RV Resort Space Purchase

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motojavaphil

motojavaphil

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Joined
Jan 22, 2006
Posts
673
Location
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
As I have researched fulltiming I noted some of the Resorts and other places offer to sell you a 20X70 or so space.  Some of the prices seem reasonable but others are quite steep.  Are any of these a good deal?  Having a place to park during the snowbird invasion seems like a good deal.  What do some of you more seasoned F/Ter's think?  Is it money better spent in other places?
Phil
 
Phil,

Opinions/perspectives will vary depending on individual needs. Some folks buy a lot to use, such as snowbirds who buy in Florida or Arizona. Others might buy a lot as an investment, looking for appreciation on the lot's value &/or rental income. It's all a matter of what you wish to do with your money. We don't own an RV lot, but I look forward to reading replies from folks who do.
 
I'd guess that a great deal depends on whether or not you want to go to the same place every year/season. When we start full-timing, we don't want to go back to the same place so we won't buy a lot somewhere.
 
20x70 is barely tolerable for a one night stop, I would never consider buying such a minuscule piece of land for my RV, at any price.  The prices reflect, not the lot sizes, but all the surrounding common areas, like swimming pools, clubhouses, etc.  If you don't have those, the prices are much lower, as are the annual fees.  When they sell the lots, they have to recoup the investment and the common area costs are apportioned over the individual lots.
 
I forgot to mention that we've stayed on RV lots that were purchased by someone else and either rented or friends allowed us to stay on their lot. Some lots are developed more than others, but I've never taken the time to measure any of them. Each time we've stayed on one of these lots we've been tempted to buy one. The surroundings are a big factor, as is the potential appreciation. But, reality is that we wouldn't use the lot very much and, unless we could be assured of good rental income, the only attraction would be appreciation.

The appreciation could be significant enough to be worth the investment. However, as an example, we stayed at such a place in Newport, OR and were a little excited by the place. Accidentally (I think) the salesperson mentioned "the crack". Turns out that there was a fault running right through the park, more specifically through or close to some of the prime lots. It looked to me like those prime lots would one day be on an island with no way to the mainland. There was no mention of the fault in the disclosure documents that were provided, but they were digging up and replacing concrete on a number of the lots while we were at the park. We were later approached by the manager and told that the salesperson overstated the problem.
 
Tom, I guess we could say it was not your "fault" ;D.  Sorry it was hard to resist with my sick sense of humor!
Our plans will be to winter in one spot and travel around in the summer.  That said, DW and I were discussing where to winter and no firm place has been decided upon, sure glad I have guidance on this!
I like the resort concept and viewed some great looking places online.  Seems the closer to the ocean, left, right or bottom coast, it gets more expensive to buy which tells me there is an appreciating value.
Are there annual fees for upkeep that would be excessive?  If you rent the land out while gone does that rollover into your equity?  We are in the Escapees and some of their stuff seems pretty nice albeit pricey.  It would be nice to hear from some owners and get their take on this.  I like the idea of owning property that appreciates yet do not want to be held down by the lot owning me rather than me owning the lot.  How do others handle it?
Thanx Again, Phil
 
motojavaphil said:
Tom, I guess we could say it was not your "fault"
Click to expand...

LOL Phil, wish I'd thought of that pun.

Are there annual fees for upkeep that would be excessive?
Click to expand...

There are certainly maintenance fees, or whatever they're called, which obviously vary by location. I'll need to defer to lot owners to answer how much.

If you rent the land out while gone does that rollover into your equity?
Click to expand...

Not being an accountant, I'm not sure what you're asking. Your portion of the rental fee would be income and I don't see how that would change your equity. Maybe one of our resident accountants can answer that.

We have a number of lot owners in the forum, so hoefully they will jump in with their perspective.
 
If you rent the site while you're gone, it would be taxable income minus appropriate deductions.
 
Thanx Wendy and Tom.  Entering into this F/T life is not as easy as it looks.  Each day seems to bring a new perspective and a struggle to understand what is good and what is bad.  Buying an RV spot seemed crazy to me as it is such a tiny piece of land for the money.  On the other side of the coin I was attracted by the pool, fitness room,golf and other perks that a "buy in" would bring.  Appreciation certainly factored into it and other aspects were equally attractive.  It obviously bears looking at with some depth.  Are there any horror stories associated with such a purchase?  It is all too easy to get trapped in the working world and definitely needs to be avoided in the F/T world.  I just read the TT thread and wondered if what I am talking about is related to that?  To me that would be a horror story!
Thanx again, Phil   
 
I reccommend not buying a lot right away. Travel around a lot first to find the "ideal" location. Only then buy.

I rented for 3-4 yrs before selecting Happy Trails in NW Phoenix, AZ. I bought a 50x60 ft lot with a full metal awning over the whole area (minus a 5 ft gravel perimeter).
 
Like Russ says, try renting in a place first. Travel around. My parents full-timed for 14 years before they found a place they wanted to buy land. And then they ended up selling that piece of land and buying somewhere else a couple of years later.
 
Sounds somewhat like me.  Wemt FT and then bought 2 places in no time at all,  Makes you wonder what the heck am I doing?
 
An additional factor is whether the place has the equivalent of a home owners association and what monthly fees are associated with that aspect of the place.  Some can be pretty hefty.  I agree with Russ - travel around for a while and then see how you feel about buying.  Some people like to sit for a while and others prefer traveling.  Years ago we thought we might like to have a condo in ski country, but then decided we'd feel like we always had to go there so didn't make the purchase and have never regretted it.  Take the time to get acquainted with your new lifestyle before plunging into something that will tie you down, whether literally or figuratively.

ArdraF
 
Phil:

One of the aspects that has not yet been mentioned is that in snowbird country, there are bargains to be had by weekly, monthly or seasonable stays.  The longer you commit to stay the cheaper your daily rate will be.  Since you are new to the game, as others have suggested, don't tie yourself down to one park forever.  Travel around to various areas, be it in the southwest, central coast, or southeast.  Make a winter doing it all if you can, or only one state per season.  But do stay at least a week in all the places that intrigue you.  If you want to stay longer do so.  Only then can you be sure of where you will enjoy yourselves longterm.  We ended up staying throughout the desert in AZ for most of the time, merely because we were really taken by it, why? who knows, but it bit us hard.  We really enjoyed being comfortably warm in the winter.  (We came from Maine to the desert)  :D

Just wander around a bit before you settle in for the long haul anywhere.  There are so many great places to investigate and so many roads to find out what's around the next curve.  We still haven't finished, though we did find an area we really enjoy living in.  It took us a while to find it though!!!  but what fun we had along the way.    :)

Cheers,  Daisy
 
My parents traveled for 2 years prior to purchasing a lot in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. They looked in "season" and bought in the off "season". The lot price dropped by over $3000 by doing this and they got a few freebies in with the deal. The winter camps are very lonely for sales people in the summer months. We plan to take the same approach. We still plan to travel the summer months but having a semi permanent spot for the winter months makes sense for us.
 
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