Hi all would like to throw something out there and hopefully get some good advice, we have been caravaning for a number of years, done one lap around this beautiful country and a few trips back to SA, we have lived at Bribie Island Qld for 14 years, no regrets, however we would like to travel full time for some years, we turn 65 next year and go on the pension we hope, thinking of selling up and living on the road as long as our health holds out, would like some feedback from people that have done this and if they have any regrets, not keen to rent our house or close it up for long term as need extra funds to fund this lifestyle, finding it hard to market the final decision. Cheers Rick
Hi Jackie, we have been on the road for over 3 1/2 years. Not as much as some on the forum. Our biggest criteria was getting a comfortable set up so that we would not miss home. I would advise that you rent your house. It will give you on going income. You don't have to go back there to live when you've had enough. Sell it and get something else in the meantime it's given you an income and it will also appreciate in value whilst you are away.
Larry
Me, I did just what you talk about September last year, 2014. I now travel full time and have what is listed in my signature. Not once have I regretted it or looked back. I was in the playground for 8 months of each year for 3 years prior to that.
I am currently house sitting and not knocking the owners as they are very good friends but was sitting here only last night and thinking I miss being in my van already. I need to be in the house for the "Baby". A little dog as she would go crazy if on her own I'm sure.
Having said all that it has proven that I made the right choice, to get out in the playground full time. I don't mind the odd house sit but will limit them I think.
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I'm a full time gray nomad sold my house and business last sept 2014. Only looked back once all I could see was the 5th Wheeler behind..??? Hi Rick I retired at 69 . Hit the road full time , what a great life and the people you meet is great. Go for it.
Imo rent your house . Get your insurance covered with medicous damage ..
Yes as said make sure you purchase what you want comfort wise etc..
Long term what is nice for a week .. Can get cramped over longer time..
There is no way that we could go on the road full time without a home base.
We tried it for 6mths with a our kids living in our house & paying ongoings like rates , insurance, power & phone. That worked very well but our financial situation allowed it.
Next try was with a relo doing the same but he bailed out after a few months leaving us in the lurch & over the other side of the country. Buggar.
There are lots of renters in our area, often hordes of students & the houses rapidly deteriorate, requiring lots or repairs at the end of the occupancy. Not what I would want to worry about. Hard to find an agent who would take their responsibilities seriously.
On our first 6 month trip our traveling partners were ex-real estate agents who had several properties rented out as their Super portfolio. It was OK when they had their hand picked tenants in place but as they progressively moved out over time, it became a constant worry. Eventually sold out when they finished the trip. By co-incidence they retired to Bribie too.
Our other worry is how the bloody pollies keep changing the Super & Pension rules. They seem to once again have the part Pensioners/ part self funded retirees squarely in their sights at the moment. So if you are in that group, then adverse changes almost certainly will severely impact on your lifestyle on the road .. or at home for that matter. I would have a trusted Financial adviser or similar look at your financial options. eg. While your family home may not be counted as an asset for Pension purposes, it may be affected if you are on the road full time and rent it out. This may also lead to Capital Gains issues relating to the period under rent/lease if you eventually decide to sell. Could depend on how long you have owned/lived in it. Net Rent income may also impact on any entitlements & tax obligations. But then you may have some rental assistance entitlement. Of course if you decide to sell that money will be counted as an asset after a certain time I think. May only be exempt if used to replace principle place of residence, improvements or travel et al.
And on & on & on it goes .. these are just a few issues off the top of the head & I'm certainly not an expert and could be in error on some of these issues ... and as I mentioned the rules keep changing although some changes may be 'grandfathered' in and not apply to some existing arrangements. It's a mine field. Not something that we could live with.
In any case you need to research carefully & be aware of the risks as well as the undoubted enjoyment of life on the road.
You need to find a path that both of you are comfortable with. Fortunately we are all different.
(ps. I haven't mentioned long term plans .. age or illness related, that need to be discussed, researched & factored in)
We retired 10 years ago but just prior to that we purchased a unit on Bribie Island that had enough space for us to park our van in the gated yard. Being a unit we did not have the same problem with insurance as you do a house as there are people here {only 2 neighbours} all the time to keep an eye on it for us as we do for them. Bear in mind one lot of neighbours we have not seen for well over 2 years as they also travel and our new neighbours are just on their way back from the Cape. By downsizing a bit we can and have done travelled each year for 6 to 8 months but next year it will be longer whilst still having a home base. That seems to work for us.
