Going Full Time in February, Need Advice

[Kevin-B]

Hello,

My wife will be accepting a job and moving out to Portland, Oregon next month. I'll be joining her there when I retire from the Air Force in January of 2016. To save money I'm thinking about renting out our house here in Henderson (Las Vegas) NV and going full time in my motorhome.

Question: What is the easiest way to sell some of our household items? Garage sale is not and option because we live in a gated golf community. The stuff we want to keep will go with her &/or be placed in storage.

[paz]

You can use Craig's List or eBay for larger items. For smaller items, do a search for flea markets in your area.

[hogdriver]

A couple in our neighborhood retired and downsized. They hired an agent to run an estate sale. She got 10% of everything but she sold everything except the toilets! For some reason when people read about an estate sale they come and feed like piranhas.

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by hogdriver

A couple in our neighborhood retired and downsized. They hired an agent to run an estate sale. She got 10% of everything but she sold everything except the toilets! For some reason when people read about an estate sale they come and feed like piranhas.

Only 10%! WOW!

[RodgerS]

I would segregate your stuff into three or four categories - start with category 4 and work towards category 1, keep going back to 4 again and again (keep the end goal in mind):

1) The first would be a goodwill category. Give as much away to goodwill or others as possible, it will make you feel really good. My 91 year old mother had about 40 stuffed animals hidden away, as her boyfriend likes to give her stuffed animals. I told her why don't we give them away instead of candy for Halloween...let the kids get a lot of joy from that...it was magic and my mother really enjoyed herself.
2) Rent a big truck and put as much stuff as you find into it and take it to the dump. Another big weight off your shoulders.
3) Only sell or store things that have significant value. Try to avoid storage. Try to avoid selling stuff unless it is a car or something worth more than several $100 dollars. Get it gone. Get on with your mental transition.
4) Only keep a few things for the motorhome - really pare it down. Like one set of tools, rounded set of clothes, enough for two weeks, memories items, guns, jewelry, some kitchen appliances. Clear out one room of the house and put this stuff in there and keep trying to imagine living without what is in the room or having to buy and replace something critical you should have kept, or having to throw it out later because it is just to much. Key is not junking up the motorhome and turning it into a rolling junk yard.

Packrats are packrats, so if you are one, your rv will reflect that.
Don't small dollar yourself to death, trying to sell junk.

[twogypsies]

We sold big items individually. We gave the kids/friends what they wanted; did one garage sale and the rest went to Goodwill (get a tax receipt) or the Dump. No Storage unit and high costs involved.

I understand you can't have a big sale because of being in a gated community. Can you load up a U-Haul and take it to a friend/relative's and have the sale there and then drive the excess to Goodwill?

Sort through it one room at a time. When finished, go back to Room #1 and re-sort. It's amazing what second thoughts will eliminate. Take along only what's really needed.

[Kevin-B]

Thanks for the advise everyone. I really like the idea for an estate sale.

[paz]

Originally Posted by Kevin-B

Thanks for the advise everyone. I really like the idea for an estate sale.

If the HOA won't allow you to have a garage sale, will they tolerate all the traffic, parked cars and signs connected with an estate sale?

[Technobody]

We are still about 7 month from pulling the plug and lots of stuff goes down the garbage chute every week. However the idea of an estate sale is fabulous and we will be doing just that. Living in a huge apartment complex we have a captive audience.

[Air Baron]

Hey Kevin
We started shredding files well in advance. We held garage sales, to little avail. We gave the washer and dryer to a neighbor. We gave the dining room to our youngest son. We called a charity to pick up the mattresses and things that did not sell. The rest, including the old Corvette and Harley, went to storage lockers. Our 3 year military tenant will be leaving next summer. We plan on parking the motorhome on the former boat slab and temporarily moving the storage locker contents back in to the house and garage. That $5k per year mounts up fast. After cleaning and getting the house ready for sale, we plan on buying a much smaller retirement house and getting it ready for the day that we can no longer travel. As glamorous as full timing sounds, you really need to have an exit strategy...if not now, certainly by the time old age or poor health catch up to either one of you.
Dennis

[Czar Of Poop]

We went with friends, neighbors, and family on a lot of the large items because they knew they were well cared for. Did a lot more with craigslist and ran our own estate sale. It took us 1yr. to get rid of it all including the house!

[336muffin]

We had a "Estate Tag Sale" we tagged EVERYTHING and sold it where it sat or hung! We did not move anything, sold over 90% in day and a half ourselves. We also had a picker come in prior for a lot of the antiques and large stuff. We have nothing in storage and no house. No stress.

[Kevin-B]

Originally Posted by 336muffin

We had a "Estate Tag Sale" we tagged EVERYTHING and sold it where it sat or hung! We did not move anything, sold over 90% in day and a half ourselves. We also had a picker come in prior for a lot of the antiques and large stuff. We have nothing in storage and no house. No stress.

I was thinking about doing the samething! I'm going to check with our HOA to see if we can do an estate sale.

[Sky_Boss]

Originally Posted by Kevin-B

I was thinking about doing the samething! I'm going to check with our HOA to see if we can do an estate sale.

Dang HOAs! Hey...isn't it easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?