Land Based Homes??

[N4061]

Living Aboard vs Land Homes

I can attest to the concern of selling everything and moving aboard "full time". When I first pitched the idea of moving aboard to my wife she said OK as long as we didn't sell the house. Our situation is a little unique whereby a job transfer of 100 miles landed us in San Diego, CA. A drive that I still do today but with the boat it was the best years of lives. We wrote about our journey and the true costs in a small book and still long for those days. The real message here is that life happens, people get ill and you may need to move back to land (we did). Having the house made the transaction much easier. We are now back on the water but still have the house. In the future we can see a smaller land based house / townhome and a boat capable of living aboard. As a wise man once told me, "Different strokes for different folks". He was right and was is my dad.

If you would like to discuss in more detail feel free to reach out to us at N4061@yahoo.com.

John T.
N3522
La Tempestad

 

[Bay Pelican]

Wasn't there a lot of 'redefinition' by the insurance companies of what was and was not covered under flood insurance, and what constituted a flood??

Weren't some really heavy rain loses refined as floods so the insurance companies could claim the homeowner could not collect on insurance as he/she did not have flood coverage, even though they were not in a flood potential area??

Here is an example of the standard definition of flood damage:

"Generally, damage caused by water that has been on the ground at some point before damaging your home is considered to be flood damage. A handful of examples of flood damage include:
A nearby river overflows its banks and washes into your home.
A heavy rain seeps into your basement because the soil can't absorb the water quickly enough
A heavy rain or flash flood causes the hill behind your house to collapse into a mud slide that oozes into your home."

The heavy rain which soaks the ground and then enters the house is considered under this definition as a flood. Over the years I have noted that most homeowners don't seem to believe this isn't covered under their standard policy and thus you frequently hear, wrongly, that it is covered.

Marty

 

[amapola]

We live aboard and cruise 4-6 months a year but still maintain a land home.

 

[BandB]

It's really a very individual decision. I'm not sure how you even can answer until you at least live aboard for a few months along the way. In our case we spend about 2/3 of our time cruising but we also like having our home. There is something about having it to come home to and all our friends over. We've just found a balance that works for us. As to things we've collected over the years, we could part with them, but they also bring us a certain pleasure and we keep adding while cruising. Each item has it's own memories.

 

[gwkiwi]

We love our land home, although in the last year I can count days on land in one hand, unfortunately the reverse will come true in the future. I just hope the future doesn't come as quick as the days and years of the past seem to go.

 

[MV Salish Lady]

See Workaboard post

I'm still relatively new to the forum, but I had a question for those who live aboard.

How many of you maintain a fixed land based "home", be it a condo, townhome or house?

I've noticed a lot of the posts were people have sold their homes, belongings, etc., and moved aboard permanently, or I guess until they no longer want or are able to.

We have a paid for home, and in my mid 50's, the thought of starting over if the need were to arise, really concerns me. I really like the idea of living aboard, and I can see me doing it for months at a time, maybe a year or so if the route is right, but not sure I would want to do it forever. So how many of you actually keep a "dirt" address as a backup plan?

Hopefully this is not a redundant question or one to stupid to be responded to

Thanks,

OD

There are some additional responses on the Workaboard post that might interest you. We are of similar vintage. My wife and I have a home in Las Vegas and live aboard during the summer in the Pacific Northwest. We love this lifestyle and will keep it up as long as we can. That said, once cruising is no longer fun or possible, we will retreat to our home in Las Vegas. We have made a very conscious effort to arrange our work, personal and social lives to accomodate our lifestyle. It is not always easy. Being self employed makes it a little easier from a work perspective, but it also makes it necessary to be present at times when it would be nice to roam a little further.

We also own and older RV that we use in the winter but have it primarily to make the trip from Las Vegas to Anacortes each year. We call it the puppy mover.

I know that recent publications have advocated "sell and go cruising", but we have just never been able to completely adopt this lifestyle. We lived on our sail boat in Seattle and California for many years. We loved living aboard. At 30 I couldn't think of a better lifestyle. However, approaching 60 it is also really nice knowing that we have our "stuff" that we can return to in the fall.

We also thought about having two boats, one in the PNW and second in Florida. The idea was to commute between the two boats. We looked but were never able to pull the trigger.

In short, living the dream for us is the balance between a water and dirt address!

Welcome aboard and good luck with your decisions.

Shawn

 

[Keith]

I rented my houses out when I was living aboard. Used an agent to manage them. They handled repairs, renters, etc. for 10% of the monthly rent. All I ever saw was a check deposited in my account monthly. That way, you have a place to come back to if you want, and you still have a "dirt" address if needed, although I got all my mail, packages, etc. at a UPS store.

 

[Mystic]

When we made the decision to live the cruiser's life and live aboard the boat full time we sold the house and just about everything in it. We sold in 2006, at the height of the market. One of the best decisions we've ever made. No worries about non paying tenants, repairs, or taxes, etc. Property values in our area decreased 30% + since. And according to a very experienced realtor friend of ours, they're still decreasing.

And keep in mind , if you rent the house and then decide you want to sell it, you'll have to live in her again for 2 years, or keep her vacant, otherwise you'll pay capital gains on the sale. Best to check with you tax consultant.

 

[Bill Ranson]

Mystic...with a quick glance at your avatar it looks like you are truly "steaming" along due to that cloud perfectly placed behind your boat.

 

[Mystic]

Steaming Along

Mystic...with a quick glance at your avatar it looks like you are truly "steaming" along due to that cloud perfectly placed behind your boat.

That's too funny. I never took notice of the cloud behind the boat. And to think we're anchored.

 

[Shrew]

I'm not there, i'm just in the planning stages. I don't want to have a huge amount equity tied up that is never going to be used. On the other hand, I also acknowledge that once we cast off the lines, the boat will eventually get tied back up again. Either the wife 'takes her back in single-handed' so to speak, or one of us becomes physically incapable of living the lifestyle any longer. One of the two eventualities WILL happen.

When it does happen, I don't want to be starting over buying a new house either. I think we are going to buy a Garden Style Condo. This can alow fro under parking (secure) and an elevator to single-floor residence.

I'd like to rent it while we're away. The wife does want a land base and wants to come home at least 3 months out of the year.

 

[FF]

I think we are going to buy a Garden Style Condo. This can alow fro under parking (secure) and an elevator to single-floor residence.

You can rent it out while you travel to pay much of the HOA , taxes and perhaps some interest on the outlay.

Store your stuff somewhere else at far lower cost.

 

[Wzdr02]

Curious why you would look at an ocean? Not much of a trawler.

 

[long-cours.62]

We never had house during the last 39 years.
During 36 of this 39 years we was liveaboard.
Five years ago we hesitate to buy a house in ...USA, at this moments some houses look (from France !!) good opportunities.
And finaly "afraid" by my friends we do nothing, still only liveaboards people