Starting out!

Ug-Vic · Veteran Member

Starting out!

blaze · Guru

Hi
I am also 50 , havnt sold the house and have a great tenant in my son who never left home. He is doing a good job of keeping house from all reports. We had no where near $50k. I drive a 97 discovery tdi300 and tow a 1980 van that we purchased for $5500 and spent a bit more than that on a rebuild. we left tassie in january, now in Alobany WA. My wife has picked up full time casual work in age care, I am night manager at a caravan park as well as picking up a day or 2 here and there with skill hire. I have a trade and havnt even looked at employment in that field. I think the first year on the road will be the hardest as far as getting work as you will make contacts in the frst year you are able to use in future years
just do it
You are dead a long time
cheers
blaze

Ma · Guru

There would be very very few of us that would have that amount in the bank U-V.

Selling the house, or not, is a personal thing. Quite a few do sell up and get on the road, but my choice is to have a base to come back to.

There is plenty of work out there if you are looking for it and plenty of places to find out where it is. I will leave that for those who have done it to advise you.

In the mentime I hope all goes to plan for you. You certainly won't regret heading off into the wide blue, or should that be brown, yonder. All the best from us.

jimricho · Guru

I concur with Ma about having a base to come home to but as she points out it's a personal decision. Perhaps talk to an accountant about the financial implications.

Maybe, and I stress that this is only a "thought bubble"; .... Sell the house, buy a unit and rent it out, one that you'd be happy to live in yourself when you feel the need (or are forced by circumstances) to return to a more "permanent base". Units are much less hassle to rent out but you do need to choose wisely, also you need a good reliable property manager. You would need to factor in the cost of selling and buying.

Property ownership is very good security, especially as we age. If on limited retirement income, paying rent leaves little left for the necessities of life.

-- Edited by jimricho on Monday 18th of April 2011 07:34:55 AM

pws25 · Senior Member

Mornin Vicki,All GREAT advise,really its what you both feel 'secure' with ,I had a gutsful of sittin roun payin a morg.& wishin the hell I was out there! Sold the house, put the money away til I find somewhare that I REALLY like.I have a good van & I jus 'wander' round usually get work in a c/park [cheap rent ] Live cheap, [solo ] its certainly better with 2 wages. I have a 'travel'fund of about $15000, i DONT LET IT GET TO LOW! $8/9000? then I get serious bout lookin f work.

There is plenty of work, specially in hosp./tourism, roadhouses etc. As others said,JUS DO IT !!u,ll never know until ya try it

Gerty Dancer · Guru

As far as selling your home goes, we chose to keep ours but think we might downsize after this trip. tired of maintenance! Remember if you sell your house, it becomes difficult to buy another after some years/if your circumstances change, because the property market keeps on rising, while your savings dont.

Have you done any caravanning/camping holidays before? If not, might be a good idea to do a few test trips to make sure of what you really want.

Big decisions! Wishing you luck, Ug-Vic. smile

Wombat 280 · Guru

Prefer that home base to eventually come back to when unable to travel in the style I like once the age factor hits home and if you own outright it becomes a source of income and a cashable asset down the track. As for money a lot of people have remodeled there life style to do it on an old age pension , not sure if I could but one never knows until one tries I suppose. There is always work out there for those who want it ask Aunt Julia she knows of heaps of jobs LOL.

kandagal · Guru

Hi Vic, We're in our 18th. year "on the road" When we first started out we kept our house but we found it was a hassle toworry about. So we sold up & have never regretted it. We lived on our own money at first until becoming an oldie & getting the pension. We manage on this now plus a small monthly amount from a allocated pension. Of course to manage an economical way of travelling we bush camp about 98% of the time, now & then do some house sitting, also volunteer work as camp host at Nat. Parks. . At present we are house sitting in WA, just filling in time until we go off on a long cruise - 6 1/2 wks from Fremantle going to Asia, India, The Seychelles, The Maldives, Sth Africa among other ports. So we find we can save a little bit of money each year to go off & do something different. To keep fuel costs down we travel only a short distance at a time. Spreads the cost out over a longer time. Hope to see you on the track sometime. Cheers Kandagal

