Motorhome Part-timing

[Mrs Sea]

I've read all the articles on full-timing, mostly folk going to live abroad but we just want to part-time it in the UK for 6 - 8 months and then come home for the winter. We are looking at letting the house for short holiday lets through the summer whilst we are away to bring in some income as we have not much pension! Anyone out there with any experience of this? Many thanks

[Lizzy]

Talk to a few letting agents about the way contracts for short-lets are drawn up. They will also advise you on whether it's best to let furnished or not - furniture these days has to have 'fire proof' certs for example. Fire extinguishers etc...... Check that your household insurance allows for your house to be empty or let for months at a time - some do not! They expect the owner to be home most of the while otherwise they dont' cover break-ins etc.. People between jobs or down-sizing to another area often rent properties to get a 'feel' of the place first; or when they have sold and are waiting to move into their new house. Professionals can be as untidy and messy as students! Family members tell horror stories! Make sure that the letting agent is responsible for collecting rent as they have more oomph behind them! Have you a 'van yet? Perhaps hiring one first? My 'Uncle' lives in Scotland and goes off for weeks at a time.

[Mrs Sea]

Thanks Lizzy. Yes we have a van already and have been m'homing for nearly 5 years. We are just about to replace it with a bigger version in the spring so we have more space to store all our gear for hopefully some longer trips in the future. The part-timing is still only an idea to help us retire earlier than 70plus! We might have to wait a year or two yet but am gathering information to see if its a possibility. We would move from our present house to somewhere better for renting. There would be no mortgage. We just would need some income to live off until our meagre pension kicks in. Dreaming maybe but there must be some way to get away and enjoy this lovely country of ours for longer than 2 weeks at a time...... By the time I have a decent pension I won't be in a fit state to do anything!

[John NG5]

Mrs. Sea, I have sold my house and am presently looking for something smaller. I have taken early retirement and it will be some time before state pension kicks in. I also, have looked at ways to supplement my pension. Could I suggest you consider the following :- as you are going to part-time and only return home for 4 months in winter, sell your property instead of renting it. Invest the capital in a safe building society bond. The return could be £300 +, per month, after tax for each £100,000 invested. The only other thing is coming home for the winter and that could be sorted by you renting for the amount of time you wish to stay, wherever you decide. The interest on your capital will cover the short term cost of property rental. Good luck with your venture, and i'm sure other users of this forum may have other ideas for your consideration. John 8-) 8-)

[Pat P]

Make sure you have considered all the implications of insurance before you sell up and travel. It is very difficult to get insurance when you have no permanent address. We have just rented out our house, as a trial, and plan to sell and downsize (to a one bedroom flat!). This gives us a permanent address for all those beaurocrats who demand that we have one. We will then rent out the flat while we travel but always have it to return to when we want to. Pat

[Mel E]

Selling up your home is an awfully radical step with Uk house prioces currently rising at 8%+ per year. You need an awfully impossible return from a Building Society Bond to cover that AND give you some income. The problem is that there may well come a time in the fiture when you actually want to ghet back into bricks and motar and it would be awful to find the sale price of your depreciated asset (the motorhome) and investment were too small.

[Mel E]

If you can put up with the damage (usually not too bad with holiday lets) then holiday letting is a good idea. A good starting point is to do a Google seach on 'holiday cottages' which will give you some web sites belonging to holiday letting agencies. Also try your local Travel Agent for brochures, and try a newspaper such as the Sunday Times or Saturday's Telegraph which have big travel sections with adverts from such companies. You can do the whole thing yourself by subscribing to a web site. If you're going to be travelling in the UK anyway, you're never too far from home if a major problem does strike. Also use the internet to find out what is for rent near you and what they charge. A typical holiday let agency will take around 30% to 40% of that, and then you've got the costs of employing a cleaner for the weekly changeover of renters.

[Basil]

Whilst I understand and echo Mel E's comments, the real problem is if you find you do like the life and you keep doing it what happens when you can't anymore for whatever reason and the state then takes your money or your property to pay for your care!!! Bas