by Beks
It’s funny that Hope just bought a house at the same time I’m seriously considering selling mine. I’m super happy for you Hope!!
My situation is a bit different (aren’t we all?). We have been away from our home, living in our trailer, for more than half the year and the more time we spend on the road, the more we recognize how much we enjoy the nomadic lifestyle. Oh goodness, not permanently! But we really want to see the country and now that COVID numbers are falling, it’s feeling like a more normal place out there.
I’m still job searching but I’m looking into remote possibilities and…
Considering selling our home, selling everything we own, and moving full-time into our trailer.
Am I crazy? Before you answer, here’s our thinking. Again, this wouldn’t be longer than a year or two. When we finish, we want to buy a piece of property in a more rural area in Texas and build a home ourselves (reminder, my husband is a general contractor). We would continue to live in the trailer until the home is finished.
What are our financial thoughts? We would be selling our home in an all-time high market. Seriously, San Diego is ON FIRE. We’d stay out of the market while we travel in hopes it will cool a little (ha ha right?). We would cashflow our travel like we’ve been doing now and would bank what we would have been paying in mortgage payments and utilities for the two years of travel and one year of building. That would equal $90K or more. We’d couple that with the profit we made off our house in San Diego and pay cash for the land and the house we build. We would need to upgrade to a slightly better trailer since ours isn’t made for full-time living (technically no trailer is but some fair better than others).
My fears? We could get out of a hot market and it could continue to increase and we wouldn’t be able to get back in. What if we change our mind and want to stay in California (my husband is FIRM on leaving)? We would be selling everything (nothing we have is worth putting in storage) and what if we wouldn’t be able to replace it all without spending a ton of money?
Will our kids would struggle with life on the road? Sure, they love it now but for another year or two? We talked to them about the idea and they all said they want to continue travelling. We’ve seen more family this year than ever before. We’ve seen some amazing places. But I still wonder if I would be doing the right thing.
But wow, the dream of being absolutely debt free, mortgage and all, is really attractive.
Am I crazy?!?
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
Well, what are the tax implications of living in a trailer? I mean, if you’re nomadic, which state claims your income for tax purposes?
Most full time RVers choose Texas as their state of residence. There are a lot of businesses in the state that provide mailing services for full timers.
This isn’t the first time you’ve said your husband is firm on leaving. Why do you think you may change your mind? Are YOU not sure?
You know how they do tons on training on change management? That’s for people like me. I struggle with change. Once I’m on the other side, I’m usually good. Change is terrifying for me. I married a man who has no problem flying by the seat of his pants. Opposites attract!
Go for it! Sounds like a great adventure.
Right?! I hate change but I LOVE adventure!
I just sold a house I was using as a rental and lets just say the money looks REAL GOOD in my investment account. No regrets.
Good to know!
If you don’t go for it, will you always regret it? I say do it!!!
That’s a great perspective. If I don’t, yes, I will regret it.
What about renting your place out for a year to give it a go?
We thought about that but due to Covid, it’s nearly impossible to get renters/squatters out if they don’t pay. We’re inexperienced landlords and it’s a huge risk. We have friends that recently sold their property because they’ve had such a bad experience this year.
Oh I definitely would. Think about it this way. If you don’t now, you probably never will. The kids will get older and you won’t want to displace them when they are say in high school. Or at least it will be in many years after they have left home. I would say do this now. You can always go back to being a homeowner. Plus it may force your hand a little in moving to Texas like you wanted down the road when you are done. I would definitely sell CA right now.
True! If we don’t leave in the next couple years, we won’t go. If my kids make it to high school in CA, we won’t leave.
I would say, go for it. If living in a trailer prove to be hard, you can also go in a rural area and rent a house for a year, like Hope did. In this way, you can see how everybody will handle rural living without paying the full price. If things dont go as planned, just put the money you saved for a down payment and pay morgage again.
That’s a great idea!