ozi2 · Guru

Ug-Vic wrote:
Hi everyone
I am new to this forum and not sure how it works. Please forgive me if I make mistakes.
My partner and I have a dream to travel Oz. We have just returned from a 2 week cruise which was wonderful but I am now wanting to think about our dream and turning it into a reality. We are 47 and 50 years of age.
We are prepared to stop and work when need be as we will not be eligable for any government assistance. We don't have a lot in super and are not able to get it right now anyway.
We have a 4wd and only need a van to head off. Just a couple of things that I am doing homework on at this stage.
Is it a good idea to sell the house or would it be better to rent it out?
How much money would be enough to start off and to have for emergencies?
Hubby seems to think we would need to have about $50k in the bank but I think that would be overkill............
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Vic

Hi Vic, welcome to the forum. Personally I would hang onto the house, as other posts have suggested. It gives you a base to come home to, it can be a source of income during your travels, either boosting your income or perhaps paying a mortgage. It continues to grow in value as against selling and the high cost of agents/stamp duty,gst when you do and then again if you return to the market. I would discuss all the pro's and con's with your accountant as to how you could "arrange your affairs"and maximise benefits. you can rent your house up to 6 years without incurring capital gains if you then decide to sell. If you use the search function at top of page and type in info eg, cost of living etc, you will find that members have posted detailed costs covering everything for their trips over 12months....great advice to be found there. $50,000 contingency?, I have to say that it sounds a bit high; would probably pay for your van.

If you check the homepage classifieds you find that a lot of work is available as you move around.

We hope to hear that you have made the dream come true and look forward to your posts,

cheers,

ozi2

If you type "we are home (bugga)"into the search function it will take you to the post by Gary and Kerry detailing their travel costs.........excellent post!

-- Edited by ozi2 on Monday 18th of April 2011 03:52:48 PM

milo · Guru

Hi Vic, welcome and please let me know how the cruise was
my dad (87) and i are going on our first in june, so cant wait..
any way I think for me , id rather hae some where to come home to,
you could save up for say travel 6 months of the year , when the weather is crap at
home , then when had enough ,come home and rest up, then plan the next trip..
could do it in parts, ie one or 2 states at a time, thats how id like to do it..
especially with all my medical issues.. good luck

Happywanderer · The Master

I wouldn't part with my unit even though I am only renting. I feel I need something to come back to especially as I get older. A few people have said get rid of the unit and live in your van. But I would be paying storage for my furniture and belongings anyway so might as well pay the rent on here.
Everyone is different and will do what suits them for different reasons.
I would love $50,000 as a backup but that will only happen if I win lotto. Like a lot of others here will be doing it on the pension.

Nicholstones · Guru

jimricho wrote:

Maybe, and I stress that this is only a "thought bubble"; .... Sell the house, buy a unit and rent it out, one that you'd be happy to live in yourself when you feel the need (or are forced by circumstances) to return to a more "permanent base". Units are much less hassle to rent out but you do need to choose wisely, also you need a good reliable property manager. You would need to factor in the cost of selling and buying.

-- Edited by jimricho on Monday 18th of April 2011 07:34:55 AM

You need to be aware that if you sell your house and buy something else which you immediately rent out without having lived in, when you finally sell that property you will be liable for CGT on the entire portion of the time in which it was rented out, whereas if you rent out a home you have been living in then you are only liable to CGT if it is rented out for more than 6 consecutive years.

Example 1: Buy unit for $150k, rent it for 2 years, live in it for 2 years, sell it for $200k, CGT liability will be on $25k (half of $50k capital gain, which is the proportion of time the unit was rented out).

Example 2: Buy unit for $150k, live in it for 1 year, rent out for 2 years, live in it for 1 year, sell for $200k, CGT liability is zero. This assumes that you don't have another property during the time the unit is rented out that you are living in and claiming the CGT exemption on.

Don't believe me or anyone else though - get professional advice.

capt cream bun · Senior Member

Hi Vic....lots to learn and listen to here! Friendly place too.

