Morning all. Been a while since I posted due to few injuries I have been off the bike bit just getting back to it.

Anyway, just turned 50 and just thinking about life in general and stuff and wondered why this won’t work.

Sell house, quit work, use the £200k equity to buy a van and travel for the next 10-15 years before starting to receive military pension at 65. Rent a house at that stage so I have minimal assets for government to take when I’m old.

Thoughts? Is it just covid fatigue?

I’m not seeing a downside to it. It’s a fun plan. Assuming that’s the lifestyle you want, then it’s got merit.

Is £200k going to be enough for 15 years?

A good a plan as any. How much will the house rent for? Could you get enough per month to pay for van life? That’ll give you a back up plan, or a least the option to try it without complete commitment.

You’ve already formulated a rough plan, therefore you want to do it.
So do it! If you don’t then you’ll regret it.
£200k is easily enough, no need to be extravagant to enjoy yourself.
In fact, in my vast experience (usually in tents and hostels), living economically around the world brings you closer and more involved with the local culture.
Enjoy!

My brother’s friend sold up bought a camper van then cruised round southern Europe over winter.
Then he came home and ended up living in his van and cleaning the site toilets to cover his pitch fees.
Make sure you have plenty of money and that you really won’t miss “home”.

Sounds amazing, my dad did something similar, albeit on a boat not a van!
I’d be having a serious look what’s available now to rent that your mil pension could afford, plus being comfortable. Wouldn’t want to be dreading the return from what sounds like the trip of a lifetime just to live in a shithole. The other option is to look into cheaper properties abroad if that’s your thing.
As above, I’d be tempted to look into the rental option if practicable. Unless you have one of these houses that are flying of the shelves and could achieve top dollar for it.

Rent a house at that stage so I have minimal assets for government to take when I’m old.

You’ll be renting for the rest of your life, will your military pension cover that?

I’d be going sell house, release some equity for van stuff, buy another little house/flat for cash, rent that out while you’re away to give you an income to support van life, live in little house/flat when you’re an old codger.

Sell house, quit work, use the £200k equity to move to SE Asia, buy a van and travel for the next 10-15 years before starting to receive military pension at 65. Rent a house at that stage so I have minimal assets for government to take when I’m old.

Go someplace where £200k is roughly the average lifetime income, you’ll live like a king for 15 years. The rest of it sounds like a great plan.

What IHN said. I hope you do it!

I wouldn’t sell the house but rent it out and use that for your living expenses

Another advocate of renting first.

Someone my wife went to school did a similar thing and had an absolutely incredible van conversion done (lwb sprinter type of build).

He was always posting incredible pics on Facebook of him parked up on a remote mountain side, or on a deserted beach. She always used to show me and say how amazing it looked and he portrayed the perfect lifestyle.

After 18 months he was living back in UK and had sold the van because despite of his seemingly perfect lifestyle he hated it and wanted to go back to normal life!

Not saying that is the case for everyone but having that backup (at least for a year or two) is worth considering.

After 18 months he was living back in UK and had sold the van because despite of his seemingly perfect lifestyle he hated it and wanted to go back to normal life!

Not quite the same, but MrsIHN spent six months in a campervan travelling around Europe. 17(I think) countries in all, saw some spectacular sites, had a great time. However, there were times when we would have killed to just sit on a sofa, put our feet up, watch some telly and eat a chinese takeaway…

Can you boot strap it?

How many bedrooms do you have?
Let’s say 3. Work for 6 more months maybe a year, save hard. Rent two rooms. Maybe rent three bedrooms if you have a separate dining room you can live in. Save hard. Then clean the house rent on a kind term full rent and bigger off!

I have just over £200k equity in the house that is worth £350. Rental i would get maybe £1200 a month. That won’t really cover mortgage and expenses. I like the idea of buying a cheaper place and renting that while I travel. Seeing these places in France for £100k with land and outbuildings. That could provide as an air bnb in future I guess.

Always appreciate the thoughts of the ST brain!

However, there were times when we would have killed to just sit on a sofa, put our feet up, watch some telly and eat a chinese takeaway

That’s where the bonus if you have enough money to rent a cheap apartment off season for week helps.

rent out the house for a few years and see if this is the lifestyle you want before jumping right in would be my advice. Other than that go for it, best of luck!

Seeing these places in France for £100k with land and outbuildings. That could provide as an air bnb in future I guess.

These may be good to retire to but harder to rent while you go walkabout. They are cheap for a reason.

How about not buying motorhome and use money on flights and van rental for shorter periods?

