Pack up and see a bit of the country for a year??

[Daz100]

G'day all,

thought i would just share this and garner some thoughts on those who have done it, some words of wisdom if you will.

Missus just bought up the idea of maybe selling up and travelling for a while.

We have two young girls,(8 and 11) and a dog.

I said i wasnt keen on selling the house as i think it would be too hard to get back into the market once sold.

Take next year to plan it out, then rent the house out and the start of 2021 and do the trip for that year, home school the girls, then return back home as the eldest would be starting year 8 in 2022.

Currently have a triton dual cab, not keen to buy another car, but would need to buy a van.

Thinking, over the next year, sell all the Shit we have accumulated over the years, a real clean out, fix the house up a bit, save the pennies and see what we have.

Thats where i have got to at this stage, lots of things racing thru my head, but damn it sounds exciting and the adventure and experience the girls would get would be awesome for them.

anyways, fire away with comments, happy to hear from those that have done it, doing it, about to do it.

Cheers Daz

[McGirr]

A few things to consider.

You will need to get landlord insurance.

Depending on what you owe on the house would the rental return pay the mortgage.

Find out the fee from rental agencies and interview at least 3 agencies. Ask them why you should pick their agency. Negotiate a deal.

How often do they do rental inspections, should be done quarterly and make sure they take photos after each inspection of the property.

Get a entry report done by the agency so that it is clear what the condition of the property is in.

Stipulate what type of tenants you want, pets yes or no, lawns to be mowed or build that into the rental price and the mowing is covered etc.

Now the good part, go and enjoy the trip and the kids will remember it forever. Budget $1 a kilometre for costs.

Mark

[edz]

Have a mate that  Got given an old  16' caravan, he stripped and refurbished to suit them . They started out with that,   rented the house.  Two years on, sold it . started with two kids[ boys  5 and 3 ] ended with three,  5 years later and settled 200 Km away from where he started, on a bush block with a shed style home, new van and 4x4  .
Both worked as they traveled, if they could, mixed home school and mainstream for the 3 boys .. There was no set plan just go where ever they wanted too .. Headed North then across the top and around  ..
We follow these guys exploits a bit https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=One%20day%20we%20Should%20budgets&epa=SEARCH_BOX  they give good breakdowns on what their costs are . tips etc .

Some reading  and inspiration .. ..  http://www.1yearoff.com.au/    ...  # good break down on costings to give you an idea   etc     https://www.facebook.com/cummings.vagabonds  look back into the archived section .....      http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=10231.0                                          ###    .... Joffs reply #18    http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=10231.0    ....  http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=21074.0    ...
Low cost camping    .http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=50444   ....   www.1yearoff.com.au

[Daz100]

Some Great info info,

McGirr - cheers for the info on renting - some valuable points there to consider

Edz - thanks for the links, will take a look over them

cheers Daz

[MarkVS]

Daz,
Sounds like a great and do-able plan. If you get your finances right (I suggest renting the home out is the right strategy and not selling), then the rest is all do-able.
Doing it with the kids is perfect. You have plenty of time to get things arranged.
The downsizing up front is great. The age of the kids is right as they will remember and enjoy it.
The timeline sounds very do-able.
After you have got your van, make sure you plan a short trip to make sure it is setup they way you want it.

All I can say is ‘do it’....I don’t think I have ever me5 anyway who regretted it.

And you never know what is around the corner.


Mark.

[Daz100]

Thanks MarkVS

yeah - just chatting with the missus, prob the biggest thing that worries me at the moment is our dog.

There seems to be a lot of places (nat parks etc) where you cannot take your dog.

Has me wondering about the logistics of it all with our dog???

apart from that - a year to plan and all should come together -

cheers Daz

[Rowlie]

Daz,
I haven't done what you are contemplating - in hindsight I wish I had but guess I just didn't have the cohunas!! I am in my mid 60s now and one of my kids is thinking along your lines also.
McGirr's reply covers some practical considerations. Landlord insurance whilst a good idea isn't actually essential. Many basic home/contents policies still work when you rent but don't pick up rent default or deliberate damage by tenants. It does cover loss of rent in the event of the home becoming untenantable though. Make sure you have a contents cover in whatever you end up with to cover your legal liabilities away from home - most don't realise how important this is. The other thing that many first time landlords don't consider is the tax situation from rental income.
The kids I have met during our many travels who are doing the back seat education thing mix a lot with adults and boy does it show. They have maturity beyond their years and can hold a conversation at any level. I often wonder how they get on after their school years but I wouldn't mind betting they do pretty well. The only advice I would give is don't leave it too late and definitely don't sell up so you are still in the market when you eventually return to reality.
As the Nike ad says - Just Do It - and I wish you well in your deliberations.
Ken

[Daz100]

Thanks Ken,

yeah i really see this as a great learning experience for the kids, seeing life in the "real" rather than always thru a textbook at school. We do our best to get out and about and you just see a different side of the kids when doing this.

A lot of things to consider, we are going to sit down over a few drinks and work thru the pros and cons - then work out how to negotiate the cons to make it doable. Like i said our biggest concern at the moment is our dog - we dont want to have to leave her somewhere days on end if we want to go and explore places that dont allow dogs - me needs to do alot more research in this area.

Cheers Daz

[edz]

Just on the schooling things for the kids .. It will put them leaps and bounds in front .
My dad took us kids traveling for roughly ten years after mum left .. I was 2  1/2 at the time ..
Pro's ::  Highway home schooling put me up one grade above what my age / year grade should have been. When I did go to normal mainstream schooling  .
Cons ::  Wasnt making new friends  "  it was leaving them " when we moved on ..
 But now with all the internet etc that might not be such a problem as it was in the 60's / 70's . ..