Using our RV to live in since we lost our home to foreclosure
RhinestoneAngel said
07:40 PM Apr 4, 2013
My husband and I lost our home to foreclosure 2 years ago. Since then, we are in our 2nd rented home, on a yearly lease. It's up for sale but we knew that going in. We had no choice since we have 3 old dogs and could NOT find ANYONE willing to rent to us out here in SE PA...Chester County. My husband is a flooring contractor...25 yrs in the business. Work isn't always steady so we live paycheck to paycheck and it's getting harder and harder to keep our heads above water. We juggle and rob Peter to pay Paul. I like the place we're in because of all the space but we honestly don't know if we'll be here next year. The landlord could decide not to renew the lease, it could get sold. Meanwhile this summer, I'm gong to have yard sales to try to sell most of the stuff we have in storage. It will be hard not being able to have our furniture and items I've collected over the years but we're seriously thinking of just moving into our Class A RV and trying to find someone who will rent us a site with W/E/S hookups. We don't know where to begin and my husband is situated out here work wise. He's getting more leads but most of the work is Insurance jobs so he doesn't get paid until the people who subbed him get paid. We're thinking it would be so much cheaper to live in the RV and rent might be a lot cheaper. We just don't know where to start looking or how to even begin. We don't want to leave SE PA because of my husband's work and we want to be able to visit the grandkids a couple times a month. We have no savings and while he makes good money when he works, it's spotty right now. Any info and advice is VERY much appreciated. Feel free to email me directly at: aneokle@yahoo.com
cherylbrv said
08:10 PM Apr 4, 2013
I'm so sorry to hear about your unfortunate financial situation. While I'm not in the same boat (or should I say RV) as you, I certainly know what it's like to have your dreams put on hold due to no money. DH and I have been planning to become full timers since 2010. Every year we say we'll have the house on the market by spring. But after living here 22 years and not having done any cosmetic work, the place needs some major prettying up before we can consider it, if we want to make enough to sell and buy the RV with.
My husband is also a subcontractor - in the computer industry, so I'm very much aware of the feast or famine state of being and living hand to mouth when jobs aren't steady. Not to mention that just about every time we save just a little money to put towards a household project (such as flooring!), something comes up to eat those funds -- usually the car needs major repairs, an appliance, or just last week, I needed an emergency appendectomy, so now it's more medical bills to deal with. Some days I feel like we'll just never get out of this financial hole and move on to the greener pastures we so urgently want to live in.
I'm sure I haven't given you any advice that you need regarding costs to live full time in your RV, but hopefully I've helped you feel a little less alone financially. My view would be to absolutely live in the class A but I'm sure there are many other factors to be considered. I do wish you the best of luck.
GENECOP said
08:11 PM Apr 4, 2013
Do an Internet search for all the Campgrounds in your area, then start driving around, checking them out and inquiring about seasonal sites. Seasonal sites can be for 4 months or 12 months, every campground has a different fee structure and term...good luck, one more thing, maybe your husband can offer his services to the Campground, (maintennance, cleaning, etc...) often you can work off your site rental, also check out Workamper News.....
RhinestoneAngel said
08:45 PM Apr 4, 2013
We have begun to check out the CG's and thank you for the wonderful advice.
Jack Mayer said
12:14 AM Apr 5, 2013
We are from Chester County before we went fulltime 13 years ago, so welcome neighbor.
With regards to finding a place to park the RV so you can live in it, check out any mobile home parks in your area. While I know nothing about them in Pennsylvania, here in Oklahoma City, there are a number of mobile home parks that have areas for RV's or can allow a regular mobile home lot to be used by an RV. If you foresee that you will be in the area for some time, you may find it to be less expensive than the campgrounds and RV parks.
Terry
Cindy T said
12:56 AM Apr 5, 2013
I'd put pencil to paper & create a list of your current expenses, then compare the expenses you'll have if you move into the RV.
For example, your house rent vs lot rent in an RV park. Utilities - are any included in your current rent? What utilities will you have to pay in a campground?
Is your Class A a 4-season unit? If not, what expenses might you incur to make it more livable during winter? Also, your propane & electricity cost in winter may be fairly high if your rig is not well insulated.
Insurance is another budget line item. You might want to change the insurance you have on the RV when you're living in it full time.
These are just some items to compare to see if moving into the RV would really be cheaper.
NWescapee said
06:30 AM Apr 5, 2013
Slightly different situation with equity in the house and some savings, but our number crunching leads us to believe our savings to retirement will accumulate much more quickly once we've sold the S&B and are truly mobile, homeless but not houseless! I work from home (or RV) and DH has a mobile business with art shows as his primary income.
RhinestoneAngel said
12:03 AM Apr 6, 2013
Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice and information. They are all good ideas and suggestions. I hope you all enjoy your weekend. Oh boy, it's gonna be in the 70's this week coming up. Woohooo...can't wait. I'm already scoping out new sandals.
Linda said
03:09 PM Apr 6, 2013
You may want to think about a trailer of some kind since you are going to be stationary. The price of a motorhome includes an engine and in your case, you don't need an engine.