I joined this forum to learn, that was some time ago and i still remain in the learning class years later!. There is a lot of knowledge here so dont be afraid to ask away.

In some ways you and i share a similar situation, some differences too but this is my intension after listening to the good folk here.

I will first buy a cheapish van and a reasonable car to suite and get out there and have a go to find out for sure if long term travel is for me or not. It concerns me a bit about solo traveling so i need to see how i go in that department. While i am doing that i will be paying close attension to places i go where i think stable perminante retirement would be a possiblity for me should i decide travelling full time is not to be. Once i know for sure and only then i will sell up totally and order the van i know i want and buy a suitiable tug for it. The forum has taught me exactly how i should set it up ! While i own my own place now my super will be of greater value when it matures, some thing i am greatful for of course. So for me its just a case of the right time to start. Baby steps is the way to go .

CCB

milo · Guru

Nicholstones wrote:
jimricho wrote:

Maybe, and I stress that this is only a "thought bubble"; .... Sell the house, buy a unit and rent it out, one that you'd be happy to live in yourself when you feel the need (or are forced by circumstances) to return to a more "permanent base". Units are much less hassle to rent out but you do need to choose wisely, also you need a good reliable property manager. You would need to factor in the cost of selling and buying.

-- Edited by jimricho on Monday 18th of April 2011 07:34:55 AM
You need to be aware that if you sell your house and buy something else which you immediately rent out without having lived in, when you finally sell that property you will be liable for CGT on the entire portion of the time in which it was rented out, whereas if you rent out a home you have been living in then you are only liable to CGT if it is rented out for more than 6 consecutive years.
Example 1: Buy unit for $150k, rent it for 2 years, live in it for 2 years, sell it for $200k, CGT liability will be on $25k (half of $50k capital gain, which is the proportion of time the unit was rented out).
Example 2: Buy unit for $150k, live in it for 1 year, rent out for 2 years, live in it for 1 year, sell for $200k, CGT liability is zero. This assumes that you don't have another property during the time the unit is rented out that you are living in and claiming the CGT exemption on.
Don't believe me or anyone else though - get professional advice.

huh?

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Capital Gains Tax, Milo.

milo · Guru

Gerty Dancer wrote:
Capital Gains Tax, Milo.

doublle huh to me

Ug-Vic · Veteran Member

Thank you all for your help.

I guess its a decision that we have to make. We have 3/4 acre here up in the mountains so I think that buying somewhere smaller before we go will definitely be in order. Not sure if would be a unit though. I think hubby would go stir crazy having to live in something too small.

We have done a lot of camping but only for a few weeks at a time. The only thing that really bothers me being away long term is missing my grandies, but I guess that all Nanas are a bit like that.

Hubby would be quite prepared to sell up, buy a 5th wheeler and leave with his dog and hopefully me!!!!

Thanks again.

Vic-Ug

jimricho · Guru

Nicholstones wrote:
jimricho wrote:

Maybe, and I stress that this is only a "thought bubble"; .... Sell the house, buy a unit and rent it out, one that you'd be happy to live in yourself when you feel the need (or are forced by circumstances) to return to a more "permanent base". Units are much less hassle to rent out but you do need to choose wisely, also you need a good reliable property manager. You would need to factor in the cost of selling and buying.

-- Edited by jimricho on Monday 18th of April 2011 07:34:55 AM
You need to be aware that if you sell your house and buy something else which you immediately rent out without having lived in, when you finally sell that property you will be liable for CGT on the entire portion of the time in which it was rented out, whereas if you rent out a home you have been living in then you are only liable to CGT if it is rented out for more than 6 consecutive years.
Example 1: Buy unit for $150k, rent it for 2 years, live in it for 2 years, sell it for $200k, CGT liability will be on $25k (half of $50k capital gain, which is the proportion of time the unit was rented out).
Example 2: Buy unit for $150k, live in it for 1 year, rent out for 2 years, live in it for 1 year, sell for $200k, CGT liability is zero. This assumes that you don't have another property during the time the unit is rented out that you are living in and claiming the CGT exemption on.
Don't believe me or anyone else though - get professional advice.

