Texas Permanent Rv Parks?

Discussion in 'Destinations and RV Parks' started by SgtRock, Feb 21, 2011.

  1. SgtRock

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    Hello Everyone, we are new & wondering if anybody has info on Permanent land/lease RV or Park Model RV parks in Texas? We have recently come across one that charges $25,000 for a lifetime land/lease & $800. annual maintenance fees.We are just trying to compare other like parks out there, any ideas? Thanks! SgtRock
     
  2. FosterImposters

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    Welcome to the forum SgtRock. I am also interested to see what folks have to say on this topic.
    :rolleyes:
     
  3. kcmoedoe

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    Be very careful about "lifetime and permanent" leases. They may only apply to your lifetime. Pretty steep to pay $25K for a lease and have it expire if you expire 10 days after signing. Also, be sure to check on the strength of the lessor. Leases will terminate if the land is foreclosed on for either non payment of lenders or non payment of taxes. Also, I would be concerned about how stable those annual fees will be. They can rise dramatically if costs rise or the property doesn't fill as planned or people just stop paying, leaving the others to cover the costs. I personally prefer either a long term yearly lease without the big upfront or ownership.
     
  4. SgtRock

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    QUOTE(kcmoedoe @ Feb 21 2011, 03:12 PM) [snapback]25468[/snapback]

    Be very careful about "lifetime and permanent" leases. They may only apply to your lifetime. Pretty steep to pay $25K for a lease and have it expire if you expire 10 days after signing. Also, be sure to check on the strength of the lessor. Leases will terminate if the land is foreclosed on for either non payment of lenders or non payment of taxes. Also, I would be concerned about how stable those annual fees will be. They can rise dramatically if costs rise or the property doesn't fill as planned or people just stop paying, leaving the others to cover the costs. I personally prefer either a long term yearly lease without the big upfront or ownership.




    Yes, we are moving away from that idea of a membership fee & have been looking at Parks that have just monthly maintenance fees & retirement people only.I was also wondering if there are parks to put new park model homes rather than purchase older ones.Presently we are looking at Texas hill country out skirts, ie: Kerrville etc. away from the Fredericksburg area as it seems very popular & thus, expensive
     
  5. RFCN2

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    Each to his own of course, but with so many very nice parks that offer moderate monthly or seasonal rentals why would you put of 25,000?
     
  6. SgtRock

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    QUOTE(RFCN2 @ Mar 3 2011, 01:00 AM) [snapback]25549[/snapback]

    Each to his own of course, but with so many very nice parks that offer moderate monthly or seasonal rentals why would you put of 25,000?




    Well, first of all, it's a private park, no transients or temporary workers.Secondly, if you want to sell your lot in the future you can & recover $25,000. Other public parks charge a monthly fee & you never get it back.Thirdly, it's out in the Texas Hill Country, not in the city, What do you think of the idea now? :rolleyes:
     
  7. dalsgal

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    Our park has permanent campers here and, other than a rug or flower pot outside you wouldn't know it. We don't allow the sites to look trashy. I would prefer to have that type of people here because they are, for the most part, friendly and nice than to have someone here that looks down their nose at people that may have no choice but to live in their RV because of the economy or actually have to work for a living. You say you would get your money back if you sold the spot but what if the place goes bankrupt? You could lose your money and your site if that happened. I'm sorry to sound rude SgtRock but to me you sound like a bit of a snob.
     
  8. kcmoedoe

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    QUOTE(SgtRock @ Mar 3 2011, 07:16 PM) [snapback]25554[/snapback]

    Well, first of all, it's a private park, no transients or temporary workers.Secondly, if you want to sell your lot in the future you can & recover $25,000. Other public parks charge a monthly fee & you never get it back.Thirdly, it's out in the Texas Hill Country, not in the city, What do you think of the idea now? :rolleyes:


