Glad we kept a home base

brickies · Guru

Glad we kept a home base

Cupie · Guru

Yes, We are of the same view as you.

I constantly long for an upgrade to my ageing rig but hang on to the family home and our super investments. Either option would have to be significantly raided for a new rig at today's prices. I just can't do that.

We did buy a new Mazda3 a few years ago to facilitate 'after caravan' trips, staying at hotels & cabins etc. Perhaps we will put that plan into effect in a few years time.

That pool in your Avatar looks inviting. Enjoy it in the years to come.

Edit .. Of course it goes without saying that we are all in different situations & have different wants/needs.

-- Edited by Cupie on Sunday 21st of October 2018 02:07:54 PM

Mike Harding · Guru

Not me :)

I've sold the house and in 24 days will be homeless - and looking forward to it.

brickies · Guru

Yes Cupie we live in a nice location and love our 1512 m2 metres and garden , If we want to go somewhere we can fly or drive and use hotels or motels , It's great to have a home base also if you have health ussies .

Ron-D · Guru

Sounds like a good plan brickies wish you all the best for the future....

Bagmaker · Senior Member

glad you had the option..............

brickies · Guru

Thanks we enjoyed our time on the road , Wife had open heart surgery early this year all good now but wants comfort to be close to her doctors , Having a home base has made it easy and we have the memories to hold onto .

Radar · Guru

All the very best for the future there Brickies.

We are also holding onto what we have, even if I dont like the worry of the maintance factor of our home.

I will work with what we have and be thankful. Ralph.

Santa · Guru

brickies wrote:
After 12 years of part time Grey Nomad we have sold our Caravan and settling to home life we are so glad we kept our home , If we had sold it we could not have been able to but back into the todays market .

Very wise! excellent outcome.

Blues Man · Guru

Each to their own but, we're so glad we didn't sell the family home also.

RosieW · Guru

We didn't - we rented 5 years beforehand. Medical costs (hubby & 1 of our boys) ate all of our savings from selling our place. We hit the road because hubby's medical issues are a ticking time bomb.

We know that one day we may need a permanent base. We will rent most likely, or live in a CP, because neither of us likes to feel tied to one spot.... even if we are.

palaceboy · Veteran Member

I'm right on the cusp of this, lots of decisions to be made over the next 20 months or so. Stay put and have limited funds, downsize to another town (Ballarat/Hobart is on our list) and be able to buy and holiday almost endlessly. Sell the lot and well cor blimey, the worlds our oyster.

It's actually very daunting. It's actually one of the reasons I want to do the big lap in our HiAce first, see if any town up North grabs us. I'm not expecting it too. To be honest the people up North and places rural are just too different to what we are used to in Melbournes Inner North, where we've resided for the past 38 years., I can see myself having to bite my lip especially when it comes to the great mix and diversity of people around here. Doubt I'll be able to contain myself in certain situations. If Hobart had international flights, I'd be there in a shot.

Salam Alakom :)

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Remember ex pat Kiwi here lol . I just like out back towns . Inland a little as up north on the coast its hell humid .i can tolerate the heat . Often check out places where theres a river going through them ?

Ron-D · Guru

Heres a scenario old man sells house buys the new expensive motor home to live the dream,old man dies ,old women cant drive the thing,motor home has lost most of its value,the dream turns into a night mare for the poor woman ,I saw this on a current affairs program some years ago now,if your financing some thing thats going to lose its value,by selling a valuable asset thats gaining in value, thats a huge risk when your an old person....

2-Smiths · Veteran Member

It's definitely an interesting one. We've (recently) purchased a place up on the Coast, specifically to "semi-retire" to when we finish travelling (which we haven't even started yet LOL).

The idea was to rent the house out, borrow a small amount (to invest), and have the tenants pay that small loan off as we're travelling.

In an ideal world, we get back after a few years travelling, move into our place with little or no debt, and money invested for a bit of extra income.

TBH, however, it's been a LOT harder finding a Motorhome which ticks all of our boxes, than it was finding a house which did/does.

brickies · Guru

Tick the boxes but don't get to carried away , Just get on the road while you still fit enough to do it , and when you have finish that when you need all the boxes tick to enjoy your old age in comfort , In old age it may to very hard work getting in and out of a caravan or motorhome .

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Yes things appreciate - deprecate . Yes better imo to buy second hand when it comes to motorhome. The luxury of new devalues close to 40% in the first 3 or 4 years . It would be divistating when your partner passes . But you HAVE TO LIVE the best you can while you can . If we worried about worse scenario? We wouldnt do anything !! Over the years Ive known people who buy as soon as things are out of warranty!! Costing them a fortune !!

madgaz · Member

My wife and I have decided to lease our hose out and put the majority of our furniture in long term storage just incase things go pear shape.

