We want to but..... (1 Viewer)

Gobbygibbo

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Hello everyone.

We've made the decision but as usual it seems bureaucracy is getting in the way. To go off we are selling our home, this means no postal address. Quick question with I guess a very long answer, what problems will that present us with?

Having read the site for a while I know I'll get the answers, which will be much appreciated.
 
Apr 13, 2012
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Unless you need to sell to fund going full time I would advise against.

I would raise cash against my property and rent through a recommended agency.

You might need a permanent postal address for pension, health care, insurance, bank account.................but good luck anyway:Smile:
 
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JJ

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With a real aversion to paperwork linked to a fulltime life living in a van for decades, not all the boxes are ticked in my unconventional life BUT...

...even I have a UK address.

I have highly trustworthy friends who let me use their address and open any mail that arrives for me.


JJ :Cool:

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scotjimland

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Welcome to the forum..

There are several fulltimers on here who will tell you how they do it..

You can use a c/o address with a trusted family member or friend..

We were fulltime for three years, vital things you need an address for are..

1. Vehicle insurance..probably the most important, as all your worldly goods will be in the van

Only a few insurers will cover fulltiming, (which is not the same as 365 cover.. ) If you keep this vital information from them you will be in breach of the policy and in effect not covered.
Comfort Insurance will quote you.. it is expensive.. be prepared for a 4 figure quote.

2. DVLA .. Vehicle registration.
3. DVLA.. Driving licence.

Others who may want/need your c/o address

Bank, Life insurance, Pension, Doctor, etc

I would also heed the advice in burstner's post.. it gives you security and a place to go to when you have had enough.. an exit strategy..

good luck
 

Dotplus6

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As someone else has said - if you can afford to hold unto your home & rent it out, it will be an income for you - much better than money in the bank which will give you no return at all & I for one wouldn't be giving bankers a pile of money atm!! This country could still go belly up & end up like Greece…..

Or how about selling your house but buying something smaller like an apartment even in a totally different location to where you are now? Some really cheap properties in Ireland/N. Ireland atm - you'll probably buy at a fraction of the price in England & still rent out for income. Check out Property Pal (Auction page is the cheapest).

Dot
 

Tootles

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Hello everyone.

We've made the decision but as usual it seems bureaucracy is getting in the way. To go off we are selling our home, this means no postal address. Quick question with I guess a very long answer, what problems will that present us with?

Having read the site for a while I know I'll get the answers, which will be much appreciated.

We transferred everything over to No 1 sons address, including registering on his voters list. Saves an awful load of hassle.

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Armytwowheels

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This is what we are sorting out now.

When we move out of our current house, which we are selling, we are buying 2 possibly 3 houses to let. One of those will be the house we eventually come back to. We have had to buy outside of the town we live in now to make this affordable.

As far as our UK postal address is concerned, it will be the house we intend to come back to, but we will pay for a mail forwarding service to Colin's mum or his sister. When we stop travelling or take a break from it, we simply stop the mail forwarding service.

Even if you don't what to buy to let you could buy a smaller house or in a cheaper area and let it out while you travel.

Hope this helps.
 

movan

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Because I can't afford to buy in the areas I would wish to live, because my house is in a cheaper part of the country, I am considering selling my house and buying a flat in the area I wish for (sadly will cost the same price as my house :Sad:). I want to spend time in my van but have decided I need a base.

Hope you get sorted.

Jim I am gobsmacked at the insurance cost!!! Why is that I wonder? Would have thought that since the van is with you a hundred percent of the time it would be cheaper than being left in a compound or on the drive or road half the time.:Sad:
 

sedge

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I expect it's

a) the vehicle will be in use and at risk more (OK so ours is parked on the drive and at risk from being broken into, but unlikely to have mirrors knocked off by white van man , gouged down the side by another vehicle on a carpark, etc)

b) you have all your worldly goods in there with you (currently you leave your tiara in the safe at home when you use the van, now it's in the van too) and

c) if it gets nicked or whatever they HAVE to pay for alternative accommodation whereas holiday use that would only be for a few days/weeks whatever and if the mishap is local, you'll just live at home.

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scotjimland

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Jim I am gobsmacked at the insurance cost!!! Why is that I wonder? Would have thought that since the van is with you a hundred percent of the time it would be cheaper than being left in a compound or on the drive or road half the time.

