Pack in the job, rent out the house, get in the camper van, fuck off

[GotTheBug]

WIBU to do the above?

We have a house with a small mortgage, stable but unfulfilling jobs, a camper van and itchy feet. Some savings (but not a huge amount!) No kids at home, one ageing but currently still independent parent nearby. Both of us early 50s and healthy.

We have talked about doing this for years and I'm increasingly starting to think that we should do it now before we get any older - also I'm aware that my DF may need us around more in the years to come. I guess I'm worrying that if we leave it another 10 years/wait until retirement we'll have missed the window.

Obviously leaving the job and renting out the house are massive steps and that scares me - so much to potentially go wrong. But at the same time, life is for living, right? We could rent out the house easily I think - seaside location, an hour from London on the train - and the rent would pretty much cover our travel expenses. DH could take a career break for a year or so much more easily than I could, though, and we'd be pretty skint on our return.

Would we be mad to do this, or mad not to?

We have had two mohos and now have a small campervan. We got the first large Moho just before we retired, and used it in the UK for a year (holidays) to get used to it, and on retirement we had several trips to France for three months at a time. On our first trip I kept a note of all we spent, food, fuel, (we mostly used free aires, but some campsites, which are much cheaper than here). We didn't rent our house, just shut everything down whilst away. It was important for us to have a home to come back to. It surprised me that we had not used any savings, that our running costs were no more than what we spent at home, bearing in mind that we weren't using utilities etc.
we absolutely loved our trips, made loads of happy memories and had adventures. Then Covid put a stop to all that, DH is now in his 70s and not in the best of health, so we don't go abroad, but still we go off in the van a lot in the UK. I could have lived in the Moho for years at a time as it like a mini flat really, you can get so much in, but the camper is quite small to make permanent, although some people do.
there's loads of videos on YouTube and also websites that give you an overall picture of van life, check out the pros and cons and do your homework. If you are getting a rental income I would think you could manage it without eating into savings.
Best time of our lives. To infinity and beyond!

Why not try it out first?
I suggest that your DH requests two weeks of unpaid leave for next July. Add this onto the summer holiday and, allowing for a bit of time to sort yourselves out either side, that should give you a clear seven weeks for a trial trip.

You could need money for all kinds of things- healthcare, legal fees for the house selling and buying, helping adult children etc.

what monetary help do Ops adult children need?

Do it and rent the house out while you’re gone if it’s going to provide you with an income and if you plan to sell it anyway when you come back. You’d be mad to try to sell before you go. It could take ages and then you may never go. See if your job would give you a career break of six months or a year. I know you don’t like it but you don’t have to go back to it but could if you needed to and you may as well ask

You can buy insurance against non payment of rent and for legal costs. It’s not mega bucks - couple of hundred a year.

I would absolutely do it if I were you. But don’t sell the house - much harder to get back on the ladder with no savings / job and you will end up spending much more if you have to rent when you return.

The house is a huge safety net - you can always rent it out and/or sell it later.

What's the longest you've done in your campervan to date? If it is under a month I would do try to do a longer break of maybe 3 months before you pull the trigger on leaving jobs/selling up/renting.

What do your pensions look like?

What would the decades following the next few years be like if you returned home and you and/or your DH didn't get a job with similar pay to what you're on now?

I'm not saying don't do it, but I would be taking a good hard look at the reality of it all and I would want to feel fairly confident that I wasn't jeopardising the rest of my life/retirement for the sake of 12 months. Yes, it sounds great, but I wouldn't want to come home to poor housing, struggling to pay for heat and decent food and future trips all because of one year.

I know quite a few people who have done it they’ve all been caught out by their van breaking. All have bought bigger vans after a few months. One has found a mechanic who lets them camp in his yard. So they now have the best aa cover to get back to that mechanic if at all possible.
most of them go a few days on roadsides then stay on a proper site to have a decent shower and deal with laundry.

It’s not an easy life, but they are happy.

Do it! Life is way to short!

Just wanted to add, I've watched relatives live out retirement on very little and it was absolutely miserable.

Its for many people fear, the fear of ding something different and not normal

But when Op get out there, they'll realise that actually there are many people doing this, dutch, German, British, Spanish who take off for 6 months at a time.

Some sell up, others leave their homes empty, others rent their homes out. Some have a narrow boat in Uk and motorhome in the wanter to warmer places and then return to a canal boat for the British summer.

