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I'm putting my house up for sale within the next 2 days.  I expect it to sell fairly quickly.  I am currently in Virginia.

I think I will spend the summer camping at Cape Hatteras, but I'm flexible and plans could change.  This fall, I plan on looking for a house near the gulf in Alabama or Mississippi, or more likely in Louisiana (lived there many years ago).  I'm waiting until fall so it will be comfortable staying in my trailer until I find a new home.  This will also probably be my last trip!

I don't know the simplest and cheapest way to handle residency, as I'm not sure where I will end up.  Does it make sense to establish residency in Texas for just a few months?  This shouldn't be a difficult problem, but I'm not seeing a simple solution.  I hate to pay tax on my vehicle and trailer multiple times.

I want any solution to be totally on me, not on friends or family. 

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What do you plan to do for mail? If you expect to find a new place to buy a house before you need to renew your registration, driving license, or insurance I see no reason to change until you find it. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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3 hours ago, huckleberryfriend said:

I also have a business I need to register.

Can you use the business address, if it has physical site? Again, what will you be using for mail? Can you use that address for other things?  Most people who move do not change the address on driver's license, vehicle registration, or insurance until they get a permanent address in the new location. I'm not sure what the laws are in terms of the time your license remains valid from your previous state, but it could be important to check. As I think back, when we moved from WY to TX back in 1989, we didn't change our driver's license and such until we got our permanent house/address, and that was just over 90 days. Looking back, I now wonder if we were violating some laws? 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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I don’t know the answer to your situation.  I would talk to your insurance company.

I put my house on the market in 2019 and got an offer quickly in May.  My intention had been to take a very wandering trip over the summer before establishing domicile in Texas.  As far as I was concerned, I was still a resident of California until I got to Texas, I was just more or less on vacation.  I was not planning on changing my plates, or insurance until I got to Texas and established residency.  What ended up happening is that the original deal fell through and I didn’t sell the house until the fall.  I went straight over to Texas because the trailer’s registration was due in a month and I wanted to domicile in Texas as soon as I could for tax purposes (so my final California income tax showed me leaving prior to the end of the year).

I didn’t change my insurance to Texas until I was close to Livingston - even though the house sold a couple of weeks prior to me leaving California, I assumed my vehicle(s) were fine with their California plates and insurance.

Most states say something along the lines that you have to register your vehicles within 30 days of becoming residents.  In the OP’s case, they won’t be changing residency right away so why wouldn’t their Virginia plates and insurance be valid?  The main problem with that would be if the annual registration is due after they sell the house and before they establish residency, I suppose.

Ask your insurance company.

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18 hours ago, huckleberryfriend said:

I hate to pay tax on my vehicle and trailer multiple times.

If you already have your vehicles and have paid sales tax when you purchased them, you shouldn't have to pay sales tax again when moving to another state.  About the only exception would be if the sales tax in your new state is more than that in your old state -- in that case, you'd pay only the difference.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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2 hours ago, huckleberryfriend said:

I was thinking property tax.

I doubt you are planning to buy temporary real estate and most states don't have a personal property tax so this might be a non issue.

Linda

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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36 minutes ago, sandsys said:

I doubt you are planning to buy temporary real estate and most states don't have a personal property tax so this might be a non issue.

Linda

Actually, half of the states charge an annual personal property tax on vehicles. 

Property Taxes by State

Mark & Teri

2021 Grand Designs Imagine 2500RL, 2019 Ford F-350

Mark & Teri's Travels

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You curent state really doesn't want you to give up residence they will allow you register and such even after you sell. You may have to have a friend or family member let you use there address for a little while. My parents sold there house 16 years ago have remained residents, paying income tax every year but have been out of state every winter since selling. They use my address in summer and there campground one in winter. Even there registration and such goes to the campground address if thats were they are. You have not decided on your new home yet so you are very legit in not changing anything for some time. Who knows you might end up back in your curent state after some traveling. 

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  • 1 month later...