    Same issues still apply. You lose big time if the project goes bankrupt, the property taxes don't get paid by the owner or the place just plain fails to attract people and the monthly fees skyrocket. The Texas Hill Country covers a big area. Downtown Austin is much more valuable than being 50 miles out in the sticks. How was the $800 yearly assessment arrived at, when can they be raised,, who gets to determine if they should be raised, is there some kind of limits on how much they can be raised and who will be paying all the utilities? What about common area assessments, capital improvement assessments and other special assessments? Are the property tax costs passed on to you? $25,000 may be cheap or may be a total ripoff, depending upon the cost of similar parks in the area. For $25,000 you could get a deeded property in the Hill Country, which would offer you many more protections. Would you pay $100,000 upfront rent for a home you could buy free and clear for $125,000? That is similar to what you are wanting to do. I am curious how you could sell the lot and recover your $25,000. You don't own it in the first place. Do you mean you could sell your rental contract? This sounds a lot like a timeshare situation where they tell you that you can sell it anytime. Problem is there are no buyers. People give them away just to get out from under the monthly maintenance fees. If you get a buyer, how much say does the owner get over who you sell it to? Can you sublease the sites? If so, You could very well end up with your dreaded transients and temporary workers if the long term renters are able to sublease their lots to whomever they wish. The devil is in the details and I would strongly recommend a real estate attorney to review this type of transaction. It most likely strongly favors the owner, probably to the point it is a ripoff to everyone else.
     
  9. Texasrvers

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    QUOTE(dalsgal @ Mar 4 2011, 07:16 AM) [snapback]25559[/snapback]

    Our park has permanent campers here and, other than a rug or flower pot outside you wouldn't know it. We don't allow the sites to look trashy. I would prefer to have that type of people here because they are, for the most part, friendly and nice than to have someone here that looks down their nose at people that may have no choice but to live in their RV because of the economy or actually have to work for a living. You say you would get your money back if you sold the spot but what if the place goes bankrupt? You could lose your money and your site if that happened. I'm sorry to sound rude SgtRock but to me you sound like a bit of a snob.



    This isn't necessarily snobbery. If I lived in my RV on a permanent site I would not want someone pulling in next to me every night (possibly very late) and then packing up and leaving the next morning (possibly very early). Not because they are "low lifes," but because of the noise and constant activity/hassle that comes with setting up an RV. When we travel we rarely stay more than a week at any given park and many stays are overnighters. To be perfectly truthful I do not want to be put in a permanent section for the same reasons. I feel like I would be disturbing the residents who live there full time. This is their home, not their temporary camping spot, and I would imagine they are trying to establish a quiet, home-like environment, not a revolving door of neighbors.
     
  10. SgtRock

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    QUOTE(Texasrvers @ Mar 4 2011, 01:55 PM) [snapback]25564[/snapback]

    This isn't necessarily snobbery. If I lived in my RV on a permanent site I would not want someone pulling in next to me every night (possibly very late) and then packing up and leaving the next morning (possibly very early). Not because they are "low lifes," but because of the noise and constant activity/hassle that comes with setting up an RV. When we travel we rarely stay more than a week at any given park and many stays are overnighters. To be perfectly truthful I do not want to be put in a permanent section for the same reasons. I feel like I would be disturbing the residents who live there full time. This is their home, not their temporary camping spot.



    Oh my Gosh! I really didn't mean to sound negative at all,in fact, I have been talking to real estate reps, Park employees & one long time Texas resident(who I trust),& they have been telling me about these particulars.Temporary residents could be anyone & being so close to the border is a real gut check in my mind & everyone else I have discussed this with.Please accept my apologies if I offended anyone,but I am clearly on the side of the RV/Park Model owners. Quality of life in the right park is all we are striving for here through the exchange of information & first hand experience.We are truly grateful for any ideas that all are sharing here & wish to be clear on our intent. SgtRock :(
     
  11. Luvtheroad

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    A few months ago I was reading a thread on another site about buying into a campsite. There were a lot of posters who said they were promised "pie in the sky" by the sellers: "we'll be building a huge rec center 'next year'; just think....this is something you can leave to your children (that's assuming your children WANT it); if you get tired of coming, you can always sell it and probably make a good profit on it (yeah...right)"; etc. etc. The postings poured in about the lies, the exaggerations and just the fact that you'll probably never make a killing on selling the campsite and you have a pretty big chance of taking a real bath on it. A number of people said they had no choice but to walk away and take their losses. A couple mentioned that they were threatened with legal action for doing this. The postings came from a wide variety of areas. Of course, you had the posters who thought this was the greatest thing since sliced bread but, sceptic that I am, I have a sneaking suspicion that these posts were from the sellers, not the buyers. Who knows?
     