Geoff and Bev
We retired 10 years ago but just prior to that we purchased a unit on Bribie Island that had enough space for us to park our van in the gated yard. Being a unit we did not have the same problem with insurance as you do a house as there are people here {only 2 neighbours} all the time to keep an eye on it for us as we do for them. Bear in mind one lot of neighbours we have not seen for well over 2 years as they also travel and our new neighbours are just on their way back from the Cape. By downsizing a bit we can and have done travelled each year for 6 to 8 months but next year it will be longer whilst still having a home base. That seems to work for us. Geoff and Bev
Sounds like a good decision ... We could possibly live with that one. Might look at that as the grandkids get older.
Bribie is such a beautiful place. We have a footloose relo who has tried lots of options - Mansion on the canals, Bush block, Gold coast ocean view unit, Houses in the burbs, but seems to have found contentment in a village at Bribie.
in the past before we "retired", we worked away from our home and as company housing was provided, we rented our own place out through a rental agent (major company throughout the country). We ended up coming back after 6 months and arranging for us to inspect it with the agent - what a disaster - so much damage (obvious the agent hadn't inspected it or was blind) and it took us almost 6 months to get them out, We then used another Agent - same problem and the premium and excess had gone up on our Landlords insurance policy. We finally quit our jobs and worked locally and restored the damage the insurance couldn't - like dead lawns, plants stolen out of the garden, trees chopped down - it just went on and on.
At the age of 62 I was made redundant when the company went into liquidation. I spent almost 10 months looking for work (have uni quals and heaps of management experience) but no-one wants an oldie it seems. By then I'd had enough of the house and loved the nomad lifestyle which we had planned to do when we turned about 65. Based on the experience with our previous tenants, we sold our house, our son took most of the furniture for his new house (which we partially funded) and we bought a new 22ft van and tow ute.
We love being on the road. Newstart is a pain, because you have to report into Centrelink and their employment agency regularly (but they freely acknowledge that they cant find work for us - they struggle for the young ones who are the priority. When we feel like it, we head back the sons house and park up and live there for a few months till we get itchy feet and we're away again.
We're from Perth WA and currently in SA heading slowly for Brokwn Hill (in about 2-3 weeks), then Melbourne, then up the coast to QLD to see the daughter and family. Back in WA towards Xmas probably.
No worries, no house to think of, no rental agent phoning to say the dishwasher is broken or theres a major leak (had that - and both times I happened to be in town and fixed it with only my hands ie - dumb tenants)
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
in the past before we "retired", we worked away from our home and as company housing was provided, we rented our own place out through a rental agent (major company throughout the country). We ended up coming back after 6 months and arranging for us to inspect it with the agent - what a disaster - so much damage (obvious the agent hadn't inspected it or was blind) and it took us almost 6 months to get them out, We then used another Agent - same problem and the premium and excess had gone up on our Landlords insurance policy. We finally quit our jobs and worked locally and restored the damage the insurance couldn't - like dead lawns, plants stolen out of the garden, trees chopped down - it just went on and on.
At the age of 62 I was made redundant when the company went into liquidation. I spent almost 10 months looking for work (have uni quals and heaps of management experience) but no-one wants an oldie it seems. By then I'd had enough of the house and loved the nomad lifestyle which we had planned to do when we turned about 65. Based on the experience with our previous tenants, we sold our house, our son took most of the furniture for his new house (which we partially funded) and we bought a new 22ft van and tow ute.
We love being on the road. Newstart is a pain, because you have to report into Centrelink and their employment agency regularly (but they freely acknowledge that they cant find work for us - they struggle for the young ones who are the priority. When we feel like it, we head back the sons house and park up and live there for a few months till we get itchy feet and we're away again.
We're from Perth WA and currently in SA heading slowly for Brokwn Hill (in about 2-3 weeks), then Melbourne, then up the coast to QLD to see the daughter and family. Back in WA towards Xmas probably.
No worries, no house to think of, no rental agent phoning to say the dishwasher is broken or theres a major leak (had that - and both times I happened to be in town and fixed it with only my hands ie - dumb tenants)
I can relate to much of what you have said..
