Belinda an I haven't been on here in a few weeks but here's why... We were getting everything ready for the next big step towards our becoming full-timers - divesting ourselves of all our "stuff!"
Last weekend we took that next big step - We had an “estate sale” which, in our circumstance it was less an estate sale than it was a professionally-run glorified yard/garage sale. We sold nearly 80-85% of all our “worldly” belongings (which will go a long ways towards reducing our outgo & increasing our income). Most of what we have left - other than personal clothing and the like - is going to our children. We may have one more regular yard sale to divest ourselves of the rest, or just give it to goodwill.
Plus, after almost 9-months of research, Belinda and I have zeroed in what we believe is the 5th wheel of ourrv-dreams J… We had been leaning towards the Keystone Montana 3900FB because of the bath & a half – which we really feel is a deal breaker for us – but the one snag was it wasn’t designed for a stackable W/D, just a combo. As full-timers we don't want to hassle with the combo or rely on campground facilities. We kept thinking if Keystone would just remove one of the two sinks in the Fwd Bath and plumb that area for a stackable W/D.
Well, Belinda thinks every time we went into the Montana 3900FB, Keystone must’ve had hidden microphones… Now available on RV Dealer’s lots is the new Keystone ALPINE 3720FB! This is EXACTLY what we wanted – it takes out that 2nd sink in the master bath and instead has a floor-to-ceiling closet plumbed for, you guessed it, a stackable W/D!!!
We do wish we were in the position right now of being able to buy it but, unfortunately, our next big step is selling the house. We are grateful that God did not let us settle last August for a lower-than-fair-market-value for our townhome when we had it on the market shortly after we made the decision to become full-time RVers. The housing market is going up, other homes in our small community that have been for sale for months are starting to move, and - as the mortgage rates are beginning to creep up - we are now confident that within the next couple of months, we'll be able to put our place back on the market for a better price than before and we should be able to walk away with enough for a substantal down payment on the Alpine.
Anyway, Thanks for all the great encouragement and advice we've received or read here in the RV-Dreams Forum, and we'll keep you posted!
Sam & Belinda
ReunionRenewalRestoration.com
-- Edited by jjsbergy on Friday 19th of April 2013 11:34:32 AM
WestWardHo said
06:48 PM Apr 19, 2013
Sam & Belinda,
Wonderful that you found your dream unit! Best wishes for a quick home sale!
Sherry
NWescapee said
07:04 PM Apr 19, 2013
Congrats! Seems like things are progressing. Hope the market keeps going up for you, I know it's going up in our area, inventory of pre-owned homes is at an all time low which we're hoping means it will be a quick sale once we actually get it listed.
You had great success on your estate sale, that's fantastic!! It's amazing how much time it takes to get rid of all the "stuff". I keep thinking we've made a lot of progress and then I turn around and look at the garage and know we still have a bit more to do!!
Lucky Mike said
07:55 PM Apr 19, 2013
I so good to hear your moving forward!!!!!!
Lots of graduates in the upcoming groups .......Life is good , enjoy each moment!!!!
jjsbergy said
08:17 PM Apr 19, 2013
Thanks guys! Hey, NWescapee, not sure where you're located, but you might check into businesses that do estate sales. We were thinking we were going to have to have 2 or 3 yard sales and use craigslist for bigger items, but, as God often does, He brought someone into our lives that told us about "Caring Transitions." We met with them about 3 weeks ago, they took pics and the sale was marketed on their website.
The week of the sale, they come in on Monday, work for 3 days tagging, pricing, logging, staging, and setting everything up. Then on Friday AND Saturday they have the sale. Yes, they took a nice commission but the headaches we avoided were MORE than worth it! PLUS, unlike most - if not all - of us who have yard sales, THEY can take plastic as well as cash!
Anyway, we are very happy living in an almost empty house. In fact, we kind of feel like we are already getting accustomed to the RV life because we are basically using only the kitchen and our bedroom as living areas!!! :)
And we are definitely enjoying each moment Lucky Mike!!!
NWescapee said
07:53 AM Apr 20, 2013
Sam and Belinda - small world, Caring Transitions ran our first online auction, good results. sold a lot of the big stuff. Then we had a garage sale, with a decent result, in between, a speciality tandem bicycle sold off Craigslist. Next plan is a final online auction through Caring Transitions after we have a contract on the house. Just need to get the 5ver home, packed and literally parked across the street on a neighbor's lot who has been kind enough to let us park there so we're not occupying the driveway while the house is on the market.