Insurance will be cheaper on a trailer because it doesn't have an engine.
Just some food for thought.
Good Luck!
rclvnv said
12:32 AM Apr 8, 2013
We have been full-timing for two years now, and operate a consulting business from the road,but for the first year and a half, we were tied to a local business we owned and finally closed. We had a house to sell and had some equity, but quickly realized that our savings and equity would last us a lot longer in retirement, so we found an excellent local RV park, which offered extended stay rates, deeply discounted,which were lower than any rent we could find in a place we would want to live. One of our neighbors in the park had just your situation,and has been happily living in their class A while the husband is working. They are quite happy doing so, and they have been able to recoup financially, by doing this. You mentioned that your husband is a flooring contractor. The folks I mentioned decided to re-do all the floors in their coach,as well as other mods on the coach. They found a flooring guy who was willing to replace the carpet and flooring with new carpet and laminate flooring,on-site here in the park. The contractor did such a good job and at a price far less than any of the RV places wanted, that we and two others had the same guy do ours (even though our coach is two years old, we wanted laminate and the carpet on the slides and stairs was showing wear. I suspect the guy will get more work as a result, as this is a busy park with lots of in & out activity. We went to a local flooring distributor, picked out what we wanted,paid for the material and then paid the guy for his labor. Just mentioning this a an area for thought. We are now mobile 3/4 of the year, but come back her for a few months each year. We were very pleased to get this done onsite..a big deal for full-timers(with old dogs, too!). Terry offers a great possibility of looking for nice mobile parks set-up to take RV's. We couldn't find that here, but wish we had.Since we no longer have to be "in town" for the business we closed, we found a place 55 miles out, with super amenities, for $250 less per month than we now pay, when we are here. Our experience is that it costs less to live as we now do than when we had the house. While we have mild winters, we have very hot summers, and even with metered electric, we pay less than in the house. We were very lucky that the buyer of our house bought everything in it, as well, and I realize that things became simpler for us, but I think you are wise to consider the R.V. option. I wish you well. Richard
RhinestoneAngel said
03:41 AM Apr 8, 2013
Hi Linda, We already Have a Class A. We don't have savings and we'd never afford to buy a trailer with our credit. The whole point is living in what we have to save money. But thanks for the advice.
RhinestoneAngel said
03:43 AM Apr 8, 2013
Hi Richard, I appreciate all your helpful advice. That is exactly why we're considering living in our RV. It's just a matter of finding a place out here in PA that would let us live on a site year round. I'm not ready to move out of state and leave my children and grandchildren behind yet. Thanks again.
PIEERE said
05:08 PM Apr 8, 2013
R-angel; Nope; Nada; No way. They don't build RV's for that cold weather. The propane heat; even if you use electric backup will be a huge expense. Been there done that living 25 miles South of Wash. D.C. which I believe is milder than Chester, Pa. I apologize for sounding a bit negative. I am not saying it can't be done; insulating around the bottom, a heated water hose and maybe the sewer hose. Look for a unit with a heated basement and holding tanks; cold weather package would be of great help. Think I would also want sliding windows instead of the crank out style. Also a roof that has some pitch from center to sides to allow the snow melt to run off. Flat roofs and heavy snow can create roof leaks!!!
Linda said
05:21 PM Apr 8, 2013
Oh I didn't realize you already have a motorhome. :) Then that makes perfect sense!!!
Hina said
01:59 AM May 3, 2013
This is an older post, hope your situation is going well!
One idea that occurs to me, if your husband is a flooring contractor, perhaps being in an RV might expand his working territory? Maybe you could use the opportunity to seek out jobs farther afield, also, there are "night watch" opportunities for parking an RV, maybe if your husband scores a job on a larger construction site, you could park there, and do duty as the night watchmen.
My husband and I lost our home to foreclosure 2 years ago. Since then, we are in our 2nd rented home, on a yearly lease. It's up for sale but we knew that going in. We had no choice since we have 3 old dogs and could NOT find ANYONE willing to rent to us out here in SE PA...Chester County. My husband is a flooring contractor...25 yrs in the business. Work isn't always steady so we live paycheck to paycheck and it's getting harder and harder to keep our heads above water. We juggle and rob Peter to pay Paul. I like the place we're in because of all the space but we honestly don't know if we'll be here next year. The landlord could decide not to renew the lease, it could get sold. Meanwhile this summer, I'm gong to have yard sales to try to sell most of the stuff we have in storage. It will be hard not being able to have our furniture and items I've collected over the years but we're seriously thinking of just moving into our Class A RV and trying to find someone who will rent us a site with W/E/S hookups. We don't know where to begin and my husband is situated out here work wise. He's getting more leads but most of the work is Insurance jobs so he doesn't get paid until the people who subbed him get paid. We're thinking it would be so much cheaper to live in the RV and rent might be a lot cheaper. We just don't know where to start looking or how to even begin. We don't want to leave SE PA because of my husband's work and we want to be able to visit the grandkids a couple times a month. We have no savings and while he makes good money when he works, it's spotty right now. Any info and advice is VERY much appreciated. Feel free to email me directly at: aneokle@yahoo.com
My husband is also a subcontractor - in the computer industry, so I'm very much aware of the feast or famine state of being and living hand to mouth when jobs aren't steady. Not to mention that just about every time we save just a little money to put towards a household project (such as flooring!), something comes up to eat those funds -- usually the car needs major repairs, an appliance, or just last week, I needed an emergency appendectomy, so now it's more medical bills to deal with. Some days I feel like we'll just never get out of this financial hole and move on to the greener pastures we so urgently want to live in.