I too was a well qualified Manager with years of diverse Operations Management experience at all levels up to Executive positions in one of Australia's largest Companies (plus the most senior level Technical Quals & experience) Fortunately my (self managed) redundancy package left me in a sound financial position so work was not a necessary option. I had a job lined up in WA on retirement but they went belly up before I could get there & hopefully help them out of their pickle. My former employer 'foreclosed' on them. Buggar! Would have been good fun for a couple of years. I would hate to have to look for Management or any other position at my then age of 58. But I still look at many companies that I get involved with as a customer & shake my head at their poor operations & lack of basic business acumen.
My son has a plumbing business & one of his diverse range of clients has a contract as preferred supplier for all maintenance & minor build work of several Real Estate Agents' very large portfolios of domestic & commercial buildings. The stories that he tells of residential tenants would convert anyone from even thinking of putting property thru agents in the domestic rental market. It's a great earner for him though with a steady flow of work with prompt (same week) payment & parts booked to his client's accounts. No out of pocket & chasing payment. Just a single itemised weekly invoice & bank transfer of claims. Sweet as. A significant part of the work is just DIY stuff.
Well, I'm not yet 50, sold up, self funded... Not quite 6 months on the road this trip, but keen to buy a house again. I felt more settled when I travelled knowing I had a home to return to if needed. I had a house that wasn't feasible to rent , but if I hadnt sold it and tried, I would never have known that I needed the security of a place. Equally, I don't have family to turn to for a safe place as they are all overseas. My logic was, try it and see but make sure I had enough, if it didn't suit me, to buy again. I've no regrets though, you don't know if you don't try! Life's for living, the way you want to live it, ignore the drama queens ( male and female) and do want you want to do, else you may regret it, good luck in your decision
PS. as regards renting out, I've had an investment unit for a number of years. I vet the agent, only the best will do, and the current one lets me decide on the tenant while advising me on his thoughts. So far it's been brilliant. I also have a solid landlord insurance policy, which I hope I'll never use, and it all evens out in the tax returns.
-- Edited by Triple333 on Saturday 4th of April 2015 04:12:27 PM
-- Edited by Triple333 on Saturday 4th of April 2015 04:21:06 PM
We decided to go traveling about 3 years ago. We'd heard lots of stories like Bruce and Bev's and decided to sell up rather than rent out. Nor did we want the hassle of storage so sold or gave away most of everything else. Bought a caravan and dual-cab 4WD ute. Found a good financial adviser who organised our money in ways that gave us a monthly return on which we live and off we went almost a year ago to the day. The only regrets have been trying to do too much too quickly and not spending enough time smelling the roses, we're going to have to revisit some places so we can smell their roses.
Everyone's different and not all are suited to the gypsy lifestyle . Some people we know missed their families and especially their grandkids so much they they headed back home after a couple of months. The worst is when one partner falls in love with the lifestyle while the other pines for what they left behind.
But despite it all, you'll never know if you never go. If you're cautious you could trial the lifestyle by handpicking some tenants for your property and seeing how you handle being on the road for the period of the lease and then make a decision about whether to sell up, re-let or move back to the bricks and mortar.
PS. as regards renting out, I've had an investment unit for a number of years. I vet the agent, only the best will do, and the current one lets me decide on the tenant while advising me on his thoughts. So far it's been brilliant. I also have a solid landlord insurance policy, which I hope I'll never use, and it all evens out in the tax returns.
-- Edited by Triple333 on Saturday 4th of April 2015 04:12:27 PM
-- Edited by Triple333 on Saturday 4th of April 2015 04:21:06 PM
A good agent will work with you and then all is good. We have had some problems with rentals, i all came down to an incompetent agent. Get the right one and your worries are over.
I am about to enter the big backyard by the end of June, I retire in a few weeks.
We have put off buying our van until I actually retire because we have no where to park it, the plan then is buy it, do any mods we require the, pack it, get rid of the remaining stuff, then hit the road.
We sold our house 3 years ago and downsized to a rental unit, in preparation for our new life, there is no reason for us to stay or keep a home base, our children are scattered around the SE corner of AU, the grand kids except for one are now independent. Some may say this is sad but both my wife and I have very little in common with our siblings and rarely speak or even visit them.
The one question you need to ask yourself, is there a compelling reason why I should keep the house, keeping the house and renting can effect your pension, selling your house close to retirement may effect your pension also, before you make the decision have a read on the centrelink web to see how thing stack and what you can and carnt do in relation to your home.
If you decide you are selling the house, sell asap and down size to a rental, clear out the acquired excess worldy goods.
