Should we Sell the House?

Financing the 'Big One' can be a real conundrum for many would-be grey nomads planning to turn their travelling dream into a reality.

An obvious solution for homeowners planning to be away for an indefinite period is to sell up the house and enjoy the fruits of years of hard work. That is fine as long as everybody is happy with the decision and the lack of a 'base' to come home to doesn't become a worry. Recent surges in real estate values have meant more and more nomads are confident enough to hit the road and borrowing against the extra equity is an alternative to selling up.

Those who choose not to sell will normally consider renting out their house as this will bring in extra funds to cover the ever-increasing costs of fuel. Not surprisingly, though, most people prefer to let family members or friends move into their property - even for a bargain price - rather than leave the matter in the hands of a real estate agent.

*Alice Simpson from Melbourne began to worry whether she had done the right thing form the moment she and her husband sold their house.

"John was always keener than I was to do this trip and he persuaded me that selling our home was the best way we could afford to do it right," she says ruefully. "I should never have agreed because I worried myself sick over the whole business as soon as we had sold. I just wasn't ready to have no 'home' and I convinced myself we had made a terrible mistake."

Happily for Alice, her feelings of doom began to lift once her trip was under way and she met other people who had done the same thing.

"I think once you are out there on the track things that worried you terribly back home become less and less of an issue," she smiles. "You just get caught up with life on the road."

"I began to feel better as well when I realised that we had sold at a perfect time as the market has come back a bit since then. It is nice to know that we can go back anytime and still afford to buy a new home.

"Nonetheless, I would caution other people thinking about taking a big trip to think long and hard about whether they are really ready to sell their home to make it happen. I know there are hundreds, if not thousands of people, who are out there who have done it and are happy about it but we are all different and some of us just like to have a place to call home - even if we are travelling long-term."

* 'Alice' asked us not to use her real name.

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