I really fancy the idea of staying in the States for a year but it sounds to me though that there is a grey area regarding family ties as you said earlier that each case is considered on its own merit. My children are all adult and I do not see them regularly and they certainly are not dependent. But I will be on a tight budget and as you say, the more you spend the more worthwhile to go this route..
You will have no problem with going the VAT and DUTY free route, based on your info above.
Everything depends on whether i buy an apartment in Berlin with some of my money and let it out so that I have the funding to fulltime. The prices are really low and it would give me somewhere to retire when it all gets too much
LOL decisions, decisions. I dont know what the price of property has been like in Berlin over the last few years - if prices are fairly static there, you could just put the money away and try the full-time RV lifestyle. You may decide you dont want to live in a "normal" home again. Visit www.rvfulltiming.com for a UK fulltiming group and www.motorhomefun.co.uk for other advice on MHing. (hope its OK to put links Tom?)
So I guess the amount available to be from 15K to a possible 25 if I do not buy in Berlin.
OK, I take it we're talking ?GBP, which 20K is around $40,000.
Other forum members will give you an idea what you can get for that budget (take a look at ebay.com for some rough ideas).
You will need to allow $1,400 to set-up a Montana LLC (search forum for details) which will save you paying the sales tax in USA and a similar amount for insurance. Then allow $3,000 for shipping into the UK (asuming your RV will be a smaller one).
Allow $4,000 in flights and repairs.
So, I would guess you have $30,000 to buy with.
You could use interest on your savings (??) or rent from the apartment (??) to fund your stay (I dont know your savings or rent so you need to decide on your usual spending).
If I own an apartment then I will have to pay the tax regardless of the ties ruling?
No, you could either import into Germany (I dont know the procedure but should be EU-wide) and you shoulnt have to pay the taxes (as your home and ties have been outside the EU for 12 months).
Or, you can import into the UK and register under one of your childrens addresses (as a care of address, which is OK) and then take to Germany.
Either way, if you sell within a year it is then that you would have to pay the taxes.
The taxes would be (roughly) $33,000 + 10% = $36,300, + 17.5% = $42,650 = TAXES OF $10,000 OR ?5,000
Basically, even on your small budget, if you stayed in the US for a year you could have ?100 per week spending money toward a US tour courtesy of HM Governement FREE !!! - it wont be enough on its own but you will have savings interest or rent too.
Now, compare what you can buy in the USA with something similar in Europe and you will see you will save by buying it in the USA too.
Dont forget, you will need a B2 Visa for the USA - do a forum search for advice on that one.
I know of 3 UK couples who will be touring the USA around the time you will be there, so there's no need to feel "alone".
Other forum members will advise, but I believe there is also a group in the USA for single RVers too.
Paul
Wow thanks for that Paul. Yes I am a UK citizen Tom. Property prices are rising in Berlin. The cheapest apartment that I saw was, wait for it...?11K! That is a one room one. The forcast is that they will boom. If I do not buy now I might miss my chance. I really think that MHing will suit me just fine I used to love camping/caravaning and plan to go south for the winters which I hate. Berlin winters are terrible so I would most likely plan to sell when house prices peak.
It would be great to get in touch with others doing the US thing. I have a friend in Berlin from Colorado who would hopefully give me some contacts.
Thanks again Paul, plenty to think about.
Brenda