"The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you're finished" - Benjamin Franklin

Rickp · Member

Pros and Cons for keeping your residence or selling up while travelling.

buffy61 · Senior Member

Sold mine!! Needed the money to buy the van. And didnt like renting my house in NZ while I was living in Oz...been here 2 yrs.
Cant wait to hit the road when the driver has a clean bill of health!!! :)

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

I have always thought that the main problem with selling up is that, if there is a housing boom while you are out of the market, then unless you have access to a lot more cash you will not be able to buy back in where you once lived.
I have seen house prices double in a short period of time and this has happened many times over the last 50 years.
Not a problem if you are happy to go and live in another area where prices are lower.
If you are on a pension then selling your home may mean a big cut back in your pension as your home is not counted in the assets test, I know that you can have larger cash assets when you don't own a home but that doesn't seem to bear any relationship to present home values.
Cheers
David

justcruisin01 · Guru

Rickp wrote:
Hi, does anyone have any thoughts about keping a home base or selling it all before long term travelling?

I will only repeat what I have stated before & that is ask your self where do you wish to be living when the tavelling is done?

In a wornout van in a park or in a home , If money is not a problem then yes you can sell & rebuy when ready but many are not in this group.

JC.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

None of us is getting any younger, I believe you need a base if you can afford it.

Maybe you could buy a place specifically to rent out? When/if you are done with travelling you can then sell it and buy the house of your choice at the time.

beachball57 · Senior Member

well this is something i have tossed over and over in my head for sometime,, what to do, what to do,,,I'm a wide load pilot, and at the momnet have a fair bit of work on so i am on the road a lot, also being an ex truck driver i have been on the road most of my life i guess,,for me, it is good to get home and just sit in/on something that doesn't have wheels under it,, i like to poke around in my shed, even if i'm not really doing anything,,i like to sit in my garden and look at what i have made and how i can make it better,,,in short, if we were to sell up everything we wouldn't be able to do that,, it'll be sometime before we can get on the road for longer than a month but i very much doubt that our views will change,, sure it's good to hit the road but for us it's good to come home again too,, we have a holiday house near the beach at marion bay on the foot of york penn here in SA and we hope to make that our "base" of operations some time in the future, and just head off when the feeling takes us,, so i think it is a matter of individual choise, what is great for some may not be so for others,, those that say yeh get oot and do it ,sell everything and hit the road, should stop and think awhile, it maybe what they want to do but is it for everyone ?? i don't think so, those that are enjoying being on the road with no home except thier van, well good luck to you and you are doing what YOU want and thats great,, but like i said,, it's not for everyone.. there are some who like the idea of travelling, but also lioke the idea of coming home again...so sure ask people what they think, but in the end it's your choise and a choise that you'll have to live with, better to be the right one at the start, than to make the wrong choise and regret it,,, try it for awhile and if you find that later on you want to sell then sell, but i'd give it a try first and see.

Janno · Veteran Member

I am lucky to be able to travel and keep my home.

One never knows what the future has in store for us. It is my security and I would never sell it.

Rickp · Member

Thanks to the people that have replied, we like the idea of having somewhere to come home to, but are not sure about renting it out.
The issues that we are tossing around are: house insurance companies will not cover the house if no one is in it for 60 days,
where do you get mail sent to if you don't have an address, vehicle registration, drivers licence.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rick

herbie · Guru

The choice of selling your home is a very personal decision and one that you can only make your self.As every persons reasons/ decisions differ so much.We sold our home because of our work commitments really not because of wanting to be on the road full time.Working away from home for us for long periods ment when we did have our brake from work we a slave to the house to catch up on the maintance side of things involving owning a house.So the decision was not that hard for us .We decided to sell, but we brought a bit of land and have a shed on it, so we still have some thing at least if our circumstances change.There is a lot to consider re hitting the road full time as like every thing it has it's up side and it's downs.Life is not a bed of roses and just like if you were living in your house and not on the road you would still face challengers with life in general .

Janno · Veteran Member

Do you have any family members who can move in temporarily? Luckily for me my daughter has sold her house so she has moved into my place to save some money before she buys somewhere else. Suits us perfectly.

My grandchildren are getting to an age where they are also wanting some independence, so hopefully in the next couple of years they will help out by moving in for a while when I want to travel.

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

Rickp wrote:
Thanks to the people that have replied, we like the idea of having somewhere to come home to, but are not sure about renting it out.
The issues that we are tossing around are: house insurance companies will not cover the house if no one is in it for 60 days,
where do you get mail sent to if you don't have an address, vehicle registration, drivers licence.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rick

Have a look at one of the house minders web sites, it does seem that many house minders come with an excellent set of references from previous house minding jobs and there may be less risks than renting your home out.