LUCKY LOZ · Veteran Member

This is a interesting topic. I am just retiring and looking at buying a van and going on a trip for a couple of months to see if we enjoy living in a van. If we do we will rent the house out and go for a year or two trip. And hope the tenants dont destroy the place, But the rent money will surely pay for some food and petrol. If not we will just do short month or two trips. Any one else rented and gone exploring???

Mike Harding · Guru

LUCKY LOZ wrote:
And hope the tenants dont destroy the place

As mentioned earlier; I have sold up.

However I do know a few people who have rentals, including the house next to me, and each one has a horror story. The lower the property value the more horror there seems, unsurprisingly, to be.

palaceboy · Veteran Member

How do you go getting anything resembling a government pension without a home address? Also selling up would kill the assets test as well. Does one have issues with Medicare and doctors also? Rent would be only worth 50 cents in the dollar for a hell of a lot of people as income within a certain range would affect age government pension as well. This is all assuming one is below the assets test threshold.

I've got a whole heap of this stuff to work out in the next few months. I've been seeing a couple of financial planners prior to my pending retirement from full time work next year, they are bloody hopeless. Whereas my Tax Accountant who knows Center-link backwards has been incredibly useful with tips on how to get around the system.

Methinks it pays to really research this stuff.... and I'm nowhere near knowing what to do yet, despite researching it full on for at least 3 months now.

Personally I think it's a good idea to try and garnish as much income out of government as possible.

IE: Does anyone know if one can sell gold/silver bullion/coins without ID? :)

brickies · Guru

Centrelink have FIO financial information officers , They can tell exactly what you can do to manage your situration you can book an appointment to talk with an FIO so you get the right information .

Wizardofoz · Guru

So many people keep refering to Centrelink as a great source of information on how to fund retirement to best advantage, I can only preume that it must be true and they are very good.

Personally, they would be the last people that I would invoke the the advice that they have, nevertheless, I would certainly listen to what they had to say and then get my own professional advice.

Pardon my distrust, but I just cant believe that government employees would have a complete and thorough understanding of investment, and all the intracacies that involve pensions and the tax system, lets face it, many accountants and financial advisors are clueless. My main negative is this, their employer the government, is insidiously trying to crackdown on pension and social security benefits and handouts, they even want to penalise those who try to safeguard themselves against living on benefits by taxing suoerannuation and private investments...therefore, why on earthwould their soldiersat the battlefront be dedicated to working reverse thinking with the governments backing.

It is a conflict of interest and just does not compute with me.

For instance, when I retired some 6 years ago, I deposited a fairly healthy sum into my bank account, my friendly bank lady (a very nice woman), said to me Ray, can I make an appointment with you to see one of OUR financial advisors, I laughed and replied, You have to be kidding, why on earth would I want THE BANK to advise me where to invest my money...that decision has proven my original thoughts, given the recent findings of the Royal Commission.

-- Edited by Wizardofoz on Wednesday 24th of October 2018 07:04:41 AM

palaceboy · Veteran Member

Wizardofoz wrote:
So many people keep refering to Centrelink as a great source of information on how to fund retirement to best advantage, I can only preume that it must be true and they are very good.
Personally, they would be the last people that I would invoke the the advice that they have, nevertheless, I would certainly listen to what they had to say and then get my own professional advice.
Pardon my distrust, but I just cant believe that government employees would have a complete and thorough understanding of investment, and all the intracacies that involve pensions and the tax system, lets face it, many accountants and financial advisors are clueless. My main negative is this, their employer the government, is insidiously trying to crackdown on pension and social security benefits and handouts, they even want to penalise those who try to safeguard themselves against living on benefits by taxing suoerannuation and private investments...therefore, why on earthwould their soldiersat the battlefront be dedicated to working reverse thinking with the governments backing.
It is a conflict of interest and just does not compute with me.

For instance, when I retired some 6 years ago, I deposited a fairly healthy sum into my bank account, my friendly bank lady (a very nice woman), said to me Ray, can I make an appointment with you to see one of OUR financial advisors, I laughed and replied, You have to be kidding, why on earth would I want THE BANK to advise me where to invest my money...that decision has proven my original thoughts, given the recent findings of the Royal Commission.

