Friday, December 12, 2008

Living on the Edge


This is our life... except with five cats and a dog (who does not get to sleep on the bed.

So, finally, a long-overdue update on the Joneses. We are now living in our RV. If I hadn't posted stuff on the blog, I doubt even I would believe what this last year (or so) has held for us.

So we're full-timers now. Monthly RV lot rentals are reasonable, except for the summer when prices double(!) for three months. We plan on limiting our expenditures and living nine months out of the year in one location and spending the summer months bouncing around more affordable locations.

Cathy used to drive down to Tustin to shop at Whole Foods, and now we're so much closer. So, my extra commute will be offset by the closer shopping. Excellent!

About Cathy's mom
Many friends are asking what Rhonda is going to do now that we are living in the RV.

First things first; Rhonda is not living with us in the RV. Way back in the first months of our RV ownership, Rhonda spent some time in the RV helping Cathy and discovered that she is allergic to something in the RV. Rhonda had a skin reaction to the RV, so she decided she couldn't really visit. There is not enough space for three adults and two more cats, anyway, but the point is moot with Rhonda's allergies.

Rhonda was looking for a job and hoped to move out on her own. Several months back, Rhonda's Aunt Barb tracked us down and came by to visit, and she offered Rhonda a temporary residence with her in Mission Viejo if necessary. Aunt Barb picked up Rhonda last night. Aunt Barb won't allow Rhonda's cats indoors, though, so Cathy's mom will have to figure out something else for her kitties.

More about the RV
Back when we listed the apartment for a short sale, we knew our credit would be completely shot and finding a rental would be difficult. We heard that people would really bad credit (foreclosure?) may be required to put a three-month down payment on a place! And not a lot of places rent to 5 cats and 1 dog, either.

So, we became inspired by our friends Steve & Yvonne and purchased a RV to live in. Cathy found a really good deal on a second-hand RV. We took our first RV trip in April and decided this was actually viable. Now, we are full-timers! :-D

More about the Apartment
One of the three original potential buyers stuck it out and bought the apartment on the short sale. There was a lot of back-and-forth with the mortgage companies, appraisals, the 1st mortgage agreeing to pay something to the 2nd mortgage (but a fraction of the total). A full nine months after we began the process, the apartment building finally has a new owner as of 12/09. Woot! It is a lot better than a foreclosure.

In other words...
In other words, Cathy and I have moved into our RV, we're living alone as a married couple (wow!), and things are settling down at the end of a long year. I really hope things stay settled for a while. :-)

4 comments:

  1. wow! full time RVers?! i had no idea!

    thats awesome.

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  2. Sounds like you guys are content Lee - lets get together for dinner for the holidays...

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  3. We will be by sometime to visit and enjoy your RV. Of course, I have a feeling that Nathaniel will love it.

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  4. Hey- RV living ain't that bad... back to the basics for sure. It surely teaches you how not to hold onto to too many things! We lived in a 5th wheel trailer for a whole year before we found out we were pregnant. Saved our butts financially a bunch of times.

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