Selling Home and Going Full-Time

[FreshAirStmr]

Clipper 30, we're working our last year before retirement, and are planning to hit the road early 2016. Haven't bought our rig yet. But, we did major downsizing this past year by selling our house, most of our stuff, and our second car. We're living in a rental until we take off.

If you have nice things, I'd recommend going the estate sale route. Once we got an offer on the house, we called the estate sale company. We also found a rental and moved in right away. The estate sale company came in a couple of weeks before closing and did an amazing amount of work to sell most everything. It was good that we weren't living there by then. On the Sunday after the 3-day sale (Thursday through Saturday), we came back to an empty house. We ended up getting $21k from the deal. It would've taken me a year to do the same work for much less cash.

We have about a 6 moving boxes of treasures I couldn't part with, which I think I can store for about $40/month. After a few years on the road, if all is going well without end in sight, I might try to get rid of those too.

Joanne

[wanderwasi]

We sold the house in August and have been having a blast! We did go back and forth about keeping the house as a rental and selling it and ultimately we just wanted to be stress free so we sold it.

As far as storage, we have a couple bins of things at my in-laws; photos and some tools, no storage garage otherwise. We sold the majority of our things over about 4 months this past summer, mainly on Craigslist and e-bay. Just remember, you will never get what you think you should get for something. People who buy used, however gently used it is, are looking for a deal. At the end, we donated a lot of things because it wasn't worth the hassle anymore.

There is not one thing I regret getting rid of...

[rodsterinfl]

Ok, I am single and have been considering this full time thing for about a year- had the stream for now three years. I like the idea of living less expensively and just simpler BUT, here is why I struggle-

For about twenty years I lived with basically junk furniture. Hey, I was a teacher, just getting a house was quite a feat! When I got my first home I began the process of buying good stuff- a piece at a time. I rarely buy anything on time but wait for what I want. I now have the Ekornes this, the Theodore Alexander that and the Martin Logans-you get the idea. It is difficult to give up that stuff that is 12 years old at most. I have no one to give it to in the family. Yes, there are some things I could no doubt dump right now but it is hard. The issue for me is similar to what another poster said- having a home AND camper would limit resources. Just writing this post makes me think about the idea of "living for things" and that is not my idea yet, it took so long to acquire the furnishings that just dumping the investment is mind boggling yet I too am interested in a single focused simple life that is often shared by full timing. It is not an easy decision.

[dkottum]

I see the point Rod. We have nice stuff as well and we own it, it doesn't own us, and it makes a pleasant and comfortable life. Our home is simple, little more than we need, and on a scenic spot near a nice community. Our grandchildren. Life is good there.

Except the winter is tough, more so as we get older.

We also love to travel, see new places and meet new people. Our Airstream takes us away 7 months a year, traveling often far and wide as we head to and from a winter retreat. And our Airstream and truck are simple, basic, no more than we need. Life is good there as well.

It is possible to have some of the best of both worlds, and when the traveling years are over, you have a place of your own to go. Keep in budget and keep it simple.

[slowmover]

The man wants advices about the asylum from the inmates.

If, apart from items of great sentiment, it is so that these furnishings are but an insurance claim after a fire, it is that the choice has been made for us.

Other forces past our influence much less our control can also render us bereft. These would be age, debilitation, and senility. For them there is no restoration policy even though the choice was taken from us.

Were our society such that only a few years of work would pay in full for a lifelong dwelling we wouldn't ask these questions.

It really isn't about the things.

[lbdesign]

After 4 years of fulltime AS living, the only annoyances I have are:
• laundromats — I really miss the convenience of having a washer/dryer
• maintenance — AS may be a better RV than most, but it still has quality issues, and you can't just call any plumber as you do in a house/condo
• counter space — I actually cook, and AS really does not design for cooking. The ratio of seating to counter space is not based in reality. I'd get a bigger AS, but it would have LESS counter space than my current model, so I doubt I will.
• Storage space — enough has already been said about this. Good luck if you have too many hobbies (or a career) that rely on much gear.

[B_Pi]

"Were our society such that only a few years of work would pay in full for a lifelong dwelling we wouldn't ask these questions.

It really isn't about the things."

Exactly! It was when reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau that this became very clear to me many years ago. The accounting of labor hours and how much of it one need spend to live was quite enlightening in that book.

[dkottum]

Remember that Thoreau's sojourn only lasted a couple of years and he was back in the village scratching out a living with the rest of them.

