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Question List of site owned campgrounds

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Neal

Staff member
RVF Administrator
Joined
Jul 27, 2019
Messages
11,477
Location
Midlothian, VA
RV Year
2017
RV Make
Newmar
RV Model
Ventana 4037
RV Length
40' 10"
Chassis
Freightliner XCR
Engine
Cummins 400 HP
TOW/TOAD
2017 Chevy Colorado
Fulltimer
No
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Thanks, I'll take a look.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 

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