Stick home vs RV home

I have been reading this thread all the way thru its demise ;D.  Seems lots of folks have concerns over the housing market, with good reason no doubt.  I have a house.  In my free time I work on it, keeping the wood oiled, the yard in order and repair and replacement of things as the house ages.  It has had a substantial increase in value over the past ten or so years and it has always appreciated, sometimes slowly, but always in a solid upward way, moreso than anything in my limited portfolio.  My RV sits there awaiting a few stints in the summer and demands upkeep as well.  Needless to say its value has depreciated significantly since new.  I really like my neigbors, the place we live and the things we do here.  Yet when it comes to the RV and living in it I am very happy.  Travel is in my blood.  Meeting new people, seeing new things and having the freedom to move on just makes me happy.  If the housing market really goes "South", which I doubt, I will rent it.  If I get what I want for it then so be it I will sell it and downsize somewhere else if I need a stick house.  I value the happiness of the RV Lifestyle more than the money.  Once I die the value of the RV will have no meaning, much less the value of the house.  I want folks to remember me for having lived and not just sat in an old stick house and faded away.  I don't know if this makes sense but there is a big world out there and I can hear the road calling! 

motojavaphil said:

I don't know if this makes sense but there is a big world out there and I can hear the road calling!

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Made perfect sense to me Phil and was clearly written.

Well stated Phil.  That's exactly what we have done.  In the past few months we have purchased two places here in the Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort and Country Club.  We may not done yet, who knows.  Then we may  buy elsewhere and either keep or sell  these.  We may sell and buy elsewhere.  Or possibly sit tight.  Lord  only knows.  We love the people here so for now this is where we hang our hats. Tomorrow may be different.  But at least we're doing it our way and enjoying it.  I think, if the Lovely wife would quit finding projects for me.  But then again if not for the projects,  I might be one of those that wither away.    I certainly agree with you philosophy.

I have an aunt & uncle who own a small house east of Sacromento, Calif that's located in the montains. It's lawn is just pine needles due to the forest surounding it and the house itself if basically just a living room with a bathroom. Their motorhome is parked along side the house so it is their bedroom, kitchen and dining room. When they leave the house in their motorhome there is really not much left behind to be maintained. That is a stick and brick setup I would like.

Another setup out here in TX is a steel building or pole barn.  12' opening is required for most RVs, which necessitates a 14' eave. 
A friend of ours essentially built the building for around 30k, added a single bedroom, a bathroom, AC, power, plumbing, for another $15k. 
It's over 2000sqft of space, probably 400 sqft of that as "finished" living area.  RV can go inside, they have enough room to get out of the RV, can wash clothes, etc...
Leaving?  Simply button the place up and turn off the water and power..

In Florida we call those "RV Ports" and many of them are quite elegant. Whole communities of them exist.

Let me start by putting my feelings in perspective.  When I was in High School, I was never the best student.  Not because I was stupid, because I saw so many other things around that interested me more than studying.  Then I went into the Military for 3 years and finally got out after nearly 21.  I was never in one place more than 2 or 3 years, but I have seen so many interesting places and sites that I would never have seen had I stayed home.  So over 20 years in the Army, almost 16 years at the current job,  it seems like all I can say is I've worked my backside off.

I had a house of my own, once.  And I discovered I was working myself ragged at work, then coming home and doing the same.  Rving became really attractive, someone else mows the lawn, if the power goes off, it's someone else that fixes it, I don't have to paint the bathroom or plunge the toilet, if the weather gets to cold or to hot, I can move to some place more temperate, and if the neighbors are annoying, I can move on to new ones.  There are to many sites I have yet to see before I find the otherside of the dirt, and my RV gives me the ability to do that while maintaining the familiar surroundings it provides.  It also provides me the ability to take my grand daughter along so she may one day be able to tell her kids about the trips and sights she saw with us.

The one thing we have considered, is finding about an acre of ground next to a nice river, putting in a pad, water, power, and sewer, making it into one large lawn with a nice patch of trees.  The whole family could come, camp, fish, and just relax.  When the road calls, pack up and hit it.  My trailer is my lifeboat, it saves me from missing all that's out there yet unvisited.

Houses have outher things too like grass mowing............ lots or chores rv lifestyle there is no yard work or property tax.......

Yeah, but RVs need more routine maintenance than a stick house, e.g. roof & window caulk, "shake, rattle and roll" repairs, tires, etc.  There is no free lunch.

Having owned 5 acres and a 3200 sq ft house and a 40 foot coach, my experieince is that the coach consumes about 5% of my time versus the stick home.

That is exactly why I am on wheels and no debt.

Smoky

Some outher things I see are with a house like I currently live in there is flooding crawspaces none with an rv if natural disaster is headed your way with a house hope you got the right insurance for that with rv you just move on befor it gets there.  With rv you have a place to stay while on vacation whit rv when you go visit friends/ relitives you don't have to worry about anything you have all you home comforts with you.... with rvs you can most of the time live. In your prefered weather. In rv you don't have to call a repair man you can just go visit him with rv if you get lost on the open road you have a. Place to stay with rv you don't have to worry as moch about treees falling on you house you just move with rv your always closer to a home cooked meal

Stick houses are a losing proposition from an investment perspective. Few people actually realize a profit on a stick house. They buy a house for $xxx,xxx and some where down the road they think because the house is now worth half again as much (these days only if they are very lucky) they think they made money.

