This weekend we took time to write out a couple RV budgets for two scenarios: Selling the house vs. Renting the house out. There are certainly pros and cons for both scenarios and I'll share some of the obvious ones below. We are leaning towards renting the house out. We believe our house would rent out quickly due to the high-demand elementary we are zoned for and the neighborhood is very nice and quiet. This would give us that safety net for in case we decide we are not up to full-time traveling, or if something unfortunate happens and we need a home to return to.
In our budget, we tried our best to estimate how much we will spend on an RV payment, truck payment, RV and truck insurance, maintenance for both, health insurance, etc. It seems doable and I'm glad we took the time to write it down, it really helped my husband see that it is possible!
Selling the House
PROS
-free from HOA fees, insurance, maintenance/upkeep expenses
-depending on the sale price, it could provide a monetary cushion and help us meet our financial goals before we travel
CONS
-no safety net should we need to 'come home'
-no property investment
Renting out the House
PROS
-provide a small income stream to help our full-timing budget (icing on the cake)
-safety net should we need to 'come home'
-property investment, increases in value unlike our RV and Truck (aka wheel estate)
CONS
-headache of keeping up with tenants
-worry of tenants bailing and having to return home to deal with re-renting house
-still responsible for HOA fees, insurance, maintenance/upkeep expenses
-no monetary cushion to get us off in a more secure situation
We have some friends here that we could ask to be our 'property manager' who we would then pay to help us with any issues that might arise with our tenants. If you know any full-timers who are renting their home, I'd love to contact them for advice! Our soft launch date will be early June 2016 so we have some time before we make final decisions.