Really don't know why Joy .. most likely as Jenny says.. they must have calculated the risk and potential cost of a claim... come to a number and doubled it.. :RollEyes:

but more likely because there there is little competition, Comfort can ask what they they think the customer can afford..
compared to the US where there are thousands who live and travel in RVs. it's a very small market in the UK ..
 

terryandelaine

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This is what we are sorting out now.

When we move out of our current house, which we are selling, we are buying 2 possibly 3 houses to let. One of those will be the house we eventually come back to. We have had to buy outside of the town we live in now to make this affordable.

As far as our UK postal address is concerned, it will be the house we intend to come back to, but we will pay for a mail forwarding service to Colin's mum or his sister. When we stop travelling or take a break from it, we simply stop the mail forwarding service.

Even if you don't what to buy to let you could buy a smaller house or in a cheaper area and let it out while you travel.

Hope this helps.

If you are renting out the house you intend to come back to and giving that address for insurance, bank account etc please be aware that if the tenants ever need to make a claim for local housing allowance or working tax credit any checks will flag up you as "living" at the address and it will look like extra income is coming into the household.
Renting to a tenant who is currently employed is great but they can lose a job or have change of circumstances during the period of the tenancy.
Also any loans or credit taken out by tenants will show up against the address and could be a problem in future for you.
 

BreweryDave

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c) if it gets nicked or whatever they HAVE to pay for alternative accommodation whereas holiday use that would only be for a few days/weeks whatever and if the mishap is local, you'll just live at home.


I wish!
We pay £895 for declared Full Time with only a C/O address. Comfort are the ONLY company who offer this as a proper FT Policy, where the MH is your home, and you have nothing else. They do cover you 365 anywhere, and include £3.5k contents insurance, as well as full UK/EU breakdown and recovery.
However - I did specifically ask if the high premium reflected the fact that if anything happened - the insurance would find you an alternative 'home' and the answer was no! I was surprised myself - but the cover is basically the same as a normal policy - whereas they will find you a replacement vehicle (which incidentally will be a car!) and pay for temporary accomodation whilst you are 'away from home' which in itself seems odd! You do still need a c/o address, and your licence and the V5 has to be registered there - but they know you don't actually reside there.
Really - it's a peace of mind thing paying the extra for their declared FT Policy - as you won't be giving them any excuse for wriggling out of any claim.

I guess they can charge what they like really, as they're the ONLY broker who offer it, even though its only an Aviva policy - though it is stipulated that a FT premium has been paid and declared. (Don't be fooled by other company's offering 'long termer' insurance - it's not the same:Eeek:)

Thinking about it though - that works out at less than £2.50 per day, and you're not paying for other buildings/contents insurance - as well as all the other savings:thumb:

And finally, remember - there are no problems - only solutions::bigsmile:

We've been happily FT for almost 3 years, with no bricks and mortar to fall back on - feel free to PM me if you want to have a chat about it!

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chrissyvine

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This is what we are sorting out now.

When we move out of our current house, which we are selling, we are buying 2 possibly 3 houses to let. One of those will be the house we eventually come back to. We have had to buy outside of the town we live in now to make this affordable.

As far as our UK postal address is concerned, it will be the house we intend to come back to, but we will pay for a mail forwarding service to Colin's mum or his sister. When we stop travelling or take a break from it, we simply stop the mail forwarding service.

Even if you don't what to buy to let you could buy a smaller house or in a cheaper area and let it out while you travel.

Hope this helps.
If you use a house you own but do not occupy you will have to pay full-timers insurance unless you are on the Electoral Register there. I use my daughter's address as a c/o address but cannot go on the Register as she gets Working Tax credits which she would lose if I was registered there. Consequently my insurance with Comfort jumped from £297 to £840 at renewal. If you can go on the Register at Colin's Mum or sister, without affecting any benefits it would be the easier option. Your vehicle and driving licences would have to be at the same address.
 

Armytwowheels

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Thanks for the advice. We have been talking a lot about this lately because of the insurance. We are most likely going to go with his mums address. Less complicated all round and we will be house sitting for her in the summer when she goes off for her annual 6 week trip to Africa - she is one fierce pensioner!

I think the only benefit it may effect is her reduction in council tax for single occupancy, which of course we will pay the extra for.
 
Nov 5, 2011
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We have sold our house with completion this Autumn.

