Question Fulltimers - anyone regret selling their house?

[Neal]

So yeah, my other post about concerns of fulltiming didn't survive the downtime where I expressed my concerns of medical situations and being stranded with a shedding large dog and finding a hotel, etc. For those fulltiming or once fulltimed, be honest, has anyone regretted selling their house and going full time? I realize that being a fulltimer doesn't mean you have to sell your house(s). Selling everything and going fulltime is a huge decision. In my case, my house is my place of peace, it's also my financial crutch should I ever need it. If I "cash out" and use that money towards fulltiming going forward and someday find I needed that "equity" then what?

So for those that have taken the huge leap of letting go of their real-estate, did you regret it?

 

[sanda]

We only rv 5 months a year but decided early on we always wanted a home to go back to.

 

[Rollin Ollen]

So yeah, my other post about concerns of fulltiming didn't survive the downtime where I expressed my concerns of medical situations. For those fulltiming or once fulltimed, be honest, has anyone regretted selling their house and going full time? I realize that being a fulltimer doesn't mean you have to sell your house(s). Selling everything and going fulltime is a huge decision. In my case, my house is my place of peace, it's also my financial crutch should I ever need it. If I "cash out" and use that money towards fulltiming going forward and someday find I needed that "equity" then what?

So for those that have taken the huge leap of letting go of their real-estate, did you regret it?

We have been on the road for 8 years now. We do not regret one second of it. We mulled over keeping our last house because we really liked it but we did not like the location. We also looked into using a property management company only to discover that wasn't our cup of tea. When we sold our house, the proceeds were set aside so that when it was decided that we would toss out the anchor, funds would be available for a stick and brick of some sort. So far, we have not come across any place that we would consider calling home (other than our coach). Just an FYI, full timing does not have to be a costly endeavor.

 

[GlampDaddy]

Nope - no regrets!
The next-door neighbors were good friends and still are.
The HOA can still KMA, and always can.
But, that golf course - I'll miss it once a year!

 

[DennisT]

No regrets.

Being on the road and worrying about a place we still had would have been added stress.

That was replaced with “what do we do if something happens to the coach”.

Not having the expense, utilities, taxes, etc made full timing a lot nicer.

We did take an annual in FL so we had a spot to park even if the world shutdown again for security on that end of it.

 

[ARD]

No regrets here. I full-timed for six years before I finally bought a site somewhere, and I have to say I really like having a base now.

Selling the house was the right decision for me, and I’d do it again. But it’s a big decision. I don’t think there’s any harm in waiting until you’re completely comfortable with it.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Our experience is that life can throw curve balls and we just have to roll with it.

Regarding down time with the coach, having a good service center who works quickly and has a reputation for quality work done right the first time - is very important.

We have stayed in a hotel with our dogs a couple times while service was being done.

Healthcare - make sure your plan isn’t regional or tied to a small group of providers.

Veterinary - carry full records with you in the coach. We spend time outdoors hiking and go to an area and stay for a month or two. We do some initial research so we already know who we want to use IF something happens and we need help fast.

 

[DennisT]

As with the above we signed up with MASA when they were at the rally in the keys last year.

MASA | Medical Access & Service Advantage

MASA is an undisputed leader in emergency transportation coverage and more, including companion transportation benefits, worldwide emergency transportation and repatriation benefits, and cruise-specific benefits.

masaaccess.com

They have a lot of good features including getting the coach somewhere if needed.

There is another that does presentations but the fear factor they use during presentations turned us off to them.

 

[JRS]

No regrets at all and got rid of most everything. If you keep the house, you'll be tied down in having to go back to check on things. When we sold the house we placed it in a conservative investment account which was "our exit plan" to purchase the one we have now. Don't pay to store stuff. We full timed for just under 6yrs.

 

[TR25]

Selling everything and going fulltime is a huge decision. In my case, my house is my place of peace, it's also my financial crutch should I ever need it. If I "cash out" and use that money towards fulltiming going forward and someday find I needed that "equity" then what?

Real estate isn't the sure fire bet it once was as it's now micromarkets and demographics no longer a given.

It is nice to have a 'home base' that's always there. Need a medical procedure done? Having a home base is wonderful for stability, plus one already has medical and support relationships there.

Full timing is a big step and for a lot of people, it's the first time they've cut loose from the structure of having a sticks and bricks place, so for most, the new lifestylers especially, selling their home shouldn't be somethig they do right away.

Get the RV, then go and use it. It'll take a while for them to get the hang of RV-ing FT, the things they have to do and more importantly, all of the trade offs. Year 2 they should be settling into the groove. But a lot can happen in 2 years, so if they get tired of all the moving and chores, do they want to start over in finding a sticks and bricks home?

Baby steps at first and selling the SB home should be the last thing done...at a later date.

 

[TR25]

No regrets here. I full-timed for six years before I finally bought a site somewhere, and I have to say I really like having a base now.

You swapped one fixed location for another while keeping mobile, so best trade offs of not completely being mobile, a "vagrant" as I like to say.

 

[Underboss]

If you seriously plan on selling your house you would be best served to buy a warehouse or an industrial condo. You then have a place to store you property. Use furniture sells for pennies on a dollar. Tools will always be needed so do not sell and memories , photos etc, are priceless.
Storage fees are insane and it would be extremely rare to find a moving storage company that will allow access so you would need everything moved to a rented storage unit.
I bought an industrial condo that my 4369 and toys could fit in as a storage unit. When I went full time, I had a place to store my valuables and still fit my rv in.
Then when I bought a place with an rv garage, I moved my stuff, donated anything unneeded and rented out the warehouse.
I have bought a couple of these over the years, and after all costs, they never cost me a dime to own. In fact I profited at sale time and it covered every dime they cost me. You can never get the storage rental fees back, so its a win win.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

If you seriously plan on selling your house you would be best served to buy a warehouse or an industrial condo. You then have a place to store you property. Use furniture sells for pennies on a dollar. Tools will always be needed so do not sell and memories , photos etc, are priceless.
Storage fees are insane and it would be extremely rare to find a moving storage company that will allow access so you would need everything moved to a rented storage unit.
I bought an industrial condo that my 4369 and toys could fit in as a storage unit. When I went full time, I had a place to store my valuables and still fit my rv in.
Then when I bought a place with an rv garage, I moved my stuff, donated anything unneeded and rented out the warehouse.
I have bought a couple of these over the years, and after all costs, they never cost me a dime to own. In fact I profited at sale time and it covered every dime they cost me. You can never get the storage rental fees back, so its a win win.

Love this idea! Wish we had thought of this when we launched full time.

 

[Scotttkd2]

You hit the nail on the head with coach repairs. It is not always possible to schedule repairs at reputable facilities, and emergencies seem to happen in the worst possible places by default. Not having a home to go to if your coach takes a catastrophic hit is not a good feeling, and makes for stressful situations that might otherwise (with somewhere to go) be looked at much more pragmatically.

Having done what you are contemplating, my 20/20 hindsight would be to have a backup plan (home/condo/cheap apartment) to fall back on if you need it.

With that said, I have determined that the full timers on here on your site and others I have followed over the years seem to have a wide range of "luck" with their full timing. I was not so lucky and paid the stress price for not having a place to live when our full time "living in it" coach needed over a year to fix.

As with all things, your experience will vary, I just wish now we would have kept a backup home a little longer than we did. It would have prevented a whole handful of bad decisions from needing to be made.

Life goes on. And I stand by your friends have your back here no matter what road you choose to take.

Scott