There are so many variations on this, but many on this thread will be very fearful of something going wrong - but that needs to be put into perspective

I think this is a good idea. As we discovered, spending weeks at a time in very close proximity even to someone you love can be v stressful. Take a month off in the summer, the pair of you, and try it out first.

Do it, put it on TikTok and let it pay for itself

Both of you need to sit down and do the sums.

You need to work on the best and the worst scenarios.

I guess you live on the east coast (Norfolk etc) or Sussex area.

The worst scenario would be renting and not being able to get rid of a tenant on your return. And no savings to speak of so you'd be unable to rent.

Or you'd have to come home early from the trip if one of you was ill-not able to access your own home.

And factor in coming home and being without work for some months.

Selling your home - it could take a year to sell and buy. How would you live then if your came back from a trip and your savings were almost gone? And no regular income.

Or- God forbid- your dad was ill so you had to come back early and there was a tenant in your house? And it was too soon to return to the jobs you'd put on hold?

These are all important things to talk through.

I know you felt I was 'snarky' mentioning savings, but there's a massive difference going road-tripping in your 50s with £10K ish in the bank, and putting your jobs on hold, compared to £100K+ as a buffer.

I'd say do it if you can tick all the boxes to ensure your finances are secure.

In terms of selling up - I would be a bit cautious - I know people who did this and were travelling / living on a seasonal pitch - then Covid hit and the sites closed down so they were in a bit of a fix. Even if you sold up and bought a downsized house to rent out it might be better - or at least know you’ve a fall back.
im all for your idea and still want to do it myself despite what I’ve mentioned.
i also can’t imagine we’ll have another lockdown as don’t think the uk would stand for it after all the double standards with the govt.

My neighbour came over when he had been diagnosed with bone cancer and was going to die within about 6 months and said, 'Thingymajigii, do it all now while you can" He had planned to do Route 66 and go to Vegas and never got the chance. It's stayed with me and I always remind myself of his words when I thinking of putting something off.

Oh come on. If you're suggesting people in their 50s should step aside from the job market to benefit younger people, fortunately legislation makes ageism illegal.

These responses are all very well, but ultimately no one wants to be poor in their old age and poor with ill health is even worse.

These 'romantic' ideas of swanning off in a camper van are all very well but need to be tempered with the cold reality of living a life scrimping and scraping in old age if the whole thing goes belly up.

If the sums add up and you're a risk taker fine- give it a whirl- but be realistic over the downsides.

I’m risk averse so I’d ask for work sabbaticals and do it for 6 months initially.

I didn't say that.

I said that someone who isn't enjoying teaching should reconsider as it's unfair on the students . Doesn't matter if he's 25 or 55.

Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.

I think you should do it.

Sounds great! Just be realistic in costs of a rental.

We rented our old house when we moved instead of selling, for various reasons, and it took more than a year to break even. For reference mortgage was about 25% of the rent, and we’re 40% tax (presumably you wouldn’t be, especially if you timed it right re tax year), and that’s including costs of switching to a BTL mortgage. But also quite a lot of cost getting it fit for rental and compliant, and the letting agents are costly but vital.

So you might need to save like mad for a while before going.

many mortgage providers prohibit renting out your home when it's still being paid for on a mortgage. It may need to be considered as a business loan .

But there will always be supply teaching jobs to step into even if she can't return to a full-time teaching post. And as OP says, she may well end up having to become her father's carer anyway and leave work. There will be income from the home rental too.

There are a handful of things i want to do before I get too old and they will minorly inconvenience others but if I don't, it's like withering away in front of endless mediocre Netflix series.

OP isn't a teacher. Her H is.

They may not be able to rent their home under the mortgage agreement . It's not paid off yet.

IME (I'm older than OP) there are very few of my friends who have become full time carers to their elderly parents. When parents need a lot of care they usually employ carers, because they don't want family doing very personal care.

None of my Mum's friends in their mid 80s have 'care' from family or otherwise and some, when they needed a lot of care beyond the limits of family, had to go into a care home.

I'd do it for 3 months. Maybe 4 off work. I've actually never enjoyed travelling for longer than this and have done it a few times. Then you could maybe air bnb instead of full house rental? Or better, just leave it empty for flexibility. I get a bit fed up travelling after a few months, no idea why and start longing for routine, friends, work, my bed etc.