What to do with the S&B when full timing

[cucotx]

The DW and I can't wait to go full timing. We have been discussing what to do with the S&B. Do we sell it or rent it out?

I'm thinking renting it out ... Here is my thinking.

1 - I went to the Zillow website and I found out the approximate monthly rental that I may be able to get.

That rate would easily pay for taxes, maintenance, yard upkeep, etc.

2 - I would pay a local real estate office to manage tenants, rent collection and maintenance.

3 - I would add a shed in the backyard and move those things from the house that I can't bring myself to get rid off.

4 - Rent the house fully furnished. That allows me to keep all the antique furniture in the house.

5 - Use any money left over after expenses to pay for maintenance and upgrades to the RV.

6 - Have a place to go back to once full timing is no longer possible. If not, we can always sell the place in the future if we decide to move else where in the country for another S&B.

I wonder how others have made this decision and why?

[twogypsies]

It probably depends on how serious you are about full-timing. If you just want to 'try it', then it's best to keep the house for a year. If you have a love of traveling, exploring new places, wanting to volunteer in special places, you might consider otherwise. Real estate is not a stable investment. You can do much better. We have.

You mentioned renting it furnished and you have antiques. You do realize that those antiques will not matter to renters. Storing things in a shed in the back yard? Think moisture, heat, bugs, rodents?

We sold our lake house and everything in it when we began full-timing 16 years ago. We loved the lake, boats, fishing, swimming, etc. but realized it wasn't a place we wanted to spend the rest of our life. Everyone is different so you'll just have to decide what you expect to really get out of full-timing. If you say, we'll 'try' it then it's probably best to keep the house because you haven't made a committment of 'doing it' instead of 'trying' it. Some folks have said they're full-timing for a year. No way can you make the total experience in a year. After 16 years we still haven't seen it all!

We've now found a semi-permanent landing spot for the winter and it's completely different from that midwest lake house. It's small, has no yard upkeep and any furniture we might have kept would not fit or even look good. We're in a different area of the country and our tastes have changed.

That's just our experience but other might feel differently. No one's experiences or thoughts will be the same. Good luck. It's a wonderful new lifestyle!

[Dutch Star David]

Do a really good job vetting your tenants. Friends down the street rented their house; renter's trashed it. One month's security deposit won't cover much damage!

[cucotx]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

It probably depends on how serious you are about full-timing.

Yes. We will be full timing. We're counting the days. Well, actually, the years before we do so

Originally Posted by twogypsies

You mentioned renting it furnished and you have antiques. You do realize that those antiques will not matter to renters. Storing things in a shed in the back yard? Think moisture, heat, bugs, rodents?

Good point about renters not caring about the furniture. But, I have heard from real estate agents that there is a market for renting fully furnished houses/apartments. Many companies have executives that need a temporary place to roost.

Yes. Storing stuff in the shed may be problematic ...

Our house is in Dallas, TX. Luckily, of all the real estate markets in the US, TX seems to be more stable than most. So, the thought is that the appreciation on the house would at least keep up with inflation.

It would be great if part of the rental income also pays for some of the financing on the coach. That would allow us to buy a "better" coach.

[myshaggydog]

In our case, we made the decision to fulltime about 5 years ago. We started to prepare the house for sale and began looking at RV's and decided on a motorhome. We cleaned out the closets and other areas and yard saled, donated or tossed out. When we listed this past fall, we were ready to go fulltiming after a lot of research and preparation. Once the house sold in November 2013 we bought a used MH and off we went.

We did not want to hold onto the house, rent or leave vacant. All of the items left in the house we gave to our kids. We have not missed the house and love living in the RV. If down the road we become unable to travel around, we will plant ourselves some where permanently and continue to live in the MH. Of course that is us and no one can decide what you should do but you and the DW. Be sure you both want to fulltime. Best of luck and it is a fantastic way to see our wonderful country.

Happy RV'ing

[PyrateSilly]

We rented to family .... never again. Got rid of the house and after a year finally got back to get rid of the storage unit. Best move we ever did.

[gruelens]

From personal experience, I can tell you your absentee owner rental plan will work. The biggest hurdle to overcome is obtaining a property manager that actually provides the services they promised and are contracted to do. In addition, leaving valuable antique furnishings in a rental property, with absentee landlord, could be problematic. The rest is just a numbers game for you. How important to you is coming back to this property, vs some other property? Which provides more potential, taking the equity out of your home or rental income?

[cucotx]

Originally Posted by PyrateSilly

We rented to family .... never again. Got rid of the house and after a year finally got back to get rid of the storage unit. Best move we ever did.

I'm wondering what issues came up? ... Yard not kept clean, kids writing on the walls with crayons, pets urinating on the carpet ...

[cucotx]

Originally Posted by gruelens

... How important to you is coming back to this property, vs some other property? Which provides more potential, taking the equity out of your home or rental income?

I consider myself the worst investor ever. The best, and only good investment I have ever made, was to buy the smallest home in the best neighborhood. That's the house I have now.

Because of my past unsuccessful investment experience, I figured that as long as the house keeps up with inflation and the rental pays the taxes, pays for someone to mow the lawn and pays for the big repairs, e.g. new roof, that I would be ahead of the game.

Eventually, we're all forced to stop full timing. Hopefully we can do it until we're in our 80s. So, yes, eventually, this house would be sold and another more appropriate house would be bought somewhere in this beautiful country of ours.

Taking the money from a sale now and hoping to invest it wisely in the casinos on Wall Street is kind of scary!

[BobGed]

It sounds like you're not 100% sure that full timing will work for you, and you would like to keep your house and furnishings as a "just in case".

Nothing wrong with that, but I would recommend storing your furniture in one or more of something like a PODS container.

The nice part about PODS containers is you pack the items yourself, or you can hire some one that you supervise, which insures it is done to your satisfaction. You could then rent your house on one year leases using a good property management company.

We're not full timing but have been leasing our former home in Idaho for the past four years to two different tenants though a good property management company with no problems at all, and even after paying for yard care and pest control we're still enjoying a very healthy after tax profit.

[cucotx]

Originally Posted by BobGed

It sounds like you're not 100% sure that full timing will work for you, and you would like to keep your house and furnishings as a "just in case".

The part that concerns me is that eventually I would need the money to get out of fulltiming and into the last S&B for the years prior to buying the farm ...

So I think that because the house is in a great neighborhood in the state of Texas, that it has a good chance of at least keeping up with inflation.

Originally Posted by BobGed

... have been leasing our former home in Idaho for the past four years to two different tenants though a good property management company with no problems at all, and even after paying for yard care and pest control we're still enjoying a very healthy after tax profit.

This is the reason that I started this thread. To learn from others about this ...

[cucotx]

Originally Posted by dlovitt

Do a really good job vetting your tenants. Friends down the street rented their house; renter's trashed it. One month's security deposit won't cover much damage!

This my biggest concern. Because of it, I'm thinking about the following idea:

The Dallas area is home to some large companies, e.g. World Headquarters for Dr. Pepper & Snapple Group. Those kinds of companies deal with certain real estate agencies that provide furnished homes for rental to temporary executives and employees. Tapping into those types of tenants and real estate management companies may be the smart thing to do.

[TXiceman]

Been a landlord once before and never again. We sold the house and most everything in it. Feels great to rid of the house maintenance, taxes, insurance and all of the "stuff".

Ken

[PatrickJ]

If you were currently full-timing without a S&B, would you buy a house in that neighborhood in Texas to rent for investment income?