If you have read any of my past posts about trying to get this RV registered here in BC, you’ll know that it has been an expensive, and time consuming process with ICBC.

Well, as of today, that is all just a horrible memory! We are officially registered, and insured!

I have a stack of paperwork now that is an inch thick with notarization’s, Statement Declarations, and the works. Basically, we purchased this motor home off of a person in Alberta who had not registered it himself. The long and short of it is that this motor home was registered in BC, the owner moved to Alberta, and slapped an Alberta license plate on it, and then sold it to the guy I bought it off of. The out of province inspection was going to be a costly issue, so the guy I bought it off of, decided to sell it.

Since we were moving to BC, we decided to buy it and bring it back to it’s origin. Well, the rules here in BC turn out to be a LOT more complicated than in Alberta. Here in BC, ICBC (the provincial insurance agency) wants to know every single person who has ever owned a vehicle, a “continuity of ownership”. Well, we couldn’t get anything further than the guy we bought it off of, so we had to go through a huge process to get ICBC to run a vehicle records search for owners, as well as make sure it hasn’t been listed as stolen, or written off, etc. That needed notarization which costs $30 for a Notary Public to place their official stamp on a piece of paper. Turns out that while ICBC accepted my initial paperwork, I was apparently missing a couple items, so I needed to go get yet another statement notarized.

Then, there’s paying provincial sales tax…

Did you know that if you bring a vehicle into the province, even if it is a private sale, and you have not yet registered it, you own the BC government sales tax? On a vehicle bought in another province through a private sale.

Back and forth over several months, we finally had all the paperwork in order, now to get the RV up to the insurance agency, to “sight the VIN”. They need to make sure that the vehicle is actually the vehicle you are registering. The first time we tried to get that done, I was unable to get back to the agency before they closed.

Fast forward several months, financial obligations have prevented us from being able to get it done. Finally, this week, Megan and I both got paid, and while most of my cheque went into the process for the RV, hers is keeping us afloat.

So, after months and months, and months of back and forth, and trying to get the money together, we are FINALLY registered, insured, and ready to head out on the road!

Our house-sitting excursion is ending February 25th, so we will be on the road, and heading to our first destination. We have a few ideas for grounds, but we’ll figure that out in the next week or so.

We are so excited!

Soon, you’ll get to watch more of us as we live, travel, make money, and hopefully, after multiple false starts, stay full-time!

Our RV is still up for trade, but worst case, we’ll complete the last little bit of renovations that we want, and save up to place a down-payment on a nice rig, and then sell this one, and put that money right into the new one. Of course, the price of the RV is going up with every new renovation, and we’ll be less and less willing to negotiate lower prices. We’ve already put a few thousand into the RV for renos, and there are more to come.

Stay tuned!