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?

Most lenders will do a short-term ‘consent to let’ agreement. Some might change the interest rate but not all.

If you’re going for a year or 18 months, no need to change to a BTL or anything else. You might need to get a landlord licence depending on your local council - mine has a 5 year length so it’s expensive to do for short term.

So much misinformation on this thread!

OP - depending on the size of your van, consider buying a bell tent. If you’re at a proper site for a few days, it will make you feel like you have much more space. They aren’t expensive and are really easy and quick to erect - the downside is the weight which isn’t an issue with van camping!

God what an adventure. I’m jealous

Yes do it

It’s OP who doesn’t like her job, not her DH.

Your responses are not very Peter Pan.

I'm massively risk averse, op but I'd say go for it while you can! Tbh it's something I've considered for me and dh in the future but there's a 10 year age gap between us and the kids are still at school, so by the time we're ready, dh may be too old. You have no real ties and will have sufficient money in the bank. Do it!

One of the people I know who does it found they needed more money than expected so did tutoring via their starlink
it seems to work for them (other than giving money to Elon)

This is a great idea!

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.

It's actually part of the reason I posted - I know there are lots on MN who are very very risk-averse, but it's useful to get the doomsday scenarios as well! Believe it or not, I'm actually quite risk-averse myself but the older I get the less I value material things and the more I want to live and really love life even if I'm not always feeling 100% (emotionally/financially) safe or comfortable.

I don't think we will be exactly destitute in our old age if we do this for a year, but financial concerns obviously need consideration. Lots to think about!

DO IT!

Do it.

We had planned to do something similar on retirement. It won't happen as we have family care commitments. My super fit DH now has a debilitating condition. And I have RA.

So glad we took time out to travel when we were younger.

Our neighbours early 50s took to the road a couple of years ago. They had intended spending more time in Europe but Brexit and the lack of freedom of movement made it more difficult. They have been doing 3 months in Europe then back to UK.
They have decided to sell the house and are considering buying a croft in Scotland as their base.

And that’s why he wants to do what they hope to do!

Substitute "narrow boat" for "camper van" and it's what my BIL did.
Same age as you OP.
No regrets.

Do it , life is short enjoy it while you can!

I know a couple that did this when they retired, DH and I often say it's something we would love to do

They have decided to sell the house and are considering buying a croft in Scotland as their base.

Haha, DH is Scottish and a croft is another thing on his bucket list! Maybe 6 months in the van somewhere warm and 6 months in a Scottish 'summer'...or not 😂

stable but unfulfilling jobs,

@Rhinostone OP's first post- 'unfulfilling jobs'

That's a sad admission for a teacher.

I'm just posting from experience of friends.

DH has friends who do this but they are mid 60s and retired. Fit, healthy, etc. House paid for, lots of cash in hand.

Other friends of mine did this in their early 40s- no kids- and they were self employed, so could do some work 'on the road' using the internet.

Given you are mortgaged, you need your lender's permission to let out your house (some lenders used to be difficult about this,ours was) and would probably also need to convert to a buy to let mortgage.

There is no guarantee that a tenant will leave when notice is served, they don't legally have to until a court orders them out. Yes you can get a letting agent to manage everything but that doesn't absolve you of your legal responsibilities as a landlord and many amateur landlords are pretty clueless about their obligations. But selling and then rebuying later is also risky.

Where would you go and is your van comfortable to live in not just spend a few weeks in and is it well insulated and shaded? I see you already know you can only spend 90 days in any 180 in Schengen so you would have to dip in an out of Turkey or similar.

Do not underestimate the difficulty of finding a job when you're a woman in your 50s with a gap in your CV. You will probably be competing for minimum wage work with people much younger than you. I speak from experience.

Yup, I had a friend die at 60 of pancreatic cancer. It was so quick...about 4 months from diagnosis to the funeral. He was a workaholic, and that promised retirement with his wife is not happening. She looks utterly lost.

That's a sad admission for a teacher.

I'd appreciate less of the judgement, thanks. Shorthand is needed on here to describe a situation, and not every detail may be 100% accurate in order not to be too outing. You seem weirdly hung up on how my dh feels about his job whilst making an enormous number of assumptions that are incorrect.

It's what you wrote. If you want to be more accurate, then people won't misjudge you.
What comes over is that you've not given very much thought to the finances and practicalities. If you had, you'd not need to ask.

You mistake my point, most tenants are good tenants but at some point you will run into the bad kind.

If you assume everyone is fair and reasonable like you were, you will be appalled by their actions but nevertheless powerless to do anything but follow the costly and extremely long winded legal process.

Have a contingency plan, seriously so not underestimate this.

Scotland isn't some playground and besides, there are rules about crofting (having to actually work the croft). People buying up houses in Scotland and leaving them empty half the year is having major negative impacts on rural economies. Locals get completely priced out of the housing market and businesses become unviable when there isn't a year round local population using them and working in them. It's the modern day Highland Clearances.

I’d do the van thing over a Scottish croft, lol - and I’m Scottish. You can romanticise Scottish weather when you are not living in it, lol.
In your position I’d do it. You can rent out the house, and at least one of you has a job to come back to. The longer you leave it, the less likely you will do it and we regret the things we haven’t done in life rather than the things we have op. Look into it more and plan, plan, plan! Keep us posted too.

We’re planning on a 3 month sabbatical to do route 66 for DH’s 50th which is in 5 years time. We know we won’t be able to do a year but totally would if we could!

I was thinking that or airbnb?

Do it. I've lost family in their 50s. Life is for living.

Watch By the curb and people like that on YouTube.

If you do sell your house, don't sell it in a rush if you can avoid it. Get it looking really good, sell it when the garden is looking it's best and make sure it doesn't look like a rushed sale because you're keen to get going. It's tax free income you can then invest so you want to get the best possible price for it.

In the last 12 months i have lost 3 friends, had 2 more diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, another 2 diagnosed with cancer, one has had a stroke, one with a heart condition and i myself have had 2 heart attacks. One was 63 the rest are/were in their 50s. You are not promised tomorrow so rent the house out and go before you can't.