"Don't believe me or anyone else though - get professional advice."

No argument from me on that one, that's for sure!

jack biggles · Senior Member

Ug-Vic

I am new here too, but your situation caught my eye, we are similar in a few ways.

I decided to sell my home for a number of reasons too lengthy to go on with here & the price was definately right. Due to the type of place mine was I didnt really care to rent it out & risk having it damaged etc.

Anyway, not wanting to be left without somewhere to call home I decided to myself that I should buy some land somewhere, rural land. A little pad that I could return to if I got sick of life on the road, but something that didnt have any house on it. Anyway, I'm searching & hope to buy one day soon, so I am balancing the act of not waiting too long to buy & finding somewhere I like.

My idea is, if I got sick of being on the road, I could return to the land & go through the processes of having a house built, I could live onsite in the van while that is going on, perhaps even owner build. Not sure if that would suit you guys, but perhaps it might be food for thought.

Goodluck in whatever you do.

-- Edited by jack biggles on Wednesday 20th of April 2011 10:52:44 AM

Cruising Granny · Guru

It's better to get out and enjoy your life while you can, and miss the grandies, than to hang around until you become unpopular.
I realise this is not always the case, but if you really want to travel but you sit home regretting the decision while you're child minding, you'll get really old and really grumpy sooner rather than later, and you'll regret not doing those miles.
Love the family, but you also have to have another life. Just imagine the reunion when you return? Much more fun, and you can send postcards to them, informative colouring books, and all the stuff. There's always Skype, emails and the telephone. You're never very far away from reception for very long.
If something happens at home while you're away, you can always fly back to handle the emergency. No where is very far these days.
I can't advise about real estate issues, as I live in my van full time. No real estate or furniture for this Cruising Granny. As someone once advised me when I was pondering my options, "Just do it!"

Ug-Vic · Veteran Member

Thanks so much for all your advice.
Now I know that this will prob be a 50/50 split. We currently have a tent trailer with is stored at the inlaws house. We will be selling it when we get there and take pics. Then what to buy. Motorhome or Caravan.
The thing that puts me off a motorhome is having to pack up your house to go to the shop unless you have a small car being towed and then also if you get stuck somewhere you need something to pul the motorhome out.
We have a 2006 Patrol so we have a good reliable vehicle.
Sorry If I ask a lot of questions but I am very nervous about actually making the decision to go. I would love to and I know if I said Lets go tomorrow hubby would have chucked in his job and be ready.

Thanks heaps

UG-Vic

wendyv · Guru

In your shoes, I would sell house and buy a small-ish unit that I could fully pay for. Would not worry about renting it out, because of CGT and tax implications. Would arrange for necessary basic upkeep, like any garden. That would keep me in the property market, if it keeps inflating in my area. and allow me to try out the life on the road. it would give me a base if health issues forced me to return to base. If you buy somewhere where family members can keep an eye on it, even better. In this current economic climate, one really needs to be invested in some form of property to keep abreast of inflation, if it is possible that a property base will be needed in the future.
At your ages, I would keep your vehicle and buy a caravan - preferably one that can stand up to some travel on dirt roads. It is possible to live quite adequately in a van that is not too large - we lived for 3 years full time, in our van that is only 14 foot long, inside, and since then have spent periods up to 9 months of each year living in it. Having the van/4WD combo will allow you to park somewhere as a base and explore widely around there. It also allows - if you take basic camping gear too - to leave van and go places you would never tow. e.g. Simpson Desert, remote Kimberley, Cape York.
It would feel better if you had enough money in the bank to cover a new set of tyres, your vehicle rego and insurance costs for a couple of years, and a major repair job. Apart from that, perhaps look to mix travel with seasonal work - there is plenty available. A few weeks or months working will fund you for a few more months of full time travel - and so on.
We gave up jobs and went on the road at ages 52 and 57. 13 years later it is still the best thing we ever did.