Looking for advice on a place to start...

[Colton C.]

Hi Bigger Pockets Community - 

Thanks to all who post on this site.  What a wealth of information!  I am in a fairly unique situation, and would love some advice on a first real estate purchase. 

I am 32 years old and was married about 1 year ago.  Both myself and my wife are debt free (just paid off the student loans in full!) and for the past 3 years have been living out of our converted van to save money and travel the country.  We do traveling sales and travel about 300 days a year in our van. 

When we are not in the van, we have been staying at either of our parents houses.  While it is great to visit family, we are ready for a place to call our own.  

I am seeking advice on a creative situation that will not bog us down financially, but help to build wealth.  We have worked incredibly hard (7 days a week) and lived very modest (eating beans and rice) to save up $400k cash.  In addition we are tracking to clear about $1mn this year.

Our main issues are that we are technically homeless, and based in CA with 0 assets and are getting absolutely crushed by taxes.  In addition, for us to purchase a place to call home (somewhere we actually want to exist) and leave empty while we travel, we are looking at having to spend at least $850k with no real upside or income generating potential. 

Our dream situation is to:

- Have a place to call our own whenever we want to be there (ie...cannot have a long term renter in the property because it defeats the purpose).  My wife has been an amazing trooper these last 3 years but she really wants a place to call home now and does not want a renter in our space and using our stuff. 

- Have the location be somewhere we actually want to be (We love the outdoors.  Surf, fish, dive, etc...so an inexpensive place in a random suburb somewhere is no good either.  Ideal places for us are: Santa Cruz, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, San Diego, etc...).

- Be a day's drive or less to our families (one family lives in San Diego another lives in the Bay Area). 

- To buy something that helps us build wealth rather than wipe out our savings and dig us into a debt hole at $6500+ a month mortgage (for if our income changes). 

- To buy smart because our income fluctuates wildly.  We cannot depend on our income being what it is and want to be prepared for our income to go to $0 and still have our investment "pay for itself". 

I know this is a tall order to fill but just wanted to hear what any of you professionals have to say.  Thank you for reading this! 

[Rich Weese]

@Colton C.

Steve posted my name so I think I should enter into the discussion. I disagree with some of the suggestions and thoughts that other posters made. I guess I'm a contrarian point of view most of the time. I'm sure there are some threads on here where I have already mentioned this but there are so many new members to bigger pockets let me mention once again what I chose to do.

When the last of six children finally left home, my wife and I were gone the next day to become full-time RV ers. We owned a motorhome and began traveling the Western states and western provinces of Canada. We noticed there were a ton of travelers from South Dakota and Texas. We understood Texas but did not understand South Dakota. After doing some research, we discovered that South Dakota has a very beneficial option for those that want to "domicile"there. They have no state income tax and their fees for vehicles as well as auto insurance and health insurance are extremely low.

To qualify as a resident of South Dakota, one needs to go to the state, stay in a motel one night and go to the Department of Motor Vehicles the next morning. You present them your receipt from the motel which shows you were a resident and you obtain your driver's license, and a state identification card.

You then apply for an address in Sioux Falls and receive a post box, a telephone number and your physical address. The drivers license needs to be renewed once every five years which means one night in South Dakota every five years. We renewed this three different times and used it to save a great deal in state income tax as well as other fees. We found there are thousands that do the same thing. There is also a location in Texas that provides the same service and either of them will forward your mail to wherever you want it sent.

While traveling for six years, we found several places we really enjoyed being during certain months. One was in Casagrande Arizona and the other was in Eureka California ( Redwood country). We determined to buy a home in each of these locations in a mobile home community and went to them during the best weather of the year in each.

Even though I retired at age 29 and have explained that both in my book and on Bigger pockets, it did not hurt my ego to stay in something for a lot less than $850,000! I had immediate neighbors in both locations that oversaw my homes when I was not there.

I don't understand your requirement to live in California if you are considering other states. If you want to be able to drive to both in-laws homes, and not spend a ridiculous amount of money for a home you will not be in much of the time, I have explained how it can be done.

If you have other questions, feel free to ask. Congratulations on achieving the position in life you have already achieved.