Hi! I’m in the process of selling my house and found myself in a similar situation. I needed to change my address but, for reasons involved with selling my house, can’t get an out of state address just yet. I was in a UPS (not USPS don’t confuse the two) one day and noticed they had mailboxes.

I asked about it and they provide a mail service too. I now have a physical address, I have 24 hour access, and they will forward my mail on my request. It’s not as fancy of a service as Escapees, etc. but it was what I needed to bridge the gap. 
 

Check around to see if there is a local service that you can use.

Shelley

Haulinit 

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2 hours ago, Shelley said:

Hi! I’m in the process of selling my house and found myself in a similar situation. I needed to change my address but, for reasons involved with selling my house, can’t get an out of state address just yet. I was in a UPS (not USPS don’t confuse the two) one day and noticed they had mailboxes.

I asked about it and they provide a mail service too. I now have a physical address, I have 24 hour access, and they will forward my mail on my request. It’s not as fancy of a service as Escapees, etc. but it was what I needed to bridge the gap. 
 

Check around to see if there is a local service that you can use.

Shelley

Haulinit 

Don't expect the UPS store to be good about sending your mail to different addresses as you travel.  At least that was out experience.

2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now.
Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat)
 

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3 hours ago, Shelley said:

It’s not as fancy of a service as Escapees, etc. but it was what I needed to bridge the gap. 

While I'm not sure what fancy means, since you remain in Oregon you should have no problems. Also, Oregon does have a provision for full-time travelers if you prefer to keep your domicile there.

Quote

Continuous Traveler
If you travel continuously, you may use "continuous traveler" as your residence address. If you use "continuous traveler" as your residence address, you must also provide a mailing address and present proof that you are a resident of or domiciled in Oregon.
 
You must complete a Certification of Oregon Residency or Domicile (Form 735-7182) and present acceptable proof. Acceptable proof of residency and/or domicile is noted on the back of the form.

 

Edited by Kirk W
correct typo

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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8 hours ago, Shelley said:

Hi! I’m in the process of selling my house and found myself in a similar situation. I needed to change my address but, for reasons involved with selling my house, can’t get an out of state address just yet. I was in a UPS (not USPS don’t confuse the two) one day and noticed they had mailboxes.

I asked about it and they provide a mail service too. I now have a physical address, I have 24 hour access, and they will forward my mail on my request. It’s not as fancy of a service as Escapees, etc. but it was what I needed to bridge the gap. 
 

Check around to see if there is a local service that you can use.

Shelley

Haulinit 

Hi Shelley, welcome to the Escapees forums. Lots of good info and people here with some grumps thrown in for good measure.

I look forward to seeing your posts.

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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13 minutes ago, RV_ said:

Hi Shelley, welcome to the Escapees forums. Lots of good info and people here with some grumps thrown in for good measure.

I look forward to seeing your posts.

And some of us basically good people get grumpy occasionally. :)

Linda

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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Thanks! I’m now trying to figure out the fine art of finding reasonably priced places to park my house.

I’ve got a somewhat planned itinerary for things until Spring when I’ll end up in Texas for a couple of weeks.

Do you have any suggestions for forums, etc.?

Shelley

Edited by Shelley
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3 hours ago, Shelley said:

Do you have any suggestions for forums, etc.?

For locating RV parks and campgrounds I suggest two sites, Campendium and Campground Reviews. I find both of them to have good things to offer and really have little preference as to which is better. I use them when planning our travels on the computer before leaving. With the huge increase in RV sales during covid, the availability of parks and campgrounds is more difficult and I am finding that you need to have reservations if going into any area that has attractions or any large metropolitan area. Rural areas are not as difficult but even they are much busier than they were in past years.

As to general information RV forums, there are two that I visit frequently in addition to this one. They are IRV2 and RV-Forum

When you get to Texas, be sure to visit the Escapee HQ located at Rainbow's End, near Livingston. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks, Bill! The UPS store is only temporary. Once I close the sale of my house and get all of that settled, I’m going to sign up for the Escapees mail service and domicile in Texas.

