tucson on fenced 4 acres.
We now spend about 8 months on the road with stopping in Quartzsite B/4 heading to our seasonal place in Feb. When we get there no need for heat or A/C as we are at 4000 ft. In June it is getting hot so off we go for points northwest.
Now back on topic... We wanted to be where we could get Dr stuff done done while in our seasonal house. We used to go to IA in late spring for a couple weeks for Dr stuff. But what happens if the tests come back not so good. Now we get this done in AZ as we are here for several months if more healthcare is needed.
Now you may ask how do you let a property sit for 6-8 months?
We are at 4000 ft on a dead end road, all fenced and with great neighbors who look after the place. It's AZ after all and at 4K ft not
that bad for summer temps when we are NOT here. We just turn of the water (group well water)and power and not worry. You can do that in AZ don't Ya Know.
We do lock the gate to it all.
Low taxes $1200, no mortgage payments, <$200 a year for water at a shared well, $200 for HOA for road maintenance.
You might want look to AZ for that off the road winter seasonal place that you can when the time comes you can hang up the keys.

[Aridon]

Don't worry about what everyone else is doing or their justification for it. Worry about yourself, if you can afford to do something else if the lifestyle doesn't work out for you and go for it.

Everyone is different. Needs, desires, requirements, cash flow, cash in bank, credit etc all vary wildly. Some can't live without a home base, some wouldn't dream of living in anything other than a Mc Mansion, some need new cars every 2 or 3 years, some couldn't fathom living in anything other than their RV... You get the point? There is no one size fits all.

Plan, make sure you have the means to cover yourself if things don't work out and go do what you want.

Housing is a great PART of a solid portfolio however it hardly needs to be single family residential and you are hardly screwed if you decide to forgo having a stick and bricks.

[Bumpyroad]

CincyGus wrote:
I am blessed to have kept a great job that will give me a comfortable monthly pension we can live on along with having enough in a 401K to save as an exit strategy fund if or when it becomes necessary or desirable (if ever) to come off the road. This may be renting somewhere, buying a condo or park model trailer or just parking the RV in a park somewhere and putting the battery on a charger.

I guess about the only thing I have to add to this discussion is that you don't have to have an exit plan and we won't.

you contradict yourself. in your first paragraph you describe your exit plan.
bumpy

[CincyGus]

I'm in the planning stages as my wife and I are 7 years from retiring. We plan on selling the house and using the proceeds to buy the RV we will FT in. After 40 years of working 50-60 hours a week, I am blessed to have kept a great job that will give me a comfortable monthly pension we can live on along with having enough in a 401K to save as an exit strategy fund if or when it becomes necessary or desirable (if ever) to come off the road. This may be renting somewhere, buying a condo or park model trailer or just parking the RV in a park somewhere and putting the battery on a charger.

I guess about the only thing I have to add to this discussion is that you don't have to have an exit plan and we won't. We are looking forward to discovering what we want to do as we enter this next phase of life. We plan on traveling heavily the first year, seeing the great sights in the US that we have never visited. Work camping some while we are still able when the right opportunities come along that wont cramp our desires for too long. Through our visits to different places, we may find someplace that we decide would be perfect to settle down once we or if we decide to do that. Or we may find that chasing the perfect temp or visiting events and music festivals and BBQ cook offs or whatever else catches our eye or mind is too much fun to ever stop.

If I know anything for sure, it's that the best laid plans often never get used because something significant changes that makes them useless. That may be our desires, our health or some other factor that I can't even imagine right now or even in 7 years when we take the first step.

What is important is that you set aside an "EXIT FUND" so you have options when that moment comes that something changes. What everyone fears is being stuck with no choices and only their current situation when it is no longer working for them.

Hope this helps. Best of luck in your choices and travels!

[DianneOK]

If one invests the proceeds from selling the house wisely, the money will be there when and if the need to buy arises. We did and it worked out well.

[doxiemom11]

I disagree about selling the house. We are fulltimer and do know that someday we will want to sit still for awhile, rent an apartment or purchase a condo. The thing we will not ever do again is buy a house. If you are incapacitated and cannot RV anymore, how are you going to take care of everything around a house? If we have to exit the fulltime life it will not be to go back to lawncare, shoveling snow, etc. We'll let someone else do that stuff.

[elle8]

its all up to you what you want to do with the rest of your life . me at 58 am throwing in the towel and going for it . no house to sell ,,,lost that ,,, no wife ,,, lost that yrs ago ,,,, i feel until you have to sit in that chair with the clicker ,,,,dont .... live it up ,,,see everything you ever wanted to . have no regrets about it . throw caution to the wind . believe in yourself that you have somehow made it fine this far ,,,so with the knowledge youve acquired through the yrs. youll figure plan B ,,,, i have been living my life for a long time now with the motto ,,,,im going to be dead a very very long time .... now get in that closet and dust off those old disco clothes and live it up ,,,,

rickybobby

[exioum]

Reading these post makes me feel I’m a total opposite, for the most part. I’ve always wanted to full time, best I’ve ever done has been weeks at a time. Now I’ll be 75 in a few weeks, just getting over a bout with cancer. I sold my MH two years ago when I was first diagnosed with cancer. Now my exit plan (to coin the fraise) is to sell everything I can’t fit into my next MH and live my dream. That means selling the house and all of its contents. I’m in good health so far, and now understand I have to do what is going to make me happy. I’m tired of trying to maintain this house, cutting the grass, and shoveling this endless snow at my age. Everyone’s story here is different. We have to work out the details and not be afraid to take that step. That’s what life is all about, living….

Happy trails to all

[maggybeck]

House mess does not mean homeless!

Maggy

[Dog_Folks]

DianneOK wrote:
To each his/her own....

And that is the the bottom line.

Each person/couple has to decide what is best for them. What is "right" for someone can be very "wrong" for someone else.

[DianneOK]

At retirement we sold everything, hit the road for 9 years with no intention of buying another house. Then, because of our travels, we found our perfect place. We bought a home, downsized the rig and are happy campers.

If the opportunity arose to fulltime again....we would do it, but we are certainly enjoying mowing, logging, gardening, shoveling, plowing and everthing that comes with home ownership in the mountains.

To each his/her own....