Cheers

David

greyghosts · Veteran Member

hi, we had this dillema a few years ago when we decided to do the trip around oz, we looked around until we found an area we liked and near the water [200 mtrs] in Qld then we found a block with a shed and power and water on it so we decided to buy it and then took off on our trip, 12mths later we headed for our block lived in the van on site and built a very modest beach cottag, did,nt use all our money so now we can still travel all over and have a base to come back to, I felt i needed somewhere to put our "stuff" and if some health issues come up we have somewhere to recuperate. I realise this is not for everyone but works for us. cheers greyghosts.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

What a good idea greyghosts!!

Landfall · Guru

Repurchasing is the big problem, for the reasons that have been stated.

Renting is a trap, not only are you at the mercy of the tenants (they have more rights than you) you have to take into consideration that once you rent, your home is no longer deemed as your residence?

This means you now have another income stream, TAXABLE and taken into consideration should you be asking for a pension.

THEN, when you go to sell it, the time that it was rented will be calculated for "Capital gains tax."

This applies even more should you do as someone suggested and sell your home and purchase a cheaper rental property.

For what it is worth, if you can manage, keep your home and take the "house sitter route."

Ken

justcruisin01 · Guru

Just a bit more, we still have the house & at this point will not sell it as will never be able to get back into the market again.

The first two years that we travelled for about 9/10 mths of each we had a house sitter , this worked out very well as she was single, work with the Mrs, had no kids or pets.

These days we just lock the door & turn the alarm on, Brother in law keeps an eye on things as he is only at the other end of the street, collects mail etc.

Have a pro lawn mowing service two doors away so that takes care of the yard.

Like others said its good to come home & be able to do servives on tug & van, to be able to get off the road at xmas & do a few things locally.

Will never rent, not worth the hastle.

So I gues we are lucky enough to be able to do both. Not rich either just make it work & do whay you can.

You never know which day it will all change, health, vehicle probs, tired of travell, etc can always come home for a while.

JC.

way2gokev · Senior Member

G'day There is also another way, if you have sons or daughters or grand kids you can sell your house and put part of your proceeds into a family members house, farm etc. Shares in Common on a title can be down as low as 10%, but to satisfy centrelink a 30% share plus. If the block or house is big enough you can build a garage or shed and live in that when you cant travel. There are legal costs involved but I think that it is the best of both worlds. That is what I am doing and when I die they can have the share, just make sure it is in the will.

Remember in this way you are a part legal owner of a property, It would not suit everybody especially if their are family issues or you dont have sufficiant funds.

It is all legal and above board in Tassie anyway, other states I reckon would be the same, Shares in common has been around for years.

Cheers

Kev

GaryKelly · Guru

I no longer have a house to sell as I sold it 20 years ago. Actually, I went broke and lost it. Been renting ever since. But if I'd kept it until now, and sold it at current values, I'd have the best part of a million bucks in my kick. I don't think I'd be worried about lack of cash or bothering to get back into the market. As it happens I have nothing to lose by living permanently in my "worn out" motorhome. In ten years it won't be any more worn out than it is now hehe. As to where I'll be living when I'm too old to travel any longer, who knows and who cares. I've survived a heart attack and cancer (and losing my house, if that counts), so I reckon if I can survive those I can survive anything. One thing is certain, I ain't gonna miss the chance to spend whatever time I have left checking out the greatest country in the world.

tonyd · Guru

Other points to ponder are these: What if you get out on the road, having sold the house, and one of you develops a serious illness (not unlikely among older people) and you can't go on. Where do you go then?

Or you just decide after a few months that life on the road is not your cup of tea (and I'm sure this happens to some people). Nowhere to go if you've sold the house.

Sorry to be a party pooper, but it's worth thinking about.

Cheers, Tony

Scotty01 · Senior Member

After my wife passed away I had no negative thoughts about selling up and traveling. The house was almost new and held no family memories and I never intended to stay there after retirement anyway. I looked at properties on the Murray River but couldnt find what I wanted so the money is sitting in investment until I come across something or my health or whatever forces me off the road. I dont want to live in the city so feel confident that I will find something suitable that I can afford when the time comes. The possible hassels and the ongoing costs would turn me off renting out a property. The first 6mths on the road have had their ups and downs but I wouldnt change it.

Rickp · Member

Hi, thanks again for the feedback, there seems to be a bias towards keeping the home (or a block of land with a shed) as a back up plan.

The taxation aspects of renting, plus the tenants rights issues are probably enough to stop us going down this path.

The house sitting option would probably leave you flexibility issues if the need to move back home arose.

So......... other than flying home from somewhere in the country every couple of months, are there any other ideas?

(The shed on a block of land may be a good idea)

Thanks again, Rick

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

Landfall wrote:
Repurchasing is the big problem, for the reasons that have been stated.
Renting is a trap, not only are you at the mercy of the tenants (they have more rights than you) you have to take into consideration that once you rent, your home is no longer deemed as your residence?
This means you now have another income stream, TAXABLE and taken into consideration should you be asking for a pension.
THEN, when you go to sell it, the time that it was rented will be calculated for "Capital gains tax."

I am fairly certain that you will not be liable for capital gains tax until you are absent from your residence for 6 years and if you live in your residence before the 6 years is up the 6 years starts again that is as long as you don't claim another home as your residence.

