Community Forums

reubenray · 06-19-2014, 05:27 AM

Now that we are back from our 5+ week trip I have started to list some big ticket items on Craigslist. As soon as we declutter and get rid of some stuff the house will be put on the market. Now my concerns are popping up again of what happens after we sell the S&B. They mainly concern having an address. We plan on using at least half of the S&B proceeds as a down payment on a new or used motorhome. What we get for the house and what we find at that time will decide on what we get. If we can buy it outright we will, but only if we can still keep part of the house selling proceeds. My concerns are below. As soon as the house is listed I plan on getting an local address using a local UPS mail store. I may at that time start sending out change of address info. I don't want to do this to soon just in case the house does not sell.

1) What happens if we cannot get the financing? Our credit ratings is in the 800's now, but what happens after the S&B is gone. Will it change any? Will not having an actual address change it any?

2) What happens if we cannot get insurance for the motorhome plus car?

3) What happens if my bank or retirement company screams because we don't have an actual address?

4) My SS is put in using direct deposit, so this should not be a problem. But what happens to the DW's when she start drawing it in 4 years?

5) What happens to our ACA medical insurance with no actual address?

bdickson · 06-19-2014, 05:40 AM

We've been full time with no S&B for almost 3 years. We became S Dakota residents using Americas-Mailbox Home - mail forwarding - Americas-Mailbox as our address. It is a very easy process, and I would strongly recommend going this route rather than using a UPS store. The Americas Mailbox street address is on our drivers licenses, voter registration cards etc. To answer your questions specifically:

1. Some lenders don't care about a lack of S&B but generally it's a good idea to complete the finance application before you sell your house.

2. We went with Blue Sky Insurance for both MH and car. Many companies will do this with no problem.

3. They won't scream because you will have an actual street address. There are many Mail Forwarding services that do this. SD is the most popular state due to no personal income tax, low or no property tax, no vehicle inspections, easy residency requirements etc. TX and FL are also popular states with full timers.

4. My SS is direct deposit and I expect no issues when DW qualifies.

5. You will have an actual address. You just need to make sure your insurance company offers coverage for SD residents, and that you can use it anywhere in the country. I'm on Medicare and I have used it in several states with no problem.

Going full time and selling the S&B is a major lifestyle change, so just take it one step at a time and ask lots of questions!

reubenray · 06-19-2014, 05:48 AM

I was hoping to keep a Louisiana address if possible to start off with. This is where we would not have to change our drivers licenses and deal with the tax paperwork. If it does not work out then I will look at switching.

JMonroe · 06-19-2014, 07:42 AM

I'd like to elaborate on one of Bruce's points, financing.

We had planned to do just as you do, go shopping for our "retirement" rig after we'd sold the house. We then went on a research mission, attending one of Good Sam's national conventions, specifically to be able to see many different RVs all in one place. While there we also learned that financing options would become limited once we no longer owned a conventional home. As example, we spoke to one finance broker at the rally that said he represented 8 different lenders, only one of which would even take an application from you if you didn't own a home, and they'd charge a full point more for the privilege.

We moved up our purchase so everything could be completed, in out case, before the for sale sign even went up. We did borrow more than we had originally planned but you can adjust the terms to keep the payments manageable. Once the house is sold the lender can't change the terms and you're free to pay the loan down, or even off, without penalty.

As an aside, when I called our financial advisor and told him I wanted to now pay off the RV loan he talked me out of it, and for good reason. He was able to point out that our retirement investments were returning at least three times what the loan was costing us, plus we can write off the loan interest on the RV, the only debt we now have.

All of your concerns can be dealt with, you're not the first to go full time, there's a LOT of us here, and most are very willing to help - just ask.

Lastly, for what it's worth, we too established South Dakota as our legal domicile. It couldn't have been easier, and the taxes were not all that difficult to calculate. We owed Wisconsin taxes on the income earned there before our legal change of address. We actually had secured the address before Peggy retired, drove there for a visit, and to further establish our intent to make SD our legal domicile by getting a SD drivers license. 10 minutes at the DMV and we had our new license. We used that date, for tax purposes, as the date we were no longer WI residents.

reubenray · 06-19-2014, 09:07 AM

Would getting pre-approved using our current address lock in the financing? Without the cash from the S&B sale we would not be able to pay the down payment. We have the money in our retirement funds, but I don't really want to pull that out.

CampDaven · 06-19-2014, 09:18 AM

We are F/T and traded up in Jan. Was offered great finance rate but paid cash. Go figger!

bigmichael · 06-19-2014, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reubenray

Would getting pre-approved using our current address lock in the financing? Without the cash from the S&B sale we would not be able to pay the down payment. We have the money in our retirement funds, but I don't really want to pull that out.