I'm sure I haven't given you any advice that you need regarding costs to live full time in your RV, but hopefully I've helped you feel a little less alone financially. My view would be to absolutely live in the class A but I'm sure there are many other factors to be considered. I do wish you the best of luck.
We have begun to check out the CG's and thank you for the wonderful advice.
We are from Chester County before we went fulltime 13 years ago, so welcome neighbor.
Try Brandywine Creek Campground in Lyndell.
Angela.
With regards to finding a place to park the RV so you can live in it, check out any mobile home parks in your area. While I know nothing about them in Pennsylvania, here in Oklahoma City, there are a number of mobile home parks that have areas for RV's or can allow a regular mobile home lot to be used by an RV. If you foresee that you will be in the area for some time, you may find it to be less expensive than the campgrounds and RV parks.
Terry
I'd put pencil to paper & create a list of your current expenses, then compare the expenses you'll have if you move into the RV.
For example, your house rent vs lot rent in an RV park. Utilities - are any included in your current rent? What utilities will you have to pay in a campground?
Is your Class A a 4-season unit? If not, what expenses might you incur to make it more livable during winter? Also, your propane & electricity cost in winter may be fairly high if your rig is not well insulated.
Insurance is another budget line item. You might want to change the insurance you have on the RV when you're living in it full time.
These are just some items to compare to see if moving into the RV would really be cheaper.
You may want to think about a trailer of some kind since you are going to be stationary. The price of a motorhome includes an engine and in your case, you don't need an engine.
Insurance will be cheaper on a trailer because it doesn't have an engine.
Just some food for thought.
Good Luck!
We have been full-timing for two years now, and operate a consulting business from the road,but for the first year and a half, we were tied to a local business we owned and finally closed. We had a house to sell and had some equity, but quickly realized that our savings and equity would last us a lot longer in retirement, so we found an excellent local RV park, which offered extended stay rates, deeply discounted,which were lower than any rent we could find in a place we would want to live. One of our neighbors in the park had just your situation,and has been happily living in their class A while the husband is working. They are quite happy doing so, and they have been able to recoup financially, by doing this. You mentioned that your husband is a flooring contractor. The folks I mentioned decided to re-do all the floors in their coach,as well as other mods on the coach. They found a flooring guy who was willing to replace the carpet and flooring with new carpet and laminate flooring,on-site here in the park. The contractor did such a good job and at a price far less than any of the RV places wanted, that we and two others had the same guy do ours (even though our coach is two years old, we wanted laminate and the carpet on the slides and stairs was showing wear. I suspect the guy will get more work as a result, as this is a busy park with lots of in & out activity. We went to a local flooring distributor, picked out what we wanted,paid for the material and then paid the guy for his labor. Just mentioning this a an area for thought. We are now mobile 3/4 of the year, but come back her for a few months each year. We were very pleased to get this done onsite..a big deal for full-timers(with old dogs, too!). Terry offers a great possibility of looking for nice mobile parks set-up to take RV's. We couldn't find that here, but wish we had.Since we no longer have to be "in town" for the business we closed, we found a place 55 miles out, with super amenities, for $250 less per month than we now pay, when we are here. Our experience is that it costs less to live as we now do than when we had the house. While we have mild winters, we have very hot summers, and even with metered electric, we pay less than in the house. We were very lucky that the buyer of our house bought everything in it, as well, and I realize that things became simpler for us, but I think you are wise to consider the R.V. option. I wish you well. Richard
Hi Linda, We already Have a Class A. We don't have savings and we'd never afford to buy a trailer with our credit. The whole point is living in what we have to save money. But thanks for the advice.
Hi Richard, I appreciate all your helpful advice. That is exactly why we're considering living in our RV. It's just a matter of finding a place out here in PA that would let us live on a site year round. I'm not ready to move out of state and leave my children and grandchildren behind yet. Thanks again.
I apologize for sounding a bit negative. I am not saying it can't be done; insulating around the bottom, a heated water hose and maybe the sewer hose. Look for a unit with a heated basement and holding tanks; cold weather package would be of great help. Think I would also want sliding windows instead of the crank out style. Also a roof that has some pitch from center to sides to allow the snow melt to run off. Flat roofs and heavy snow can create roof leaks!!!
Oh I didn't realize you already have a motorhome. :) Then that makes perfect sense!!!
This is an older post, hope your situation is going well!
One idea that occurs to me, if your husband is a flooring contractor, perhaps being in an RV might expand his working territory? Maybe you could use the opportunity to seek out jobs farther afield, also, there are "night watch" opportunities for parking an RV, maybe if your husband scores a job on a larger construction site, you could park there, and do duty as the night watchmen.