Question List of site owned campgrounds

[Neal]

I'm thinking more and more that someday I may sell my house and get an owned site somewhere. I have family that watches my house the many months I'm gone and yes, I love my house and garage, wood shop, big TV on and on. I think ultimately I'm ready to move to a resort lifestyle where I can enjoy a great community in "paradise" and travel and not worry about the abode behind. It's not an investment, it's a lifestyle, break even at best would be fine.

Anyone know of a list of owner site type campgrounds? Pro's Con's you may want to offer I'm all ears. This is my impulse of late as I'm still figuring out where I want to live when I grow up. The RV lifestyle has been amazing thus far in my 2-1/2 years and the friends I've made has been amazing. Now a community for part of the year may be in the future. Thinking out loud...

FYI - I was in Naples, FL about a year ago and looked at sites at Pelican Lake which I liked but I realized then it was counter to my new RV lifestyle of traveling and not anchoring the RV for months on end. I hate not having this thing in motion as that's when things go bad. But if I am home basing at house, which I do love, maybe shifting gears to site owned location with a decent casita or even adjacent condo would be in the cards. Hard discovering these things so I'm all ears to any suggestions.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

You are correct in your understanding that there are many factors involved in deciding whether owning a site makes sense for you.

As you know, we own an RV site at the Polson Motor Coach Resort in Polson, Montana (Flathead Lake area). Some of the pros are that we always have a fully equipped site in which to park our coach and having some nice amenities like an outdoor kitchen, patio with fire pit, clubhouse, etc. is great. Finally, having a guaranteed spot in a popular destination we enjoy in any season is a big plus.

The costs involved that may add up to cons include property taxes, HOA fees, liability insurance (especially if you rent the site out), site landscaping costs (if not included in HOA fees), site maintenance costs (pressure washing and sealing of concrete and other surfaces, propane tank refills, winterizing, etc.), capital improvements and replacements (appliances have a finite operating life), furniture storage costs if you are away for significant periods of time, and more.

Some, or all of your costs may be offset to some extent if you rent out your site when you are away. This does come with some additional issues, costs and risks. Will you handle the reservations and payments or use a property manager? Some parks/resorts require you to use a property manager (usually park management). And, they take a significant fee for doing so; 20% to 40% in my experience. The site will need to be cleaned and prepped between renters; is that included in the property management fee? Then, renters do not always take the same care of your site as you would. The list goes on.

We do rent out our Montana lot when we are not there. Our resort requires the use of its property management services. We have not experienced any major issues with renter damage to the site or theft of items, but it is always possible.

TJ

 

[J&JD]

You are correct in your understanding that there are many factors involved in deciding whether owning a site makes sense for you.

As you know, we own an RV site at the Polson Motor Coach Resort in Polson, Montana (Flathead Lake area). Some of the pros are that we always have a fully equipped site in which to park our coach and having some nice amenities like an outdoor kitchen, patio with fire pit, clubhouse, etc. is great. Finally, having a guaranteed spot in a popular destination we enjoy in any season is a big plus.

The costs involved that may add up to cons include property taxes, HOA fees, liability insurance (especially if you rent the site out), site landscaping costs (if not included in HOA fees), site maintenance costs (pressure washing and sealing of concrete and other surfaces, propane tank refills, winterizing, etc.), capital improvements and replacements (appliances have a finite operating life), furniture storage costs if you are away for significant periods of time, and more.

Some, or all of your costs may be offset to some extent if you rent out your site when you are away. This does come with some additional issues, costs and risks. Will you handle the reservations and payments or use a property manager? Some parks/resorts require you to use a property manager (usually park management). And, they take a significant fee for doing so; 20% to 40% in my experience. The site will need to be cleaned and prepped between renters; is that included in the property management fee? Then, renters do not always take the same care of your site as you would. The list goes on.

We do rent out our Montana lot when we are not there. Our resort requires the use of its property management services. We have not experienced any major issues with renter damage to the site or theft of items, but it is always possible.

TJ

Love your spot at Polson. Absolutely beautiful area and beautiful Rv resort. Gotta get back there someday.

 

[Gronk]

Have you looked into an Escapees Co-op park? I am in one in Hondo, Texas and there is a site across from me that is supposed to be selling for $10k (as an example) with a casita plus the site is wide enough that I could get my 38'traile in there sideways with room to spare. There's a clubhouse that has something going on every night like cards, bingo, ice cream social, etc.

 

[Neal]

Have you looked into an Escapees Co-op park?

I've been a member of Escapees for a year but really know nothing of their programs but need to learn what they offer.

 

[Gronk]

I have been one for a couple of years. THIS SITE will give you a decent over view of what they are.

 

[Neal]

Thanks, I'll take a look.

 

[turbopilot]

FYI - I was in Naples, FL about a year ago and looked at sites at Pelican Lake which I liked but I realized then it was counter to my new RV lifestyle of traveling and not anchoring the RV for months on end. I hate not having this thing in motion as that's when things go bad. But if I am home basing at house, which I do love, maybe shifting gears to site owned location with a decent casita or even adjacent condo would be in the cards. Hard discovering these things so I'm all ears to any suggestions.