[Len n Jeanne]

A question for you full-timers--

Some of you have mentioned the loss of community. This seems to me to be the greatest drawback of full-timing, that you lose your connection with friends, neighbours, & groups (might be a club, church, &c.) It might be different if you lived in one community your whole life before going on the road, such that you could pick up again with them when you visited; but we've moved around a bit, so I don't have a 50-year backstory in one spot.

For me, it's not about the stuff so much as it is about the personal connections. We're reasonably outgoing and sociable, but there's a difference between meeting people casually in a campground and then parting, vs. those wonderful people back home that you'd miss if you didn't see them much anymore.

Your thoughts on this?

Jeanne

[rodsterinfl]

There is much to consider. I believe that my course, for now will continue to be the "summer months get away" route as you mention- your seven month sojourn, Doug. I just have to figure out what dwelling works. In my area, there are no port homes and nearly every newer community has restrictions on RV parking. Storing an RV is about $2400 a year (roof over). My plan may change due to funding but for me, it makes the most sense.

It is true that things can happen to completely change our perspective. If I had a house fire and lost everything, it would certainly make me reconsider. It is also true that most of us have way more than we need. The age factor too makes a difference like you mentioned also Doug. That would mean buying again and then refurnishing again- something it took me twenty years to do before. There certainly are quite a few facets to this idea.

Len n Jeanne, can't wait to hear the response to your post.

[kb0zke]

This is one of the points that we discussed quite a bit before we made the decision to full-time, and even after the decision was made there was still the question of church membership. That actually wasn't decided until last month - and we've been living as if we were full-timers for a year now.

We've working with Laborers For Christ now, which is a volunteer organization of our denomination that helps congregations with remodeling and expansion projects, so we're at one place for a few months at a time. That lets us get involved with the congregation some, but we're not involved with the politics.

I suppose that those who move every few days might feel a loss of community, but if you stay for a few weeks or months you can get more involved in things.

[Pagey]

We are making the jump in just a few short months after three years of planning. Our tow vehicle, custom-built for us, is in my avatar.

We just finished updating the master bathroom, the last major update we had to make. Our house is paid for and we are going to sell it to pay off our truck and be able to pay for our trailer in full. Start the life with no debts and money in the bank.

We do not have children, so the inherited family antiques, artwork, and books have been auctioned, sold on Ebay and Craigslist, given to friends, or donated. Our house now echoes. Nothing is going to storage.

We are going to become Floridians and are driving down to Florida next week to the Tampa RV Show where we hope to purchase our Airstream. I know how much friends have paid for their new 2015 Classics, so we will see if can get a deal while there. If not, we will make some road trips to other dealers.

I gave my employer, whom I have worked for since 1998, my one year + notice last January. She is still in denial.

As for community, I follow several blogs of full-timers, some of whom are in Airstreams. There are definite communities. You just have to find the one that feels the best to you. We are not highly social now, so I don't expect that to change for us.

Getting excited just writing about it.

[TwoSporks]

We are in our mid-thirties and have flirted with the idea of going full-time because we both have flexible work situations. After our first month-long trip, I felt pretty confident that part-time living on the road is the best situation for us. We live in a charming old (and small) house in a really wonderful neighborhood. I like being close to my parents. I do not want to lose relationships with long-term friends and still want to maintain some professional connections. Because we are landscape photographers in addition to our other careers (the ones that pay the majority of the bills), I just do not think it is likely that we could develop much of a community on the road because of our erratic schedules (we are out photographing when people are having happy hour back at the campsites).

So, for me (more so than my husband), the community issue is the single major factor in not wanting to become a full-timer, at least right now. I also like the idea of keeping our house. We can make both work financially since the house is quite affordable and I like having a home base. We could probably save up a lot more money without the house but I think I would lose an important piece of my life and I am not willing to do that right now.

[BoldAdventure]

I'm in my early 30's. I wrote about Why we are selling it all to live our dreams on my blog. For us, we just don't want to wait for the future possibility of retirement.

Forget “someday” though. What about now? What if for some reason there was no “someday” waiting for us?

We asked ourselves, “If we knew we only had __ more days/months/years to live, what would we do?” The answer was immediately obvious: we would travel.

I had a friend who was busy chasing success, trying to get rich, because as he would say, he'll work hard for the next 20 years and retire in his 40's and enjoy the good life. Except he got killed by a freaking hit and run while walking across the street after getting Star Bucks outside his office.