-- Edited by Wizardofoz on Wednesday 24th of October 2018 07:04:41 AM

The whole financial thing with retirement is ridiculously complicated. I think people are doing well if they get it more than 66pct right. Things like no stamp duty on housing once you hit pensionable age, potential capital gains on renting out ones house after a certain period of time, Assets V income v Government pension and thresholds, and that's before you decide where and when to invest. This 300K thing downsizing thing into super seems like a real con, what that means is you potentially lose 150K worth of Government Pension.

Finding your way through that minefield and all the vested interests involved points to really educating ones self as best you can and going it alone as far as I can see.... Sure get advice and see people along the way, but definitely do your own thing.

Ergo it's not a good idea IMO if you are anywhere near those government pension threasholds to unload your family home. Could be an idea to actually upgrade in a lot of cases.

2-Smiths · Veteran Member

Mike Harding wrote:
LUCKY LOZ wrote:
And hope the tenants dont destroy the place
As mentioned earlier; I have sold up.
However I do know a few people who have rentals, including the house next to me, and each one has a horror story. The lower the property value the more horror there seems, unsurprisingly, to be.

I don't necessarily agree with this.

The people who are renting our place own property elsewhere. I'm told (and would believe it) that owners make the best tenants, as they can understand the pitfalls of having someone trash your house.

Plus, we have someone trustworthy managing the place for us (as in a Professional Property Manager). And Landlord's insurance (just in case).

There are always risks involved in renting your place out (we've had both good and bad experiences in the past). For us, the "balance" was in minimising/mitigating those risks as best we could, so that we can potentially bank some extra savings on our travels...

palaceboy · Veteran Member

2-Smiths wrote:
Mike Harding wrote:
LUCKY LOZ wrote:
And hope the tenants dont destroy the place
As mentioned earlier; I have sold up.
However I do know a few people who have rentals, including the house next to me, and each one has a horror story. The lower the property value the more horror there seems, unsurprisingly, to be.
I don't necessarily agree with this.

The people who are renting our place own property elsewhere. I'm told (and would believe it) that owners make the best tenants, as they can understand the pitfalls of having someone trash your house.

Plus, we have someone trustworthy managing the place for us (as in a Professional Property Manager). And Landlord's insurance (just in case).
There are always risks involved in renting your place out (we've had both good and bad experiences in the past). For us, the "balance" was in minimising/mitigating those risks as best we could, so that we can potentially bank some extra savings on our travels...

I considered renting out my place, but baulked when I realised I could be liable for paying some Capital Gains Tax. Thats one hurdle I hadn't anticipated.

So not only do they take 50 cents in the dollar, of of the government pension, earned over the assets test limit of 345K for a couple, but you also are liable for a partial capital gains tax bill for that portion of time you rented your "own" property, which is a right liberty in my books.

https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Property/Your-home/Renting-out-part-or-all-of-your-home/

-- Edited by palaceboy on Wednesday 24th of October 2018 12:50:07 PM

-- Edited by palaceboy on Wednesday 24th of October 2018 12:52:57 PM

-- Edited by palaceboy on Wednesday 24th of October 2018 12:59:33 PM

RosieW · Guru

Ron-D wrote:
Heres a scenario old man sells house buys the new expensive motor home to live the dream,old man dies ,old women cant drive the thing,motor home has lost most of its value,the dream turns into a night mare for the poor woman ,I saw this on a current affairs program some years ago now,if your financing some thing thats going to lose its value,by selling a valuable asset thats gaining in value, thats a huge risk when your an old person....

I can't drive the bus. If it all goes sideways, which the quacks (many down the years) tell us it will sooner rather than later, I'll pick a spot, get someone to drive it there, park up for a while, assess my options and either give it to one of my kids, or sell it cheap. We bought cheaply, threw a campervan fit-out in, and hit the road. We knew/know the risks and the odds, and decided it was worth taking that chance. It's all down to the individual.

You don't need a fixed address to get a pension - we've been traveling 5 years and while we register an physical address whenever we have one for a while (it can take over 6 months for them to update their system), we just use a PO Box and get our mail held/forwarded to wherever we are.

Doctors - get records forwarded. Never had a problem there. We've had some great doctors on the road. In some of the most unexpected places.... the one we see now in Roma is bloody brilliant! Medicare, never an issue. Specialists, never been a problem. And we've seen a LOT of those....

Further to doctors/Centrelink. Make sure you have the Centrelink app. There's a digital wallet in that, which stores your Pension card electronically. Makes life a lot easier when you have to wait for the mail (currently we have a forward, and are in a location that has twice weekly mail drops).

