Countdown to nowhere

When I first signed up for steemit, a little over a year ago, I wrote about how I had a three-year goal to sell my house and go full-time RVing. I have officially changed my timeline and plan on being on my way by the end of this summer. It’s not an easy decision and I have so much to accomplish before I can make it a reality. I’m writing this blog not to only document my journey on the block but also motivate myself to get my ducks in a row and hold myself accountable to get shit done.

The issues:

1. My house needs a complete remodel, I’ve lived here for 18 years and my house and I both got stuck in the 90’s. I haven’t put much money into renovations over the years and it’s starting to show. I do have enough equity built up to be able to get a loan and do a total remodel, but to be honest, I’m ready for a change (more on that another day). My dilemma is that I could either fix the house up and be able to sell it for top dollar with a traditional real estate agent or try to sell it in “as is” condition to one of the disruptor companies (offer pad, Zillow, opendoor) which are all active in my city. I am going to try the disruptors first and then just check with a real estate agent to see what they have to say. I like the idea of not having to show the house to strangers with barely any notice, not having to fix anything and also being able to choose my closing date; those are big pluses for the disruptors. I know they are going to low ball, as well as beat me up on the repair estimates but I’ve never sold a house before and an easy streamlined process sounds very appealing. I’m not a greedy person; all I’m really looking for is enough to buy a decent 5th wheel toy hauler and a truck to pull it with. I also plan on buying a small plot of recreational land here in Florida to use as a home base in the winter. It may not be much but I will own it outright.

2. I have 18 years worth of crap to get rid of. I’m not a hoarder by any means but after this amount of time in one spot, stuff accumulates. It’s almost overwhelming to think that I have to whittle all this down to what will fit into an RV, it’s also liberating not to be bogged down by a bunch of stuff that I don’t want or need. I’m going to start having yard sales every weekend and also post on craigslist/offer up.

3. My wife has a good job with a small company that depends on her. The owners have always treated our family well and think of our kids as their extended family. She doesn’t want to leave them high and dry, she has been running their business for 15 years and she will be hard to replace. My wife wants to give them as much notice as possible so she has time to train her replacement.

4. The fear of the unknown. I will be giving up the security and safety of a “normal” life. My youngest daughter will be heading off to college this fall so all the kids are out of the house. We have had some great memories here and I will be sad to go. I am worried that I am making the wrong decision and I should just remodel the house so the kids have a place to come for the holidays in the future while their families grow. How about if my health goes downhill? I could be sticking my wife on her own with an RV after giving up our safe little house and her secure job that she could be at for another 15 years.

5. A steady source of income, we still need to find a way to make around $2500 a month on the road to survive. One of the great things about the RV lifestyle is the low cost of living while being able to see some amazing places. I have watched countless youtube videos about monthly budgets and it seems that around 2k is the mark to hit to be able to live comfortable. I’m starting to work on a few ideas like Teespring, Etsy/ebay, fiver, upwork, food delivery and some of the gig apps like handy. I will also have a decent F350 truck with a hitch so I plan on having my truck work for me too (moving, towing and hauling). I have some other ideas as well and plan on having several small sources of income from different directions that add up to ends meet. If all else fails, I can always do webcam porn... everybody likes to watch old people bang, right?

So there you have it, I’m dipping my toe back into the steemit waters and taking you along for the ride. I hope to be posting at least once a week to update my progress and delve a little deeper into the process as it unfolds.