Pretty sure all the nice places can be found on the RVForums map. Lots of folks help find them. Most locations are seasonal by definition so the first cut is whether you want a Winter or Summer spot. Very few can be tolerated year around.

 

[MapNerd]

I’m not a huge fan of RV resorts, mostly because I just enjoy quiet and privacy. Many of the nicer ones have reasonable levels of this but i don’t like to see my neighbors from my windshield or windows. It’s just a personal thing.
We expect that once we find a spot that’s right for us, we’ll buy a small plot of land, build a casita and set it up for our winter stays. We’ve been in Boca Raton for the last week and a half and it’s really a great place. South Beach is really nice.

What would be great to see one day is an Air B&B for RV sites where private site owners could put up their site for rent when they are away.

 

[Tip&Tina]

We went to Bella Terra in Foley, AL last month. Great spot, great resort and area. We went on the stay 3 and get the sales pitch. It was great. The sales person was very concise and knew every property for sale. Very informative.

I don't know that i want to live that far south after living in Atlanta and growing up in Chicago. I need cool evenings.

This goes back to becoming FT and seeing the rest of the country to decide and decide where to put the the final s&b.

 

[ARD]

We’ve been in Boca Raton for the last week and a half and it’s really a great place.

Where did you stay in Boca?

 

[MapNerd]

Not a park I’d recommend or return to, lol. I was referring to the town.

 

[FL-JOE]

I'm thinking more and more that someday I may sell my house and get an owned site somewhere. I have family that watches my house the many months I'm gone and yes, I love my house and garage, wood shop, big TV on and on. I think ultimately I'm ready to move to a resort lifestyle where I can enjoy a great community in "paradise" and travel and not worry about the abode behind. It's not an investment, it's a lifestyle, break even at best would be fine.

Anyone know of a list of owner site type campgrounds? Pro's Con's you may want to offer I'm all ears. This is my impulse of late as I'm still figuring out where I want to live when I grow up. The RV lifestyle has been amazing thus far in my 2-1/2 years and the friends I've made has been amazing. Now a community for part of the year may be in the future. Thinking out loud...

FYI - I was in Naples, FL about a year ago and looked at sites at Pelican Lake which I liked but I realized then it was counter to my new RV lifestyle of traveling and not anchoring the RV for months on end. I hate not having this thing in motion as that's when things go bad. But if I am home basing at house, which I do love, maybe shifting gears to site owned location with a decent casita or even adjacent condo would be in the cards. Hard discovering these things so I'm all ears to any suggestions.

Neil, we looked at two more deeded owner-owned parks this winter in Florida. One is only 2 years old and on the east edge of Ft Myers, the other one we just looked at is in the Frostproof area (Lilly Lakes). I just posted a thread about our decision to move to that area of Florida, but to another rent park.

Lilly Lakes still has several empty RV lots and some are priced at $29,900. They charge around $5,000 to bring the utilities above ground. Of course you would have to budget for concrete or pavers at a minimum. Many have added large RV ports, and some even park models to their lots. There is a nice 9-hole course in the middle of the community. Anyway, we were very impressed with low HOA fees ($146 per month) and cheap buy in prices. For under $50,000 we could have a really nice lot with a large RV port and storage. We will spend this coming November through next April in that area and investigate further. I suspect between the Sebring and Frostproof area there are additional owner-owned RV communities.

 

[sheridany]

@Neal have you looked at river landings in FL? I have heard it’s very nice and there are some you tube vids on it. The only downside is summer in FL is hot as I grew up there. They have coach storage if needed and I really like the awning they designed for the coaches. They build a real house versus a casita style indoor outdoor building what you will find at the owner sites resorts in Indio, ca. This may be one and the same that @FL-JOE refers to In his post.

There are many others through out the US. Like @turbopilot said in his post not many are suitable for year round living.

The only other comment I would make is know what you are getting into when buying as we observed in Indio, you might not see any appreciation value like residential and some were selling at a loss when we shopped this winter. That can be for a lot of reasons particular to the sellers financial situation. This may also be unique to Indio and not applicable to the rest of the US. We opted not to buy in the end because of the seasonality factor and annualized cost of ownership and we are still actively working

 

[Neal]

No, I haven't really looked at anything beyond winter 2017 trip to Naples area and then Ft. Myers. I realized it was too early in my RV lifestyle to be anchoring in any one location, I love exploring and keeping on the move. I may consider full timing someday and maybe this would help in both a rest stop for longer stays and an option for residency, not sure. This long trip I'm on now and finally staying at one location longer than a few weeks has made me feel much more comfortable in my coach and realize I could handle full timing, I think...and enjoy it.

 

[FLSteve]

Here is a new resort in South Alabama by Fairhope. We have reserved a lot in the phase 2 section that's getting built.

https://fairhopemotorcoachresort.com/

FLSteve

 

[ARD]

Here is a new resort in South Alabama by Fairhope. We have reserved a lot in the phase 2 section that's getting built.

https://fairhopemotorcoachresort.com/

FLSteve

I love Fairhope. Will have to check it out! ?