<p>We live in NJ and have a contract to sell our house. Closing to be 1/31/11.</p>
<p>We think we want to move to either Palm Coast or Port Orange FL. We decided to wait till we get down there to look around before we buy. We plan on renting a furnished apt for 2 or 3 months BEFORE we make the final decision to actually buy and move down there. Some of the problems are:</p>
<p>Or furniture will be in storage in NJ, but what do we do about car insurance and our drivers licences, heath policies, etc, in the mean time? </p>
<p>Mail? Bank Accounts? Credit cards? The list goes on and on. Good advice is much needed.</p>
<p>Our family has researched the issues of a permanent move with interim homelessness (for lack of a better descriptor … in our case we considered selling the house and traveling the country in an RV). We decided the issues warranted changing our permanent address BEFORE selling the house. That way things get a lot simpler. BTW, have you considered whether NJ will still consider you residents for tax purposes? Florida has no state income tax … in NJ it can be as high as 10.75% of gross income.</p>
<p>You could get a PO box in FL or NJ for your mail. Or if you have a child/close relative who could receive your mail and forward necessary bills, etc. States have varying laws regarding residence and car registration/drivers’ licenses, etc. In the one state I’m aware of, it’s 3 months. May be more in other states. I would check with your insurance co. re: health insurance and other insurance. </p>
<p>Since you will be in FL temporarily, until the 3 months (or perhaps less if you decide sooner) is up, you are just staying in FL temporarily. So I would think you would continue to be NJ residents until you establish permanent residence. That may also determine where you should have a PO Box. </p>
<p>You make this sound really difficult. Have you ever moved out of state before? For a couple of months you don’t need to do much. As mentioned you need to handle your mail through friends, relatives, a PO box, mail forwarding service, etc. Drivers licenses, insurance, banking and all the rest can wait a few weeks or months.</p>
<p>Some of us, like New Hope and I, face more difficult issues. I will retire and take off in an RV. We may travel for years with no permanent address. Ideally I would use one of the kids for mail forwarding but one only has a PO address and the other will be moving. So for us the “address” will be a mail forwarding service. If you want to do the same, there are plenty in Florida since many full time RV travels claim Florida as their state of residence.</p>
<p>If I were you, I’d take my time in finding a new residence, and make sure that the temporary rental that you take can be extended. Here’s why:</p>
<p>Once you are in a situation where you don’t have a deadline for finding a new home, and when you are in a market situation where there are many many homes for sale, you will find that you become quite selective about which homes you prefer. Add to that the fact that it may take you more than just 10 or 12 weeks to truly get a handle on the various neighborhoods and considerations about where to live. </p>
<p>In the constantly rising housing markets of the past 40 years, if you happened to own two houses at a time, you were rewarded. If you owned no house for a little while, the market moved away from you. Things are different now. You really need to be prepared to take full advantage of that, and it will require that you have time. </p>
<p>As for your address and drivers licenses, just see how much time you have until you’re required to get one, and then go do it regardless of whether you’ve found a house. You can always change your address later.</p>
<p>Newhope–to be fair, that 10.75 rate was marginal and only on income over a million. And I believe it’s gone. Hats off to toblin if he was ever in a position to need to pay it.</p>
<p>^ garland - I stand corrected. Please change my comment to “Florida has no state income tax … NJ has the highest state income tax rate in the nation.”</p>
<p>^^ Consolation - Your mom’s place sounds lovely. My friends living along the FL coast say prices are very attractive. Two obstacles to purchasing are the price of property insurance … my friends have chosen to self-insure mostly … and a property tax system where new owners subsidize the tax contributions of long-term residents (a consequence of the homestead exemption and limitation on year-over-year property valuation increases).</p>