homes while travelling

hi everyone

quick question, just lookin for some info. those people who have actually bought their homes, what do you do when you're travelling long term? do you rent them out? what bout your furniture, do you put it into storage? is it cheap? sorry so many questions!!

you own something/it owns you.

Hope you don't own yours.

I rented mine out and put my stuff into storage. When I came back I left the tenants in it and bought a new place that I live in and if (when) I go away for a year again I'll probably do the same thing with my current place.

I also rent my place out. I sold most of my furniture and lent some stuff to my friends and family. If you are traveling for a long time it could be cheaper to sell everything than putting it in storage.

yeah thanks for the info i only rent at the mo, trying to save money for travelling/house buying, id like to do both but it all takes time! just lookin for ideas and things at the mo

I always rented mine out.

Tried leaving it furnished at first, but folks never really appreciate stuff that isn't their own, and even if they do a good job of looking after it, it just doesn't feel like your own when you see it again after a year or two. Also, if something breaks (through honest wear and tear) it is YOU who is responsible for replacing it or fixing it.
Also (in the UK at least) , there are so many regulations now...ie soft furnishings must be fire proofed etc, so only if your stuff is quite new will it have been automatically treated for this at the manufacturers.

SO, it is much easier to rent out your place on an unfurnished basis.

Storing your stuff is a good idea if you're not spending toooooo long away. But you have to add up the cost of storing your stuff, compared to the cost of replacing with new when you come back....

Also, through experience, I would advise ALWAYS to rent out through a letting agency!!!!!!!!

Also recommend getting Landlord Protection insurance - my tenant tried to burn the house down - didn't succeed but left it full of smoke so it needs repainting & curtains dry-cleaned etc. Insurance has paid the rent while waiting for the tradespeople to get their A-into-G.

yeah i was actually having a look at buy to let and yup id let it out unfurnished due to the regulations, wasnt aware there were so many! although the buy to let option is not gonna happen least for for bit, needing a 15% deposit. trying to burn the house down just aint clever is it!

I've rented out my home twice.

First time, okay I guess, but will stay firm that from now on, I do not rent to families with small children. I think that the little "angel" discovered a cool sound when hitting the wood floors with a hammer - fortunately in two corners only! They gave notice early although we had a longer fixed term lease. The law in the province of British Columbia is very clear about what is and what is not allowed for rentals, and apparently, they could find someone to finish the lease if they wished. Since I had rented it out furnished, preferred to do my own selection.

The second time was terrific - rented it to a mature couple who were doing major reno's on their house. They would keep me in touch with any potential issues, and were so appreciative of the space.

The rent paid fror a major part of my travel expenses!! Yahoooooooo!!

PS: I moved any valuables into the basement and locked the doors.

I rent my place. But I bought it as an investment (although I have lived in it).

Because it is a small, inner city apartment I rent it furnished (the area appeals to singles/students who are prepared to pay high rent for location). The furniture was bought with the idea of it being for rental, I have no emotional attachment to it.

If you do this get a good agent and good insurance. Once of my tenants set the place on fire and then sued me! (The fire was an accident). That was all taken care of without me being out of pocket at all. My agent is a little expensive but it is worth it for the lack of hassle and the fact that I trust him. He lives in the complex and so keeps on top of things.

I disagree with #1. If you can make a wise purchase where rent covers the mortgage then you can travel knowing you aren't going to come home to nothing. The main thing is to research properly and make sure you understand what you are getting into.

I rent mine unfurnished and store my stuff in a "lock Up" off site. (Friends had their locked room vandalised and the goods used during the tenancy - all the bedding was ruined.) Make sure power, phone etc are disconnected or you could get stung for their unpaid bills. Insure. My house is not flash - no one and I repeat no one looks after a place like you do. I have quite a big lawn area so pay for it to be mowed as part of the tenancy agreement. The gardens always a mess but can be sorted reasonably easily. Depending on how long Im away sometimes a gardener comes in on a monthly basis just to clear the worst of it. - set rate for x number of hours.

Again - get an agent and check out the recommendations of friends on this one. Some agents are useless. Also make sure that you can access the bank account to check that your agent has deposited funds.

My personal philosophy is get into the property market if you can = even a small toehold is worth it and with care it can work for a traveller.

yeah it makes sense to get into the property market if possible. im currently trying to save up some money although i have about 5000 different things i want to use it for already! (ok slight exaggeration!) I would like to buy somewhere and then i could always rent it out if i ever managed to get away travelling for a bit. Really need to try save up money for a deposit and start putting some away for travel, easier said than done right enough!
buying a house so id have something to come back to afterwards is something i hadnt thought of. i guess id need money availably while i was away so a letting agency could carry out repairs on my behalf? does the landlord not have to authorise work to be done before? just thinking if you were away travelling contacting the landlord might be tricky!
at the moment just renting so if we ever managed to get away somewehre (the big word at the mo seems to be IF hehe) we obviously wouldnt have a place to come back to so it would mean living with parents probably initially

suppose all this is hypothetical at the moment really but its helping me try and figure out the best way to go about future housing and things and read about other peoples experiences :):)

Have you travelled another way or backpacked yet?
Do it first. then consider getting rich on your maybe equity.

Otherwise you´ll just have more reasons to pospone ad nauseum.

"I´d rather be happy than rich."
-Spanish proverb

nice proverb i like that. nah not had the chance to travel yet to be honest never seemed to have enough time or money. but the last thing i want to do is go through life without experiencing at least some of what the planet has to offer. been on quite a good number of holidays now but not really the same as doing any amount of travelling.

I own a few properties and have been living overseas for 10 plus years. Having good agents is important. Tenant insurance is a must as #6 pointed out. Usually you give your agent approval limit for any repairs that need to be made. Why sweat on the small stuff?

It is possible to be wealthy and have the freedom to travel. You can have one with the other. It just takes a bit of planning and hard work.

"I'd rather be happy and rich".