Add up the payments, maintenance, insurance, property taxes and fees.

Sure there are some write offs but no matter how you add it up, most come up barely even.

Take the last ten years. Few are even breaking even. The 5 year cycle no longer exists. It will not come back to a 5 year cycle either. There is a new paradigm. People are willing to walk away from a mortgage if they are under water. That changes everything and will place a barrier to a continual upward movement on housing prices for a very long time.

Now take the RV or MH. Sure it depreciates. So have houses; over the last number of years and 500,000 houses now go for 130,000.

So you get into a MH. Who thinks that say in ten years or so they wouldn't be able to buy a stick house or that house prices are once more going to escalate so high and fast that they will cost that much more than they do right now? Ask the people in Florida or California.

You can have the best of both worlds. Buy a plot of land and put your pad on it. Use if for home base when you want to stay home. Travel when you want because you can. If you ever get tired of the RV/MH, build the house. In the meantime why pay for the stick house or worry about the renters when you don't live in it?


Just a thought.

The fact remains that an RV is always depreciating at a high rate, while a stick house and the land under it has historically increased in value, economic cycles notwithstanding.  Property may or may not have a net gain after some number of years, but an RV is always losing until it reaches a stable price point, typically around 20 years old.

To support Gary's statement we have owned four homes in the Midwest (Not exactly the housing growth center of the country  ;D ;D ) and every one of them was a much better "investment" then any m/h we've owned.

Homes losing 30% of their value has caused a national panic the past few years but motorhomes do that in about 3-4 years.

Few people actually realize a profit on a stick house.

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That's not exactly true.  It's very much dependent on the location, the original price, and current market conditions.  Our very first home was a "barely breakeven" situation because we needed to move and sell in a down market.  We bought another place as an investment and because of changed circumstances had to sell it a few months later - at a very nice profit.  It was in a good neighborhood and the market was starting to go out of sight with rising prices.  That worked to our advantage.  Our last home was one of the best investments we ever made with a huge profit.  After we moved into the house, the nature of the neighborhood changed with huge companies moving in nearby.  Their presence reduced our city taxes significantly.  Moreover, our house was within walking distance for their employees and its value skyrocketed.  There were occasional dips as the economy dipped, but overall the movement was upward.  We sold at an outrageous amount and bought a significantly nicer and larger home in another state.  In other words, we took the money and ran.  The primary problem over the last few years is not so much the prices of homes, even though they're in one of their "dip" periods, but the way they were financed such as with zero down payments.  People who made decent down payments and got 30-year fixed mortgages instead of ARMs, should be in a much better position with their stick homes than with a motorhome.  That assumes, of course, that they still have a job and can make the payments or don't have to sell in a down market for some other reason.  The market eventually will improve and the prices will again rise.

ArdraF

While reading the statements everyone has posted, it occured to me only one person mentioned having children with them on their full-time voyage. They stated they would wait until the children were grown before begining their journey......why?  We have a 12 year old that has become a wonderful young man in the last 8 months of full-timing. The experiences with people of every age and background has improved his outlook in every area of his life. He helps the "Grandma's and Papa's" without even thinking about it, he helps watch out for the younger kids, he makes friends and most importantly......he has recognized the value of the many "Teachers" that are now available to him. As winter residents of a park, we have the option to use public schools. Because of his sight limitations, we have begun to home school him. We can go anywhere the road takes us, and we know the experience will benefit him as much as us......I don't miss our stick built house. What we have gained will last HIS lifetime...... 

it occured to me only one person mentioned having children with them on their full-time voyage. They stated they would wait until the children were grown before begining their journey......why?

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I suspect it has a lot to do with job and being near other family.  That is, they take a more traditional approach whereas you have taken a less tradtional one.  If the couple can work and have an income then I don't see why it can't be done more often.  But, I think work overrides most people's view of whether to have a stick house or a more mobile lifestyle.  As a result most people wait until they retire to fulltime.  The advent of the internet means more people can fulltime at a younger age because they can still earn a living before retirement benefits start.

By the way, I enjoy hearing about situations such as yours and how well they are working.  Your son is at a wonderful age in terms of the mobile lifestyle and obviously it's working well for him and you.  Super!

ArdraF

Might also have a lot to do with that fact that many of us are empty nesters (or never had any nesters) and so traveling with children isn't something we do or think about.

Wendy

I just hope that in 15-16 years we can pack up and go full-time.  It's been our dream since we got married and realized we both like being on the road.  So we bought a house for $30K (at appraised value) in the middle of nowhere, will have it paid off in a few years, and when it sells, it'll be all cash coming to us.  Since moving here, the appraisal value has gone WAY up.  The house is currently worth $45K and after we finish putting up a fence, touch up some paint, get the addition leveled, and change out a few windows and doors, I expect it to be worth more.  Other four bedrooms in this area are worth $60K-$100K.  That will be a nice enough chunk of money to purchase a three to five year old monster RV.  Amish build those Dutch Stars, right?  I'm all for that.

Welllll.....you might need a little more money to buy one of those "monster" RV, even a 3-5 year old one; but dreaming is half the fun.

Marsha~