I like the idea of buying a cheaper place and renting that while I travel. Seeing these places in France for £100k with land and outbuildings. That could provide as an air bnb in future I guess.

In that case, buy an easy renter (eg terrace house in a city or big town). When you are done it’ll sell easily and that place in France will probably still be cheap.

I think IHN has it.

Small cheaper place somewhere you want to retire to, use some of the cash to travel. Rent out small place sensibly and it pays for itself and a bit more.
Nothing stopping you taking on a few bits of work as you travel by doing a season here or there, rather than moving on every week. I have to say a long term travel with ‘stops’ appeals more to me than constant moving.

Rental i would get maybe £1200 a month. That won’t really cover mortgage and expenses.

it would if you switch to interest only BTL mortgage

Although I like the idea of downsizing now, so you know where you are. Find a nice holiday cottage that you can get someone to manage rentals/AirBNB for while you are away, that would also make a nice retirement home.

Great. Thanks everyone. Think I’m going to start looking at a cheap overseas place and save a bit more with the idea of heading off in 12 months.
The handy thing is I can come back to the work I do pretty easily if I did get sick of travelling.
Think it will be hard to adjust as I ha e worked since 16 and never been out of work.
Think I deserve a rest!

Cheers Rob

Rob,

Have a serious look at learning to sail, especially if you’re solo. £20k will get you a perfectly seaworthy boat (search for Rival 34/Moody 33 type or similar). These will likely be more comfortable to live on than a van, have a ready made cruising community in the Med / Caribbean plus likely have lower running costs each month.

If you’re looking at a 12 month runway then that would be ample time to get a boat and learn the rudimentary skills – learn as you go.

he hated it and wanted to go back to normal life!

However, there were times when we would have killed to just sit on a sofa, put our feet up, watch some telly and eat a chinese takeaway…

We traveled for months after getting married, it was a great life experience but after a while a certain level of fatigue sets in, it starts to become work; where are we going, where are we sleeping, where are we eating – the planning was taking a significant amount of our time. The exotic becomes normal and we started to miss home life Perhaps it would have been better to stay in one place for a few weeks, we met people who did that but it seemed to us they are just existing as cheaply as possible and not seeing things, which wasn’t what we wanted. We also spent about 2 weeks solid airborne! I’ve not been able to take a long haul flight since (this was 20 years ago).

Our retirement plan is to travel more but downsize and retain a modest place in the country so if it gets too much we have somewhere to put our feet up for a while.

The idea of sailing is not a bad one. I have seen a lot of good, solid boats for sale over summer that would be perfect for seeing the world on. You just need to know how to sail it. You can even subsidise things by advertising for people to join you over to the US or Spain or whatever.

Disclaimer: Entire sailing experience in small boats, so IANASC

Good to hear the downsides. Not keen on boats but have always thought that could be an option. I’m quite handy, so can mend stuff!

A lot to think about.

It’s a nice idea and if you genuinely don’t mind being away from family for long periods then it suits many people. If you like the idea of constantly moving, have a read about Gunther. I’m sure it’s been linked before.

You need to do some research on visas (if travelling or staying in one place) and the ability to buy property where you are not a resident and then residency criteria etc. Even if you are just travelling, many places have tightened up on visitors visas. Like the UK they don’t want foreigners taking the p*ss. Examples include in South Africa, you used to be able to get a 90 day visa-exempt entry (UK citizen), leave to an adjacent country for a week and then re-enter visa-exempt again. Now you must ‘return to your region of origin’, i.e. fly back to Europe. I suspect similar in S-E Asia. Remember even in Europe we don’t know what your right of entry will be in the coming decade, and I suspect the limits on duration of stay will cover the whole of Schengen. Similarly if you look to buy somewhere do very intensive research on what you actually own and what your rights are as a non-resident or what hoops you have to jump through to get residency. Also consider if you plan to be outside of the UK for prolonged periods, the tax implications and residency implications. For example if you are not resident in the UK and fall ill and return to use the NHS, it isn’t free. And you would need to look if/what you can get as travel insurance, home insurance etc.

I agree with IHN, I would look at downsizing to buy a place you would be happy retiring to and seeing what money is left over; then rent out the place at whatever covers the additional costs of renting (to cover maintenance, likely taxes etc) so you at least have some income. You’ll also want to read up on investments to make the most of your 100,000+ cash without too much risk. It’s a fine line and has similar argument to whether to buy an annuity as a pension or to make your own investments.

@scruff genuine question, how much do moorings cost when you need to restock etc? How much does a year travelling actually cost, including maintenance of the boat each year and your accommodation for that duration?