I didn't hit million by age 30, thus I have determined that I might as well start living.

There are a lot of communities out there, and a big one of fellow full-time Airstreams on Instagram. I started a thread about it here: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f48/...it-125177.html

Say what you will, I deleted Facesuck (I mean Facebook) a year and half ago, but Instagram and the over 100 fellow Airstreams and full time RV'ers I follow on there, have been a motivating and inspiring driving force in our move to full timing. I personally enjoy seeing the photos from other full-timers living their life. It cements that mental image of what I'm working hard to achieve.

The internet brings us closer in a way. And there are plenty of blogs out there with endless amounts of resources and information on making the switch.

I am giving my notice in April, my last day of work is planned for April 30th. We are hitting the road full time in March. We are technically planning to full time in April. We are thinking of getting a monthly spot at one of the RV resorts here in Clearwater, and trying to do our final transition out of the house into the Airstream before I leave work. We are also expecting our second child at the end of March, first week of April, so we're dancing around a number of things if you can imagine.

There is plenty to think about. Your domicile, insurance needs, health needs, mail, etc.

We've been in the process of selling everything for awhile now. I've put things on CL, eBay and forums. I break it down like this.

High dollar electronics, I've sold on eBay. Sold our iPads, Cinema Display, an a Laptop on eBay recently. Sold Rims/tires off my lifted truck on CL.

Sold my Pontiac G8 GXP on a car forum, but I listed it on CL, Autotrader and then the two Pontiac enthusiast forums.

Sold my Corvette the same way, to a guy on Corvetteforums.com who was down in Ft. Myers.

I CL stuff that I don't mind people haggling me over that I want to get rid of that I don't feel like dragging out for a garage sale.

Example, we sold my Mid Century RCA stereo console, a mid century credenza, and my mid century executive desk on CL.

I'm probably going to list all my weights on CL, along with some other things.

Towards the end, we plan on having a double weekend garage sale, price things to move. Don't worry about top dollar, make folks want to take it.

Whatever is left over, goes to GoodWill/Salvation Army (which ever is closer)

If it's not good enough to sell or donate, it belongs in the trash.

Down sizing is probably the most difficult thing.

We're practicing minimalist and I'm still amazed at all the crap I still have somehow.

Whew.

Either way, you'll find lots of support on this forum.

[slowmover]

Going off topic here:

BA, I'd like for you at some point to consider a 1T full size van as your TV. With a family it is a much better choice than a truck, and the short rear overhang makes it an excellent TV.

Fuel economy is more about smart use, not just adapted skills behind the wheel.

In all ways for someone using a tow rig as the family Conestoga I want to appeal to your instincts as a father. Having a large conditioned air space wherever a young family goes cannot be trumped.

You needn't reply directly to this, but I hope you'll read threads here and on Woodalls in re this subject. As a third generation traveller in this sort of TT, from babyhood forward (retirement eligibility not so far away), it would be my single choice.

[Rocinante]

+1 on considering a 1-ton van.

When my parents were full-timers, they towed their 34' AS with a 1 ton van. Other than the "truck-like" ride, they loved it. The interior space in the van was really helpful to them, it was a great way to take the whole family around whenever we camped alongside them, and it towed like a champ.

[almcate]

Ah yes, the many, many obstacles (opportunities) to assess going full time. Stuff is at the top of the list as many have noted. Non-stuff everyday concerns—insurance, healthcare, domicile, work-life all are very solvable, but after decades of a fixed life, one has to take a giant step back to see the forest for the trees. Community is our current project (a term I use very deliberately as it's a process and not something you can ...fix). Facebook, social media, and the internet really do a fine job of keeping up with our extended family and friends even if it is only a virtual connection. Traveling as we do, often we get to visit with a little more intensity because of the effort to coordinate everyone's busy lives than with the casual family interactions of the past. Miss our church family, but every few weeks we are the newcomers at a local UU fellowship which is always rewarding. Socializing on the road is a skill set that has gotten a bit rusty...easy enough to meet folk and engage, but the ease of over-the-fence friendships, co-worker friendships, kid-ratpack commonality are part of that Other life. I'm not a blogger, but thinking maybe I need to be just to give passing connections a place to grow. Maybe I need to (finally) print up some contact cards I can leave behind. And the impulse to see and do and move on to the next place maybe needs to moderate to linger a little more often. Life on the road is an evolution with lots of missteps and lots of unexpected rewards. I think it's going to be interesting to see where it goes...
Al & Robin