I don't believe pre-approval will necessarily lock in the financing. I think most pre-approvals are dependant on the set of facts in place when the pre approval occurs.

But, I wouldn't spend tons of time worrying about financing, even if you sell your house first. While it is true that a lot of lenders will not finance for FTers, there are also some that specialize in that. (this is all assuming that your credit rating is satisfactory) Essex, Good Sam, Bank of the West are a few that come to mind. And they tend to meet or beat the best rate you would get anywhere else. Credit unions will often finance also.

bigmichael · 06-19-2014, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMonroe

As an aside, when I called our financial advisor and told him I wanted to now pay off the RV loan he talked me out of it, and for good reason. He was able to point out that our retirement investments were returning at least three times what the loan was costing us, plus we can write off the loan interest on the RV, the only debt we now have.

.

We had the exact same experience with our Financial Advisor. Pointed out that the interest rate we were being offered was much less than what we were earning on the money. So he indicated that if it was a "piece of mind" issue, we should pay cash. If it was a financial consideration, then use the banks money. (We have not had enough to itemize since going FT 7 years ago, so the write off doesn't do anything for us-but for someone who still has enough other expenses that they can itemize, then the interest write off even makes it better)

reubenray · 06-20-2014, 07:29 AM

I have been trying to work up a fulltime budget and it works out to be higher that our S&B budget. So to fulltime we would have to either buy the fulltime rig outright or get the payments less than what we have right now. Then I read a thread discussing the electric bills being as high as $800. This blew everything out of the water.

bigmichael · 06-20-2014, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reubenray

I have been trying to work up a fulltime budget and it works out to be higher that our S&B budget. So to fulltime we would have to either buy the fulltime rig outright or get the payments less than what we have right now. Then I read a thread discussing the electric bills being as high as $800. This blew everything out of the water.

I don't know what you were reading that suggested $800 electric bills, unless that was someone talking about a possible annual amount spent on electric. I think the highest we have ever seen so far in a month was about $130, and that was a very hot month using air a lot of the time. Electric costs vary by state and by park, but its usually easily under a $100.

mikell · 06-20-2014, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reubenray

I have been trying to work up a fulltime budget and it works out to be higher that our S&B budget. So to fulltime we would have to either buy the fulltime rig outright or get the payments less than what we have right now. Then I read a thread discussing the electric bills being as high as $800. This blew everything out of the water.

I would bet 80% of parks don't charge extra for electric unless it's a snowbird park.

Steve Ownby · 06-20-2014, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reubenray

I have been trying to work up a fulltime budget and it works out to be higher that our S&B budget. So to fulltime we would have to either buy the fulltime rig outright or get the payments less than what we have right now. Then I read a thread discussing the electric bills being as high as $800. This blew everything out of the water.

Many times a monthly rate will not include electric & electric will also be billed for actual usage. The most I have ever paid was about $200 and that was in the keys in Oct and 2 or 3 A/C's ran constantantly. The short answer is that you will pay electric in an RV just like S&B living. If you are in a campground for a couple of days and pay a rate of $35-40 a day electric is included. If you stay in the same place for a month and pay a monthly rate of $400 plus electric you are still way better off.

Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

JMonroe · 06-20-2014, 10:13 AM

It's been HOT here in upstate SC, mid 90s, and humid. We have at least 2 of the 3 A/C units running 24/7. We also do all of our laundry in the coach, so there's the dryer. Don't forget the microwave and the electric cooktop, the TVs, the lights, ...

Our last bill was $158, one of the highest we've had. In cooler weather that will drop by about 2/3rds. Can't imagine where the $800 number came from.

Our monthly expenses, compared to S&B living, haven't changed all that much. We could easily pare them down by about 1/2 by cutting back on the travel and entertainment expenditures, if need be. Even more could be saved if we were content to take up residence in one of the older "permanent resident" parks, or even a mobile home park. Here's hoping that will never come to pass.

PyrateSilly · 06-20-2014, 10:16 AM

We have stayed at 2 RV parks and 1 mobile home park over the last few years here in SoCal as monthlies. The first RV park was $520 a month, everything included. At the mobile home park we paid for electric along with $550 a month. They have something wrong with their electric as lots of peoples bills were fluctuating from around $20 to $300. The next place is at Thousand Trails, without joining the price per month is $700 and with joining the price is $500 and both are with everything included.

You can find parks with everything included and that includes electric, you just have to call around and ask.