  12. SgtRock

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    QUOTE(jamarynn1 @ Mar 5 2011, 12:15 AM) [snapback]25570[/snapback]

    A few months ago I was reading a thread on another site about buying into a campsite. There were a lot of posters who said they were promised "pie in the sky" by the sellers: "we'll be building a huge rec center 'next year'; just think....this is something you can leave to your children (that's assuming your children WANT it); if you get tired of coming, you can always sell it and probably make a good profit on it (yeah...right)"; etc. etc. The postings poured in about the lies, the exaggerations and just the fact that you'll probably never make a killing on selling the campsite and you have a pretty big chance of taking a real bath on it. A number of people said they had no choice but to walk away and take their losses. A couple mentioned that they were threatened with legal action for doing this. The postings came from a wide variety of areas. Of course, you had the posters who thought this was the greatest thing since sliced bread but, sceptic that I am, I have a sneaking suspicion that these posts were from the sellers, not the buyers. Who knows?



    Hello everyone, we just wanted to give an update on our experience with this Private Texas park in the Hill Country that charges $25,000. for the land/lease Park model trailer deal.We had been talking to these two Texas sisters who own this "only game in town Park" as one of the sisters told me over the phone.They knew we hail from Canada & we were going to fly down to look at this lot before we give anyone 25K!.So, we asked about holding the lot until we could come down(in the next couple of weekends,from the time we were talking to them,last week, early March '11). The one sister said $500. non-refundable, cause "another couple was to visit on monday" after the weekend we had been discussing it.So, that immediately raised the Red flag for us! We then let them know we would discuss it over the weekend & let them know when & if we would send the email confirming the $500. to hold lot or just let it ride.We decided not to give them the $$ & would just think on it a little more.After we sent the email to them, we haven't heard one word from them after 3-4 days of talking on the phone,receiving pictures thru email etc., they dropped all contact like a hot potatoe! Wow, we were really surprised & even shocked that the contact died so suddenly.I guess alot of your input about being wary about up-front $$ looks to be quite sound thinking after all & we would like to thank everyone for their contributing comments. Thank You, Dean&Vicky "Frozen Chosen"
     
  13. FosterImposters

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    QUOTE(kcmoedoe @ Jun 21 2012, 08:24 AM) [snapback]29788[/snapback]

    If property is forclosed on in America, all leases are null and void.

    :eek:
    I did not know this. Is this true in every state of the Union? (Guess I could look it up, rather than pester you.) Had considered a long term lease of a very nice spot outside Astoria, Oregon. Just couldn't get over the lease vs own hurdles.

    Anyway, I too would love to read an update from OakPointLand. It's been over a year now.
    B)
     
  14. kcmoedoe

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    QUOTE(FosterImposters @ Jun 21 2012, 10:05 AM) [snapback]29789[/snapback]

    :eek:
    I did not know this. Is this true in every state of the Union? (Guess I could look it up, rather than pester you.) Had considered a long term lease of a very nice spot outside Astoria, Oregon. Just couldn't get over the lease vs own hurdles.

    Anyway, I too would love to read an update from OakPointLand. It's been over a year now.
    B)


    Yes, it is the law in every state under the Uniform Commerical Code. It kind of makes sense. If not, someone could finance a ten million dollar mansion and then lease it to their wife/brother/girlfriend for $1.00 a year on a 100 year lease, then default on the loan. The bank that loaned that 10 million would only be able to get that $1.00 a year if the lease wasn't terminated, and who would buy the property from the bank to get that $1.00 a year? There are some exceptions, such as rent controlled properties in some large cities, for exactly the same, but opposite reason. The government doesn't want to deal with false forclosures to break leases either.
     
  15. Texasrvers

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    After reviewing this thread due to the recent posts, it has been decided that the OP was fine, but we think that some of the following posts were from people or investors who had land for sale making their post an advertisement, so they were removed.

    kcmoedoe, your last post was fine also, but it specifically replied to a removed post and therefore, no longer made any sense, so it was removed also. Sorry.
     