The commission taken by Caring Transition is well worth the headache avoidance and after the first round we've learned a few things, like setting reserve if we're personally offended by someone "buying" something on the auction for less than the cost of materials. Overall I was pleased with our local Caring Transitions rep and hope to benefit with a second auction.
bigboomer said
10:03 PM Apr 20, 2013
Sam and Belinda,
Congrats on your new rig....we said exactly the same thing about the 3900. We told Keystone to make the rear bath a utility room option for the w/d and extra closet space. Glad to see they offer the Alpine with some options to help with storage.
As full-timers we can all use as much as storage space as possible.
Wishing you safe travels and wonderful adventures on the road.
Les
jjsbergy said
10:15 PM Apr 20, 2013
Les & Sue... I like the idea if the utility room but we definitely like the bath & half. Would wonder if the w/d near the living area would be too noisy.
We know the Alpine 3720 is finally the rig that has everything on our deal-breaker checklist. Of course we hope our travels begin sooner rather than later!
Belinda an I haven't been on here in a few weeks but here's why... We were getting everything ready for the next big step towards our becoming full-timers - divesting ourselves of all our "stuff!"
Last weekend we took that next big step - We had an “estate sale” which, in our circumstance it was less an estate sale than it was a professionally-run glorified yard/garage sale. We sold nearly 80-85% of all our “worldly” belongings (which will go a long ways towards reducing our outgo & increasing our income). Most of what we have left - other than personal clothing and the like - is going to our children. We may have one more regular yard sale to divest ourselves of the rest, or just give it to goodwill.
Plus, after almost 9-months of research, Belinda and I have zeroed in what we believe is the 5th wheel of our rv-dreams J… We had been leaning towards the Keystone Montana 3900FB because of the bath & a half – which we really feel is a deal breaker for us – but the one snag was it wasn’t designed for a stackable W/D, just a combo. As full-timers we don't want to hassle with the combo or rely on campground facilities. We kept thinking if Keystone would just remove one of the two sinks in the Fwd Bath and plumb that area for a stackable W/D.
Well, Belinda thinks every time we went into the Montana 3900FB, Keystone must’ve had hidden microphones… Now available on RV Dealer’s lots is the new Keystone ALPINE 3720FB! This is EXACTLY what we wanted – it takes out that 2nd sink in the master bath and instead has a floor-to-ceiling closet plumbed for, you guessed it, a stackable W/D!!!
We do wish we were in the position right now of being able to buy it but, unfortunately, our next big step is selling the house. We are grateful that God did not let us settle last August for a lower-than-fair-market-value for our townhome when we had it on the market shortly after we made the decision to become full-time RVers. The housing market is going up, other homes in our small community that have been for sale for months are starting to move, and - as the mortgage rates are beginning to creep up - we are now confident that within the next couple of months, we'll be able to put our place back on the market for a better price than before and we should be able to walk away with enough for a substantal down payment on the Alpine.
Anyway, Thanks for all the great encouragement and advice we've received or read here in the RV-Dreams Forum, and we'll keep you posted!
Sam & Belinda
ReunionRenewalRestoration.com
-- Edited by jjsbergy on Friday 19th of April 2013 11:34:32 AM
Wonderful that you found your dream unit! Best wishes for a quick home sale!
Sherry
You had great success on your estate sale, that's fantastic!! It's amazing how much time it takes to get rid of all the "stuff". I keep thinking we've made a lot of progress and then I turn around and look at the garage and know we still have a bit more to do!!
Lots of graduates in the upcoming groups .......Life is good , enjoy each moment!!!!
The week of the sale, they come in on Monday, work for 3 days tagging, pricing, logging, staging, and setting everything up. Then on Friday AND Saturday they have the sale. Yes, they took a nice commission but the headaches we avoided were MORE than worth it! PLUS, unlike most - if not all - of us who have yard sales, THEY can take plastic as well as cash!
Anyway, we are very happy living in an almost empty house. In fact, we kind of feel like we are already getting accustomed to the RV life because we are basically using only the kitchen and our bedroom as living areas!!! :)
And we are definitely enjoying each moment Lucky Mike!!!
The commission taken by Caring Transition is well worth the headache avoidance and after the first round we've learned a few things, like setting reserve if we're personally offended by someone "buying" something on the auction for less than the cost of materials. Overall I was pleased with our local Caring Transitions rep and hope to benefit with a second auction.
We know the Alpine 3720 is finally the rig that has everything on our deal-breaker checklist. Of course we hope our travels begin sooner rather than later!