If you decide to keep it what do you do with all your stuff, put it in storage ? an additional expense, or dispose of it.
All I can suggest is to get some solid advice about how to structure your affairs to maximize you retirement pension.
I am about to enter the big backyard by the end of June, I retire in a few weeks.
We have put off buying our van until I actually retire because we have no where to park it, the plan then is buy it, do any mods we require the, pack it, get rid of the remaining stuff, then hit the road.
We sold our house 3 years ago and downsized to a rental unit, in preparation for our new life, there is no reason for us to stay or keep a home base, our children are scattered around the SE corner of AU, the grand kids except for one are now independent. Some may say this is sad but both my wife and I have very little in common with our siblings and rarely speak or even visit them.
The one question you need to ask yourself, is there a compelling reason why I should keep the house, keeping the house and renting can effect your pension, selling your house close to retirement may effect your pension also, before you make the decision have a read on the centrelink web to see how thing stack and what you can and carnt do in relation to your home.
If you decide you are selling the house, sell asap and down size to a rental, clear out the acquired excess worldy goods.
If you decide to keep it what do you do with all your stuff, put it in storage ? an additional expense, or dispose of it.
All I can suggest is to get some solid advice about how to structure your affairs to maximize you retirement pension.
We are just reviewing our first 12 months on the road. After 30 years in the family home with both professional careers a distant past we sold, stored the furniture and said good bye to family, neighbours and friends.Numbers for the past year show 61% of our time living at a home owners addresses and 30% in our van and 9% with family. We have house sat our way from one side of this country to the other and now doing the Northern Rivers and South East Qld. Life has never been better, new friends, great locations, lovely animals to look after and above all the bank balance is looking better all the time. The safety blanket (owning a house) is hard to let go but rest assured as so many other "Grey Nomads" have discovered, once the decision has been made and the hard yards done the life on the road is a permanent holiday. We have full health cover and have found no matter where you are there are services and providers as good and if not better than GPs etc that you have been going to for years. We leave the Northern Rivers and head to the Central West until mid June and then cross the Nullarbor to Perth and up to Broome with the final part of the year back in ACT/Southern Highlands. BUT be aware that we are both on the same page, have been caravan owners for many years and love to travel this great country we call home. You need to have done your homework///////////////
Just on the subject of down-sizing then renting out the new home/unit while travelling, modern homes with gyprock, lightweight doors, double bathrooms and so on and the modern fittings will NOT survive present day tenants.
My parents had enough tenant hard-use and damage difficulties years ago when homes were very basic and so were the fittings.
Repair and maintenance services are expensive. It is easy for a tenant to rapidly run-down a property by being hard and uncaring - the hard use that depreciates the property overall and rental income.
The 'professional tenants' who plague the rental industry and cost owners thousands have free access to legal and advocacy services. They can easily beat a professional property manager, who has her hands tied by complex regulations. Complex when the Tribunals interpret them, an example being what Tribunals consider to be 'reasonable' wear and tear. Professional tenants would eat a self-managing owner alive and do. Some here would be amazed by the tenant claims for compensation and refund of rent.
Tenancy law is the new pasture for the spill-over from the continued over-supply of lawyers by universities. There are lawyers creating jobs for themselves in government agencies, with a vested interest in adding to the complexity.
Tread carefully, there is a lot of churn in the ownership of rental property and there are good reasons for it.
-- Edited by johnq on Saturday 4th of April 2015 11:12:06 PM
I've got a semi enclosed carport on a bush block in a little town on the coast called Agnes Water. Left most of it bush with a small clearing in the middle. Nothing much to look after. I've got a small camper that I go on my trips in. Overheads about $1000 a year. Nothing much to get stolen or damaged when I'm on the Wallaby. My money's secure in the land value. Works for me. :)
This is one of the most interesting topics for me that has been posted in ages.
We are currently in the process of building a house with basically the sole purpose of having somewhere to come back too when we either are too old to travel or get sick of being on the road.
We plan on hitting the road in the near future (1 to 2 years just got to sort out a few things) and will be renting the house out to cover the mortgage. Both of us are a long way from retirement age & after building the house we will have absolutely no money in the bank. Hopefully we will be picking up paid work to cover our expenses while we are traveling.
The house is on 2.5 acres and will have a little granny flat well away from the main house so we can use that for anytime we need to come home & can still rent out the main house.