  16. JBH

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    Somebody messed up and lost a good chance at shaking a few bucks out of some Canadians...LOL! JUST KIDDING HERE!!! (I happen to like Canadians based on several Alaska Highway trips, met some of the nicest people in the Yukon Territory).

    Seriously though, I am in agreement with one of the previous posters that mentioned just purchasing a piece of land and owning it outright...however, I am pretty sure that out neighbors to the north might have an issue actually buying land in the states, I am pretty sure there are specific laws that govern that.
     
  17. eti

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    Hi,
    We are new to this forum and would like some info from anyone interested. Basically we have a small (17 acre ranch) between Huntsville and Livingston, Texas, and maintain 4 rental mobil homes along the east side of our property. They are well maintained and recently the oldest of the 4 has vacated. It is on a cement slab and shaded with oak trees. My wife and I are discussing whether we should update and re-rent the trailer or remove it and put in two rv spots on the slab. (we have always had an interest in this type of business)
    The water, electricity, and sewer would have to be converted to rv, but it is all there. We also could open the back yard to the rest of our ranch for a walking trail, as well as our fish pond (about 1 acre) Without getting to wordy here we are trying to find out if this is something that people would be interested in, or not? We would like it if we could get long term renters) This is not a club med but it would be very nice country living and close to a town with all the amenities most country people would want and we could incorporate any ideas and basically custom design it.
    Would campers be interested in this quiet, private type of setting or do most want to be around a lot of similar type campers? Any info any of you have would be appreciated. Thanks
     
  18. docj

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    These days there are plenty of people in the US living in RVs on a long-term or permanent basis so what you propose could make sense to them. What you propose is really no different from the rental homes you have now except that you would be providing RV utility connections without the homes themselves, sort of a "bring your own home."

    The real issue I see is how do you find your "tenants" and whether or not you choose to advertise yourself as an "RV Park." IMHO there's a big difference between being a landlord who has a handful of long-term tenants and an RV park owner who has people coming and going, etc. Among other things you would need to have someone operate some kind of office, answer a telephone line, etc.

    As for long-term RV residents, I think they would be fine with you not providing any amenities since they can arrange for those themselves. Plenty of traveling RVers also sometimes stay at places without TV, wifi, laundry, or bathrooms but not having any of those reduces the percentage of the RV population who would want to stay at your place.

    I hope this is the sort of advice you were looking for.
     
  19. kcmoedoe

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    QUOTE(eti @ Apr 7 2013, 10:09 AM) [snapback]32996[/snapback]

    Hi,
    We are new to this forum and would like some info from anyone interested. Basically we have a small (17 acre ranch) between Huntsville and Livingston, Texas, and maintain 4 rental mobil homes along the east side of our property. They are well maintained and recently the oldest of the 4 has vacated. It is on a cement slab and shaded with oak trees. My wife and I are discussing whether we should update and re-rent the trailer or remove it and put in two rv spots on the slab. (we have always had an interest in this type of business)
    The water, electricity, and sewer would have to be converted to rv, but it is all there. We also could open the back yard to the rest of our ranch for a walking trail, as well as our fish pond (about 1 acre) Without getting to wordy here we are trying to find out if this is something that people would be interested in, or not? We would like it if we could get long term renters) This is not a club med but it would be very nice country living and close to a town with all the amenities most country people would want and we could incorporate any ideas and basically custom design it.
    Would campers be interested in this quiet, private type of setting or do most want to be around a lot of similar type campers? Any info any of you have would be appreciated. Thanks


    You would have to spend a lot of money to get anything other than people who want to live in a mobile home. Anyone living long term in an RV is either going to be looking for a social setting or a specific location. There aren't too many looking for really cheap rent, location and amenities be darned. To find RVers cost advertising dollars. Better to just run a local ad and get another renter, IMO. If you start to build an RV park, you will need way more than two sites to make it profitable, and you will need permits, build to codes etc. It is an expensive proposition and doesn't lead to instant returns on investment. Good Luck
     

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