Our intention is to buy a property in Aquitaine for our retirement. Huge 'however' is I have broken my tib & fib & it may be another 3 months before all is well.

Our game plan is:

1. Furniture in UK storage until we have a new place in France.

2. Use son's or daughter's as our UK address for everything until we get a permanent place in France.

3. Redirect mail to the Uk address.

4. I am 66 & have Type 1 diabetes so will be OK for medical cover once we get to France.

If we've missed anything advice would be welcome...?

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BreweryDave

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We became fulltimers today! No travelling yet but it is a massive step forward. ::bigsmile:

Wecome to the Club - the best kept secret in the world(y)
Looking forward to meeting you at Sandy - and sharing any advice, we've been at it nearly 3 years now:D

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Welsh girl

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This is our 7th year full timing and I can't imagine buying or even renting anywhere static yet.
We love being able to go and up sticks to anywhere we want.
We spend the winter now in Portugal the first year for us but not the last.
We were too worried to drive on the 'wrong'side but not any more.
We can't wait to get back 'over there'
no grass to mow, no burglars to worry about or flowers to water.
Our MOT is now done, waiting for the hab check and the Malvern show then head back down:LOL::):):):):)
 

Hollyberry

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After 1yr 9 months in my van, with a 2 month break in the middle to empty house in France, I'm now living in bricks and mortar again and not really that happy about it!
Yes, there's more room and I'm totally renovating the place on my own so I'm exhausted, but I'd move back into my motorhome tomorrow...

Enjoy the experience-- you have to seize opportunities as they arise.
And as Brewery Dave says, no problems only solutions.

Oh good, time to go back to scraping walls !
 

Bobndebs McKay

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One other issue I found recently with changing from a permanent UK Address is trying to pay for things on the Debit Card over the ineternet. Unless you have a UK Postcode attributed to your Bank Account most companies will not accept internet OR phone payments, this is not beacuae they are being awkward, rather because their computerised systems require a recognisable postcode etc when it carries out the payment check. I have now changed back to a permanent UK postcode, (my Father in Laws!) I live in Germany btw.

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phodetheus

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Welcome to the full timers club. I promise you you won't regret it. The best thing we ever did and loving it despite a few little incidents. We found a UK address necessary for bank, insurance and DVLA needs and use my father laws address as a c/o address.

Hope to bump into you one day (y)
 
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Regarding whether to sell your house or not here's a different angle.

After 3 years on the road we wanted more space from time to time. An empty house in the UK is almost un-insurable for extended periods and temporary renting, well that suits some and not others, it wasn't for us.

We bought a classic Dutch Barge 26m long and 5m wide, you can work out that this is the same size as a very large apartment or a good sized house. We used it mainly as a house boat and moored in only one port, but did travel frequently with other barge owners as we were often a little younger and fitter so could help them handle some of the larger barges.

If we had had a house to return to it would have crossed our minds to take a break from full timing and return to the house, but as we didn't we used a little imagination as we were forced to. So although keeping bricks and mortar is a massive safety net, it takes the edge away when you are in the middle of a big adventure and looking for a solution.

Living in a large barge community in rural Burgundy was perhaps the very best 5 years of our life, perhaps even better than fulltiming in a MH ???
 

BreweryDave

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I told my bank I was 'away from my address' for the foreseeable future travelling. They took me off their mailing list and will send new cards to a branch. I have paperless statements and do my banking online.
I did ask if they could delete the address - but they said no - you MUST have an address. So I have left it with my old address - which has since been sold and is nothing to do with me - but I have told them I'm not there - which they accept and no post so alls good!
Sorted(y)

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mike9jr

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So how does everyone do MOT's and stuff? Go back to the UK to stay legal, then continue travelling?
And has any of the 'c/o' addresses ever had any problems like council tax or benefit issues?
Brew Dave, what about driving licence address, thats a legal requirement I think.... How do we get around that?
Thanks... I'll be travelling from Jan next year. End date not yet determined :)

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Tino11

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Not sure about this country as I've never looked, but in the US, Australia, Germany etc, there are lots of companies that provide a mail forwarding address, you can get letters, packages and parcels sent there, in your own name. You can then select an address of where you want your post sent to (perhaps a friend, relative etc), they could then deal with it on your behalf. Or if you end up in a set place (campsite or whatever) you could have the post sent to you there.

Prices are very reasonable. (y)
 

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