We once met a couple who worked in finance (so had lots of cash) who were doing 3x 6-month trips from the UK as their honeymoon. Made sure they were resident in the UK for more than 186 days a year, then ‘did’ a continent for 6-months travelling light, only using public transport. Think they were spending about £30,000 for 6 months, in a mixture of hostels and then splashing on the ‘to do’, National Parks that kind of thing.

Kimbers was trying to give a boat away a few days ago I can’t do links etc but have a search^^
Looked like a bit of a project but could be ideal for your plans

Apart from Gunther above….from what I have read, the vast majority of world travellers end up bored with travelling. What would you do at say age 56 having sold up, spent lots of the cash and are now in a 150k mile 6 yr old campervan ?
If you’re happy go lucky and would just get a job and crack on, great. If it would make you sit back and think about it….you need to sit back and really think about long term implications

What would you do at say age 56 having sold up, spent lots of the cash and are now in a 150k mile 6 yr old campervan ?

that’s what separates the winners from the also-rans though isn’t it? Those prepared to take risks and live with the consequences? As opposed to just living out his life in comfort but always wondering what might have been…

I was day dreaming last night. My job is now very much home based and that is not going to change. As a result I can work anywhere where there is a decent 4G signal. I could rent out my house to fund the finance on a really nice camper. I would then start off by working overlooking the beach at Bamburgh to walk my dog before work, during lunch and after work. I can then work my way south and eventually end up in Greek Islands. I could take bike and surf board and follow the weather. It would be a perfect, stress free lifestyle, living the dream whilst still earning a decent wage.

Then I remembered that I have a wife (who doesn’t like camper vans) and three needy school age kids. I also cannot surf.

Oh gosh I wouldn’t sell up and eat through the equity.

I would take a bit of a combo of ideas.

1. Work for 12 more months, rent out all your spare bedrooms to lodgers (super tax efficient as up to 7400 ish tax free) and save save save.

2. Get permission to let on your curent mortgage, and rent your house out for a year which covers your costs.

3. use the savings from 1 to spend a year traveling.

4. Reassess – am I loving it? If so can I switch to a BTL mortgage and keep renting the house out? Can I sell and buy something cheaper to rent out, thus gaining some equity release but keeping an asset in the UK?

A year away might be enough for you to feel like you’ve had a good break.

Or, can you structure you life so that you have periods every year where you can travel? Can you structure your work so that you take on short term contracts or seasonal work, spending a few months a year traveling / living somewhere cheap?

Excellent plan!

Alternative perspective: I was an accidental landlord for 3-4 years (after my mum died) and I found it a constant source of stress. It’s the last thing I’d want to have on the back of my mind in retirement, especially if (for example) I was in another country when the tenants **** off and leave unpaid rent and a damaged property.

A boat will just be a money drain. Trust me.

I do wonder if the whole #vanlife thing might have just been over-romanticised a bit now…

I’m sure I’ll be shouted down for this but it does seem to work better as a concept for millennial 20somethings for whom it is really just a temporary thing, a formative experience that they can opt out of if push comes to shove. They can park the van on Mum’s driveway for a bit over winter or if the insta/YouTube/patreon isn’t quite covering the fuel to tour Switzerland… Cynical I know.

Unlike the (admittedly stereotypical) van-lifer you would be without a safety net, especially if you sold up fully to fund it. So a homebase of some sort makes sense IMO.

And, without being rude, at 50 can you count on your health/fitness/staying injury free in the same way as a resilient 25 year old can for the next decade?

Also are you sure the novelty would last for 10-15 years? I’d be inclined to build ‘break points’ into the plan. Maybe downsize, buy a van see if you can do a year traveling in it and how you feel abouts the whole thing then, if it’s all good see if you can carry on for another 5 years? See if you’re on track or if the finances are going to burn out early, and are you still feeling up to another 5 years in a van?

I think the idea of downsizing (and renting?) to free some of that equity and fund a decade of travel and experiences makes perfect sense, it hopefully leaves you with a base should you need it and an annual “adventure budget”. Buying a van or boat might be an option, but they’re potentially more of a financial drag in the longer term (IMO) than just setting aside a lump sum for travel each year until 2030…

Nice plan.
Hope to do something similar one day but have ex wife and kids to consider for the next couple of years.

Although I love the sound of the plan, it does very much sound like sticking your head in the sand tbh. I’ve not been working much for the past 12 months or so, and am still being paid. I find the whole thing terribly dull and have no idea what to do with myself. I find I really need to be ‘working’.

I think lots of people are feeling very very out of sorts at the moment. The world is a very strange place at the moment.

The lotus eater. Good short story.