Hi there, my husband and I are getting serious about taking off and working our way around  Aus, we are both in our early 50's, willing to do almost any kind of work, just have to be brave and make the decision to do it.  Looking for advice on  do we rent our house out / sell it  etc, or just leave it empty so we still have a place to call home and not have to worry about storing furniture etc.     Please help me, I need someone to give me big push

-- Edited by Runaway Granny on Saturday 2nd of January 2010 07:23:58 PM

Welcome you have asked the same question many first timer ask , the answer many answers but I don't have the answer

Thanks,    are you guys working your way around,  or are you lucky enough to be retired

This is something we thought long and hard about before deciding on what was best for us.In the end we decided to rent the house out for 12 months, see how we  feel after that and make a decision one way or another then.
Whatever you do, you both need to be comfortable with that decision.

Oh by the way, welcome

HI & welcome to the group. We started our trip 4 months ago with an aim to travel for 2 years then decide if we want to keep going. We rented out our house so we have a place to return to if we want to at a later date. If you can afford the caravan & transport & are willing to do some work to pay for some of the costs then I would recommend the rental method till you make up your mind about your future plans. Some may say that renting your house out can be expensive as tenants can be destructive etc but if you go by word of mouth & find a reliable estate agent who does 3 or 6 month checks then you should be ok.
PS: We rented ours out part furnished & fit the rest of our stuff in the house garage which stays locked & out of bounds to the tenants.
Good luck with whatever you do.
Jon

Runaway granny we are in the lucky position were we don't have to work ,we are all at different stages in life but there will be someone out there you will relate with

Hi and welcome to the forum. 

We are thinking of downsizing when the time comes for us to hit the road after retirement. But we want the bricks and mortar to come back to if we choose. Selling up, we may not be able to afford to buy where we want to live at a later date.

All have different ideas, thats the way we think we will play it but that could change, who knows.  

Hi and welcome. My thought are similar to all of the above. We haven't retired as yet but would never part with the bricks and mortar. To get back into the market would'nt be easy unless finance were'nt a problem. Its a big decision, and the answer is for you to decide. Good luck with it and just enjoy your freedom. cheers

Welcome Runaway Granny, Agree with the others, keep the home if possible, at least until you have an idea of whether the lifestyle suits you or otherwise.......In the meantime just do it !

Just to add a bit of balance to the discussion; when I finally off loaded my last house, I felt so relieved by the sense of freedom that it gave me.
I will never want to own a house again.
Cruising Granny, a regular poster on this BB feels much the same way. She's out of comms at the moment, but she'll be back fairly soon, I expect.
Not having the worry of costs and maintenance is tremendously liberating, and I know of several GNs who, after traveling for some time, have either sold up and invested their money elsewhere, or dramatically downsized to something akin to a humpy just to store their precious and personal possessions.
As mentioned by one of the others (I think?) things like this must be a joint decision, made calmly and after a lot of consideration.
Getting out on the road and away from things familiar will give you different perspectives on how you wish to live your lives, so give yourselves plenty of time and experience before making any serious decisions.

.....and a big welcome from me too.

When are we going to see the result of the Nose Picking.............Rolly?? I could swap you a softie for a hardie. If it is really wet..............we could play windows???

Typical Bloody Fish Head,what an uncouth matelot.Birdies always use a handkerchief(Tissue).Cheers.Ibbo...........................lookout in coming Raffie type.lol.A hearty Welcome to you Runaway Granny,sorry about the detour.

welcome to the pair of you, I wont advise you on what you should or shouldnt do, thats something you will have to talk over between yourselves the experience I have had with renting out houses is that dont expect them to remain in the same condition that you left it in!

Hiya from one newbie to another..
Its such a hard question and only you will find the answer.
We have decided when we eventually head off (in about 8-10yrs permanantley), we are going to sell up everything, I couldnt bare the thought of having someone else live in my home.
We will be doing as you will be, working our way around..
Scott will still be young enough to work when we leave (although he looks like an old man now--or say I tell him.smiles).
He and the lil people do little treks now (there not really that little 22, 16,14) while I for now miss out (work is such a horrible word lol)

Cheers
Kym

 Hi it must be the day for newbies, we have been on he road for 3 years but this computer stuff is all very new. We were lucky in one respect we have only ever rented so paying off  someone else house or buying our own van was an easy decision  to make. I wasn't real keen on it at first  i have some medical dramas and i'm on a dissability pension, but it took about one whole week to change my mind now i wouldn't live any other way. I think if you own a house rent it out for a year with a good agent and if you family or friend that can drive around now and then just to check if it all looks good, then if you don't like this life you can always go back, but give it a try first.

It's what we normally advise newbies. Don't do anything permanently until you really know what you want!!

Don't buy a brand new flash van to start with..............buy a second hand van or rent a van and do some short trips..............see if you like the lifestyle. To some....who are used to living in a big house.............suddenly being lumped together in a small van is a real culture shock!! You are living under each others feet 24/7. Takes time to get used to.....if you ever get used to it. You may decide the van is too small..........or too big......too hard to tow.........need the shower and toilet....or not??   New vans cost a lot and unless you have the previous experience then take little steps.

Don't sell the house..............rent it out to begin with. Go and have your trip first. In 12 months time you may have had enough of the road or indeed each other and decide you want to come home. If after 12 months or so.......it still feels good.......then sell if you want to.

Take your time.......get it right the first time. Some of the lessons learnt can be very expensive!!

Enjoy.......stay safe and keep in touch with the Nomads...........and most important of all..........

LOVE THE DUCK!!!

Disco Duck wrote:

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.............we could play windows???

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No, never, not ever!

I'm a happy iMac user

 

love the duck!! good grief I thought beasteality was outlawed! but with a side order of mushroom sauce and maybe a little white wine I may get to "like" the duck

There are some days DaveO that I find it extremely difficult to think nice things about you.

I'm going to do what Rolly mentioned. Downsize to a liveable Humpy or Shack type abode mainly to store things in, but there when I can no longer go on the road. Cheers, xina.

Hi guys, we r doing the same as everyone. we r not renting but r helping a relative out for 12 mnths or so. The main issue is that you have to get over is the fact that your precious house will not be in the same condition when you get back and there will be work to do on it to get it back to standard. But life is short so enjoy.

If you took your finger out your nose, you may be able to breathe better?? :)