That decision took a lot of research and thought until I decided that Texas was right for me.

Kirk W., I’m only in Oregon until I retire in September. I love the geography of the state, it’s other aspects of living here that I’m done with. I don’t want to talk about it because this isn’t the place for it. Oregon is a very beautiful state.

You mentioned using both Campendium and Campground Reviews. I’m a contributor to both sites too! They are both really awesome. I just need to develop my routine for planning my traveling. Right now I know the places where I want to go, and I know to pace myself, so now I just have to figure out the rest.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! I will definitely visit Livingston. I’ve kind of got my route from Arizona to Athens, Texas worked out in my head for next spring. I’m going to take some RV repair tech classes at the NRVTA there. 
 

I look forward to staying in touch with everyone and meeting whenever it’s possible. That’s one thing I like about these groups is the great network of people.

Shelley

Haulinit aka The Tiny McMansion

 

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I highly recommend signing up for Escapee's mail service NOW. It takes time to be sure you didn't miss anything in your forwarding process. You don't have to move there to get your mail sent there. And you don't have to establish it as your domicile just because you get mail sent there. The domicile change needs to wait until you sell your house. But please don't wait until the last minute to set up your mail forwarding.

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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Linda, you’re right. I’m probably close enough now that I can go ahead and send the paperwork in. Luckily I have a friend who is a notary. He says whenever I’m ready to just let him know. 
 

By the time I get it sent in and it’s processed is going to take at least a week, maybe more. Then I’ll have that part done when I’m ready to do the rest. I’m just the type of person to not want to do anything to mess things up. Been there, done that. My UPS store mailbox is paid for six months, I had no other choice. 
 

Thanks again! That’s why forums like this are helpful! Now I get to work for the next three days then come home and continue to get ready for my garage sale on Friday and Saturday. Once that’s done I can really do some serious moving out. 
 

Stay tuned!

Shelley

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6 hours ago, Shelley said:

I’ve kind of got my route from Arizona to Athens, Texas worked out in my head for next spring. I’m going to take some RV repair tech classes at the NRVTA there. 

If you need any information on the Athens area, let me know as I am very familiar with it. We have lived nearby for a long time now and are frequently in the Athens community. Feel free to drop me a message through the private message area of the forums if you wish.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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  • 4 weeks later...

Kirk, thank you so much! I’ve been busy moving and now working on getting things arranges and settled in the RV.

Last week was my first week in the RV. It felt good. 
I’ve lived in them before, it’s just been a really long time ago.

one question that I have about the Athens area is the climate: are there, on average, many tornadoes? 
 

Again, thank you for offering to send information. I’m really getting excited at the concept of traveling and taking my house with me.

 

Shelley Kepford

haulinit aka The Tiny McMansion

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6 hours ago, Shelley said:

one question that I have about the Athens area is the climate: are there, on average, many tornadoes? 

East Texas does experience tornadoes every spring but it is a large area so no one spot can be predicted to. Athens is in Henderson County and most years at least one tornado does strike somewhere in the county, while the city limits of Athens has not experienced any since 1981. Living in this part of TX one does need to be tornado aware and to pay attention to warnings, but you do not need to live in constant fear. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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On 4/29/2021 at 3:16 PM, huckleberryfriend said:

Until I have an accident and don't have a valid license, registration,  or insurance.

I'm thinking the odds are at least 90% I will end up in Louisiana, so maybe I just need to find a way to establish residency there.  I also have a business I need to register.

Could you explain why your license / registration / insurance would be invalid?

Asking as we went through a similar deal a while back (resident of MN building new place in ND [year out]; sold MN place then stayed at lake, in RV and various rentals across the US until the new place was completed).  Basically went mobile until the new place was done.

Anyway, we couldn't get ND residency until we had a physical address in the state.  For the duration between MN sold and ND available we left our residency in MN via a PO box.  Changed all addresses to the MN PO box including our insurance and licenses.  None of that behavior invalidated insurance, registration or licenses.

2000 volvo 610
2013 cyclone 3950

 

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