Everyone trying to sell a house in this administration climate. You just have to look at the difference in the bottom line without the S&B. Lawn upkeep, taxes, homeowners association fees, regular maintenance, mortgage (if there is one), insurances and all the associated utilities and unexpected outlays due to failures. Oil in winter, or natural gas or electric heat, air conditioning in the summer are all factors to be considered. If you will use an honest pencil and total your cost of keeping a S&B, then use an honest pencil to calculate your costs to RV fulltime, it becomes a no-brainer (which is good in my case). I know of a couple that had to do a short sale and make up the difference, but still is way ahead at the end of the month. Each of us has to make up our own mind on which is the best way to advance with our lives.

My opinion and mine only but if you can sell now and come out even or a little ahead I would jump on it.Once again, MY OPINION, the housing market is heading for another downturn as long as the current climate in Washington stays the same.

I see it as more of an emotional decision. Project out 5-10-20 years and the worst scenario happens - and you are terminal. Will you look back and wish you were in your house, or on the road???

You only go through this life once, and we have no idea when the end might come. Seize the moment!

Jo and I spent 3 years trying to get our house sold before finally being successful.  That length of time will make it more difficult for us to actually be completely debt free before we go on the road.  We had multiple reasons for going ahead and selling.

1.  We went through the process of "settling" the estates of both her parents and mine, thus we didn't want our kids to have to do the same.  As it is now, if something happens to us, there is very little they have to get rid of, and they may even choose to keep the RV.

2.  We would have never gotten our house paid off before retiring, so we couldn't have stayed in it even if we weren't traveling.

3.  Should it be that we end up back in a stix and brix, it will be in a rental.  That will still give us some flexibility as to where we live.  If we can, we'll rent in a small town.  If things with our health deteriorate, we can rent in a city, closer to the necessary health care facilities.

4.  Costs will be a lot less with the RV than with a house, owned or rented.

5.  We've rented out property that we owned before and renters SELDOM EVER take care of a property that isn't theirs, and sometimes don't even tell the landlord of problems until the problems become a lot more serious.

6.  We'll NEVER have to wonder how things are with the stix and brix.  Did a storm come through and damage a roof?  Did a grass fire get close to and damage or destroy the  property?  Are there issues with unauthorized people gaining access to the house and using it without anyone's knowledge.  (Believe me, we've seen that happen too.)

7. We rented a house once in Amaraillo, Texas and the landlord was hesitant to rent it out.  Rightly so, because someone renting from him had overhauled their motorcycle engine on the living room carpet.

8. No place that we are tied to that we have to take time to go deal with.  Freedom is another way of saying we can go where and when we want.

I don't know if any of this concernes you, but each was a factor in our decision.

Goog luck and have fun.

Terry

Our house is for sale & we know we will be giving it away, if it does sell.  But due to several life-changing events that recently happened to us, now is the time for us to try to get out.  We could stay here, but why keep watching the house decline in value month after month as we continue to make the big mortgage payment? 

After the Great Depression, it took 19 years for housing values to return to pre-Depression standards.  It may not take that long this time, but I believe that it will be several years before housing prices go up any significant amount.

Your life can change literally in one heartbeat.  And you never know when that moment of change may occur.  My husband & I are still in pretty good health, but we're not getting any younger.  I don't want to keep paying on an "asset" that is declining in value in addition to doing all the maintenance that goes with it, only to realize in 10 years that I wish I'd been traveling.

It does really grate on me when I think about all the money we're losing on this property, but I can't change the facts.  I'd rather give it up now, reduce our expenses, & buy a decent used RV to live in as we travel the country.

Cindy T 

Everyone's replies are valid and well thought-out regarding this topic, so let me add another "financial" consideration. Since you state you don't need to sell your residence to purchase your RV (which you have & is paid off) and, you have a low pay-off on your current residence, I believe renting is certainly an option as a financial investment. As a reference, we are currently renting out our residence and although we're in a $200 negative monthly cash-flow situation, the depreciation and write-offs on our taxes more than compensate for this difference. Like you, I could actually sell now and make some money; however, as an investment, I believe that real estate will come back at some point. Yes, it may take a decade, but I wouldn't invest in the stock market unless I had at least five years to recover any downturn. And yes, there are risks with renters, but how would you classify "landlords" regarding wealth? 

For reference, I thought it would be "fun" to list something in Wikipedia under "Landlord"
                                        "History of landlording"
"Landlording may be traced back to the Roman Empire and the manorial system (seignorialism), which began under it — peasants were bound to the land and dependent on their landlords for protection and justice. Under the feudalism such relations became widespread."

As you read everyone's replies, there's no one right situation for everyone since it's based on their financial portfolio; however, "real estate" is still considered an investment (yes I know it's terrible now, but the stock market, bond market, commodities, all have their "risks" with ups/downs). Many financial planners at the major Investment Firms still advise their clients to have some portion of their investments in real estate. So, if you don't "need" to sell your residence to financially support your RV lifestyle, why not wait it out for at least the next 12-36 months or more. It sounds like you may even return to it one day and, keeping the residence doesn't financially preclude you from traveling now, therefore you're able to enjoy your dreams right now.

Good luck with your decision!

I interviewed several property managers at my residence who were referred to me by friends and business associates and checked their references. I would have been comfortable using the property manager I selected; however, as fate would have it, right before I listed with this property manager, a good friend referred a couple our way who was interested in renting our property. Since this couple was a high-profile couple in the public eye who did not want any issues regarding a "bad renter's reputation", no criminal record issues, and I knew their income level, I am managing my property dealing directly with the renters when they need something.

I'm more than 2,000 away; however, I established all my points-of-contact prior to leaving (like electrician, plumbing, mechanical, etc) and I obtained a pool service and landscape company. I also ensured my residence was in excellent shape prior to renting out so I re-painted the outside, re-coated the roof (flat roof), re-coated the driveway, and replaced all my drip irrigation.

So far, our washer has given out but the renter has their own so that was no big deal. Due to the extreme cold weather this last winter (at least for Tucson) we lost three trees and so I'm getting bids to remove and replace these trees. Not a big deal in this day & age of the internet. I'm sure other things may go wrong, but they would probably go wrong if I were there anyway. This way, the rental income I receive more than makes up for what I've invested in "sprucing up" my property in the first place and the other rental income goes to paying down my mortgage.

Also, I have work associates and neighbors who I can contact to "check-up" on the property.

All-in-all, so far, so good.

Our plan right now is to rent the house. Primarily to maintain the rental income into retirement. Most likely we will use an excellent property management company I know. Unless we happen into a situation like Tim and Cindy did. In that case, we'd switch to property managers with tenant #2.

Wayne, Linda & Gizmo -- The decision whether to have tenants maintain the landscape or pay for it yourself is a personal one. Generally speaking, the more extensive the landscape maintenance required, the better off you are paying for it and rolling the cost into the rent. Also, higher end rentals are more likely to include maintenance.