Cheers

David

Mike C · Senior Member

We are looking at the same issues...

Sell and buy somthing cheaper and maybe rent.... with selling costs, stamp duty etc there goes 20-30k in a blink..
Keep and rent.. more worries than I want to deal with..

Our thoughts are for the short term 1-2 years leave it empty (Get rid of a lot of stuff) and drop back once or twice a year..
if we are stiil enjoying travelling and home loses some of its attractiveness then possibly rent or sell.

Keep an open eye in the first year or two for that perfect country property and then possibly jump or just keep travelling and looking.

Slowly slowly is the aim..

Cheers

Mike

Nicholstones · Guru

We have rented out our home several times when we have been overseas working or for the past 4 years when we have been travelling. We've never had any issues with tenants, and if we did then the landlord insurance would cover it. We always rent through a local real estate agent, so the tenants deal with them. While I know there are horror stories out there, I think that they would be well in the minority. I also think that in general most people's homes would be in a different class from the average rental property, which means that you will be dealing in a different market.

Everyone's tax situation is different, but we certainly were happy for the extra income. As for capital gains tax, roving-dutchy is right, it would only start to apply if the property is rented for more than 6 years, whereas if you sell your current home and buy a smaller one then rent it out immediately without living in it first, then you would be liable for capital gains tax on the entire portion of time it is rented.

gordon_adl · Senior Member

Not having a go, but 'fairly certainly' is just not good enough. Are you a qualified tax agent that knows this? Do you have previous experience in this? It's these type of statements that get people in trouble. Can you please back this up with factual statements and links to prove this? If I beleived everything I read on this forum that was posted as a fact, I'd be watching my mobile phones for incoming calls that were going to be charged against me and so many other unsubstantiated claims.

Roving-Dutchy wrote:
I am fairly certain that you will not be liable for capital gains tax until you are absent from your residence for 6 years and if you live in your residence before the 6 years is up the 6 years starts again that is as long as you don't claim another home as your residence.
Cheers
David

vk6tnc · Guru

Capital Gains Tax from the horses mouth.....

http://www.ato.gov.au/corporate/content.aspx?doc=/content/86191.htm

herbie · Guru

gordon_adl wrote:
Not having a go, but 'fairly certainly' is just not good enough. Are you a qualified tax agent that knows this? Do you have previous experience in this? It's these type of statements that get people in trouble. Can you please back this up with factual statements and links to prove this? If I beleived everything I read on this forum that was posted as a fact, I'd be watching my mobile phones for incoming calls that were going to be charged against me and so many other unsubstantiated claims.
Roving-Dutchy wrote:
I am fairly certain that you will not be liable for capital gains tax until you are absent from your residence for 6 years and if you live in your residence before the 6 years is up the 6 years starts again that is as long as you don't claim another home as your residence.
Cheers
David
if some one rents out their home,while getting the pension ,are they eligible to claim the rent rebate for paying rent at a caravan park,??

billeeeeeee · Guru

jules47 wrote:
Can I ask you, Gordon adl - why did you type your post in RED? Red is an aggressive colour - why would you post in that colour?

HOWDYEEEEEE ,Nutters Nomads, and a big hi to all u excited ppl out there , who wite in wed, ,,,stay excited wed witers,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Billeeeeeeee

-- Edited by billeeeeeee on Wednesday 13th of March 2013 10:31:41 AM

Gerty Dancer · Guru

No rent rebate for home-owners herbie, whether its rented out or not.

Renting your home might be a chance to make some income for those not eligible for a pension?

jules47 · The Happy Helper

Can I ask you, Gordon adl - why did you type your post in RED? Red is an aggressive colour - why would you post in that colour?

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

gordon_adl wrote:
Not having a go, but 'fairly certainly' is just not good enough. Are you a qualified tax agent that knows this? Do you have previous experience in this? It's these type of statements that get people in trouble. Can you please back this up with factual statements and links to prove this? If I beleived everything I read on this forum that was posted as a fact, I'd be watching my mobile phones for incoming calls that were going to be charged against me and so many other unsubstantiated claims.
Roving-Dutchy wrote:
I am fairly certain that you will not be liable for capital gains tax until you are absent from your residence for 6 years and if you live in your residence before the 6 years is up the 6 years starts again that is as long as you don't claim another home as your residence.
Cheers
David
Hi Gordon
What you read on the forum is very much the same as when there is discussion around the campfire as you listen to various ideas, there may be information that pertains to your own situation, which may prompt you to seek out accurate information from other sources, before acting on the information gained.The ideas that are posted in this thread may or may not contain accurate information but they are posted in good faith and you can take or leave it, its entirely up to you. I don't think any forum is ever going to contain 100% accurate statements but it may help some one seek out further knowledge that will put the on the path to an answer to whatever problem they may have encountered.
If you feel that my statement re capital gains tax is wrong, feel free to do some research.
Cheers
David