Travel the World: Traveling the world is a dream that many people have, whether it’s by themselves, with a partner, or with their entire family.
In fact, selling everything you own to fund your world travel is not something that’s completely unheard of and can even be considered brave and adventurous.
That being said, there are pros and cons to selling your house to travel the world and the real estate legal experts at Chand & Co Civil Litigation Lawyers provide them here.
Pro: You Have Money to Travel
Your house is a major asset that likely has quite a bit of equity in it that will allow you to pay for your travel expenses.
This is especially true in today’s market, which currently favors sellers. You can use this nest egg to set your travel budget and ensure you have enough money to hit all your bucket list destinations.
Con: You Won’t Have Money to Buy Another House When You Return
Typically, when someone sells a house, they use the proceeds to buy a new house that’s usually an improvement on their old one.
If you spend all the money you make from your house sale on travel, you won’t have the same ability to buy a house again when you come back.
Now, there are ways you can still buy a house, but your options will be limited without a significant down payment.
Pro: You Aren’t Tied to a Location When You’re Done Traveling
Without a house waiting for you when you’re done traveling, you can pick anywhere in the world to live.
You might discover your perfect home while on one of your adventures and you can put down roots right then and there, or when you’ve seen enough of the world to settle back down.
Con: You Might Be Priced Out of the Location You Left
If you do want to return to the same place where you lived before you left to travel, you might not be able to find affordable housing there.
This is a risk you take when you don’t own real estate that appreciates with the market.
When you sell your property, you stop earning equity and you’re no longer a part of that market.
Pro: You Don’t Have to Worry About Your House When You’re Gone
It’s hard enough to be a homeowner when you’re living in the home. It’s much more difficult to try to manage the house while you’re thousands of miles away.
If you can get someone to do it while you’re gone, it might be worth hanging onto during your travels, but you’re still going to worry about things going wrong. No house, no worries about the house.
Con: It Can Be Extremely Scary
Not having a home base that you know you can come back to whenever you get tired of being a nomad can be terrifying.
The security you have in knowing there’s a house waiting for you ensures you don’t have to have a new plan when the traveling is over.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are definitely important considerations to make before you jump into selling everything you have to travel.
Consult with a real estate lawyer to help you think through the decision so that you make the best one.