AEC - enrol as an itinerant voter. Easy!

-- Edited by RosieW on Wednesday 24th of October 2018 03:26:21 PM

palaceboy · Veteran Member

brickies wrote:
Centrelink have FIO financial information officers , They can tell exactly what you can do to manage your situration you can book an appointment to talk with an FIO so you get the right information .

Definitely will be giving that a try at least, just to see how they view things.

palaceboy · Veteran Member

RosieW wrote:
Ron-D wrote:
Heres a scenario old man sells house buys the new expensive motor home to live the dream,old man dies ,old women cant drive the thing,motor home has lost most of its value,the dream turns into a night mare for the poor woman ,I saw this on a current affairs program some years ago now,if your financing some thing thats going to lose its value,by selling a valuable asset thats gaining in value, thats a huge risk when your an old person....
I can't drive the bus. If it all goes sideways, which the quacks (many down the years) tell us it will sooner rather than later, I'll pick a spot, get someone to drive it there, park up for a while, assess my options and either give it to one of my kids, or sell it cheap. We bought cheaply, threw a campervan fit-out in, and hit the road. We knew/know the risks and the odds, and decided it was worth taking that chance. It's all down to the individual.
You don't need a fixed address to get a pension - we've been traveling 5 years and while we register an physical address whenever we have one for a while (it can take over 6 months for them to update their system), we just use a PO Box and get our mail held/forwarded to wherever we are.

Doctors - get records forwarded. Never had a problem there. We've had some great doctors on the road. In some of the most unexpected places.... the one we see now in Roma is bloody brilliant! Medicare, never an issue. Specialists, never been a problem. And we've seen a LOT of those....

Further to doctors/Centrelink. Make sure you have the Centrelink app. There's a digital wallet in that, which stores your Pension card electronically. Makes life a lot easier when you have to wait for the mail (currently we have a forward, and are in a location that has twice weekly mail drops).

AEC - enrol as an itinerant voter. Easy!

-- Edited by RosieW on Wednesday 24th of October 2018 03:26:21 PM

Great information thanks :) Great to hear that you can keep it up for 5 years or more. Can I ask if you've had a holiday from your trip as well. Like a stint overseas during this time?

RosieW · Guru

palaceboy wrote:
RosieW wrote:
Ron-D wrote:
Heres a scenario old man sells house buys the new expensive motor home to live the dream,old man dies ,old women cant drive the thing,motor home has lost most of its value,the dream turns into a night mare for the poor woman ,I saw this on a current affairs program some years ago now,if your financing some thing thats going to lose its value,by selling a valuable asset thats gaining in value, thats a huge risk when your an old person....
I can't drive the bus. If it all goes sideways, which the quacks (many down the years) tell us it will sooner rather than later, I'll pick a spot, get someone to drive it there, park up for a while, assess my options and either give it to one of my kids, or sell it cheap. We bought cheaply, threw a campervan fit-out in, and hit the road. We knew/know the risks and the odds, and decided it was worth taking that chance. It's all down to the individual.
You don't need a fixed address to get a pension - we've been traveling 5 years and while we register an physical address whenever we have one for a while (it can take over 6 months for them to update their system), we just use a PO Box and get our mail held/forwarded to wherever we are.

Doctors - get records forwarded. Never had a problem there. We've had some great doctors on the road. In some of the most unexpected places.... the one we see now in Roma is bloody brilliant! Medicare, never an issue. Specialists, never been a problem. And we've seen a LOT of those....

Further to doctors/Centrelink. Make sure you have the Centrelink app. There's a digital wallet in that, which stores your Pension card electronically. Makes life a lot easier when you have to wait for the mail (currently we have a forward, and are in a location that has twice weekly mail drops).

AEC - enrol as an itinerant voter. Easy!

-- Edited by RosieW on Wednesday 24th of October 2018 03:26:21 PM

Great information thanks :) Great to hear that you can keep it up for 5 years or more. Can I ask if you've had a holiday from your trip as well. Like a stint overseas during this time?

We surely have! Very short trip (for us) to the USA for a wedding. We can go for up to 6 weeks without impact. Although we probably won't do it again in a hurry - 3 dogs means boarding means $$. We have a favoured kennel who offer 'double value' vouchers twice a year, but it still hurts.

We've also left the bus parked up and gone to visit family for a couple of weeks at times. Several showgrounds (our preferred option) have reduced the weekly fee for us when we've asked the caretakers to keep an eye on the place - their stated reason in each case being we won't be there, so won't use much power/water, and they like to keep good tenants.