There has got to be good tenants out there & if the real estate does their job then it shouldn't be a problem.
I have rented most of my life & surely I can't be the only good tenant in Australia
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Woolly,
Already live in Paradise but would like to see much more of this great country.
No Fixed Abode! Sold up, bought our rig and hit the road. It's great while you are in great health, but if you need any kind of treatment or hospitalisation it becomes very difficult. We regret having somewhere we can have as a home base (other than families homes). Back on the road again now and enjoying it! If we feel like a break from the van we do house sitting. Lovely way to settle for a while, no payment for rent etc, tour the area and meet great people.
It really depends what you are looking for. Just weigh up all your options.
Happy travelling
We decided to hit the road while we still had our health and were both sick of the constant stresses of work and its demands.Financially we could not do it unless we sold the house as we are too young for the pension.When our money runs out we will then be old enough to get it. We have been on the road 2 years and love every minute of it and we both believe we have aged backwards about ten years.Just remember the word "security" is just a word and a state of mind but not reality.Happy travelling everyone.
Les and Donna
I have been on the road full time now for 18months, and love it. Best thing I could have done for me. It is a lifestyle that will not suit all, however I have always been a bit of a gypsy and even when my husband was alive we moved around. My boys are scattered around the country and I have never expected them to stay put for me as they have not me. In fact they encouraged me to go and do what I am doing. Maybe they just wanted to get rid of me, not sure on that one.
I have a home that is rented out, I would sell it tomorrow if I could. I find it a millstone around my neck, however where it is situated it is not conducive to selling at this time. My tenants are excellent as is my real estate agent, so that is not a worry.
Like Dougwe was mentioning I have done a few house sits in my time, and find that 3-4 weeks is my limit. At present I am house sitting for 6 weeks and after 5 I am nearly climbing the walls, I want to be back in Miss Daisy and hit that road again.
I look to the future and after losing my husband 6 years ago from Cancer, and watching people sitting back waiting for the future to happen, I no longer do that. I live for today, have a good time doing it, make sure I laugh each day, if only at myself, and know that I have lived a good life.
Being on the road has had me meet so many wonderful, beautiful people that will be in my life for however long that is, and if the day comes that I am finished with being a gypsy, then I will re-assess life again. What I do know is that when somebody asks what your 5 year plan is, we actually have no idea, because life will decide it for you.
Do what is best for you, and live your best life. Take on all the advice and there has been great posts here on this subject, toss it around, and see what falls out. Try it on like a big overcoat and if it fits then go with it, if not then try something else.
What ever you decide, have a good time doing it and enjoy life, wether in a home or on the road. Enjoy.
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I am fun and adventure. So much to see, so much to do, so many people to meet. Will see, do, and meet all that I can.
Thanks very much for all the feedback so far lots a great advice and now have a lot to digest, however getting closer to making that final decision, keep you thoughts coming. Cheers Rick.
Due to a redundancy, we rented our family home as we had moved to another town and it had not sold. I would never do that again, the tenants weren't too bad, (we did win a case against them in tenancy court) but they didn't keep the house, gardens the way we did apart from destroying the pool. It is hard when it is a place with so many personal memories to see what has happened. If you decide to hang on to property my feelings are sell you home and buy an investment property. We do own investment properties and have found 90 per cent of our tenants not a problem, but if there is a problem it's not personal. We are also lucky that most of the places we own are in a small country town and our agent definitely knows about the tenants that apply and the one we own in a large country town is run by a really good estate agent we have had for 15 years.
My wife and I are in this ever merry-go-round decision of to sell or not to sell the home. we have 12 acres and owned it out right for the last 8 years, the thought is sell and put the money in the bank and only access the interest we will get and do a bit of work to fund the trip as we do not qualify for the pension only in our early 50's. No worries or concerns about a house whilst on the road, later on in life if the need arrises we should have money in the bank to buy a small house??? However there are all those little nick nacks that make us who we are and what to do with them - storage or friends? The other thought is keep it and rent it out? small income per month after expenses i.e., rates, insurance, if you get a good reliable tenant, we would need to work again to fund the trip, always in the back of your mind would be the condition of the house, on the plus side would be that the house increases in value (hopefully) and we could sell it later and buy something smaller. Not an easy decision All I do know is that what ever choice is made there should be no regrets as life is way to short Hope to start seeing you all on the road later this year
Wayne n Dianne
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