What to do with your house when your away on extended cruising

[Randy]

Looking for ideas and suggestions on what others have done with their house on land when they left to go cruising but not selling it.

[Veranda]

How long are you cruising for? If its a year or more, do you have adult family that you can rent it to?

We sold everything 3 years ago and by dumb luck it was at the height of the market so it worked out best for us.

Bill
s/v Veranda

[LOLA]

Would it pay to empty the house for rent...as we get more established we have more things...I would video tape every cup board, and all items...good to have for a fire loss too.

I have been looking for home exchanges from other countries...you can go an line and find.. I will be watching your post...Thanks for the posting.

[Suky]

Ahhhhh...yes, well bless that dumb luck. I just sold most everything and rented the house with the exception of some large pieces of furniture. I kept family photos. It feels great & I wish I had done it 5 years ago - but that's me

[Art Dufresne]

there are of web sites where you can swap your house with someone or get housesitters. There are some great places available

We have had great luck with housesitters for our house in Costa Rica. In many places, like Costa Rica, it's an invitation to disaster to leave a house with no one living in it and a bad idea to have locals do it (squatters rights issues). So it works well to get folks with ties to other places who need a place on a temporary basis. It also gets our dogs and cats cared for.

[___/)ances With Sails]

I was gonna lease for an income to cruise but will sell PDQ cause I dont feel like riskin fightin in court over damage or stolen appliances...then tieing my estate up in the battles. With so many loop holes that tenants can squeeze through and come out with nothing more than MAYBE a lien against them where you would have legals fees out the wazoo, Im recently deciding to pocket my $$$$. There are other ways to invest -without the BS. I m sure we all know the right person to trust but hey, I want my sailing to be fun and worry free. Thats what Im doin but to each their own. Good luck either way.

With God Speed!
___/)

[Jodi]

HOwdy.. we have been renting our townhouse through a realtor for 13 years and never have had a problem..
The agency takes 10% of the rent but they take care of the background check, dealing with deposit, payments etc.. We are 3 states away so it is the best arrangement..
jojo

[___/)ances With Sails]

Seller Update:
Still planning on selling but may reconsider my plans to Owner Finance. Ive been getting feedback that leaves me as skeptical as renting, where the same rule applies -Get someone trustworthy.

Still undecided there.

[Gary Kegel]

Wow
If you can afford both a house and a sailboat you are too rich anyway. LOL