RV Lot in Canada - Lease vs Buy

Thanks for the info about sweet life. We have family that we are visiting across from there at Christmas, so we can check it out. Your photos are just wonderful, sure makes it enticing to be sure. And yes, we did exchange email a bit ago on full time RV parks. Thank you again.

Hi Hinterland. I might have spoken to you before on another forum but am not sure.

There is a place in Kelowna that does the lease kind of thing. Not sure of the details but we had friends who were there for 7 or 8 years and enjoyed it. Seems to me it the sign says www.sweetlife.com and I think its called Holiday Park. They spent only a few months a year there so I don't know what it would be like in the winter.

If you are the same chap then you have already seen the pictures of our place in Vernon BC. It is not a lease but rather a purchase type place. Meaning you have property taxes, monthly dues to cover everything from water and sewer, garbage pickup, clubhouse and pool maintenance. All the common areas are owned by the association which you become part of when you purchase. Your lot is in your name.

The developer has 8 or 9 lots still available and seems to me they are in the mid 70's to 80's. Resales can be anywhere from 50 to 150 K depending on size, location and development.

Here are a few Pics. Here is the website from the association. There is a link to the developers website from there.

https://www.swanlakervresort.com/home.html

hinterland wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
Whatever you decide you should check online to see if there is a market in people trying to sell their leases/timeshares. In the US there is a large market for timeshares where people bought them and now want out. You can often buy in for a fraction of the cost new.

Thank you for the response, yes there are listings here in Canada, both Lease and Buy.

Thanks so much

agesilaus wrote:
Whatever you decide you should check online to see if there is a market in people trying to sell their leases/timeshares. In the US there is a large market for timeshares where people bought them and now want out. You can often buy in for a fraction of the cost new.

Thank you for the response, yes there are listings here in Canada, both Lease and Buy.

trigley wrote:
I struggle with the term buying a lease. Think of renting a house. You enter a lease but don't buy or make a substantial payment. Why would an RV park be different? Scaricity of supply enables them to do so I guess. Or perhaps it is a very long term lease, i e 99 years in which case I could see it having value.

Looking at the options,
Buying a share
Advantages. As you and other owners have covered the capital costs the annual fee should be smaller than a comparable leased site.
You have a say in decisions impacting the park.
You do have a saleable site with potential to recover costs of improvements..
Disadvantages. Large initial cost
Potential for additional costs for improvements or unforeseen events caused by floods, fire, wind etc. these could be considerable.
You are locked into a specific site even if your neighbour does run "party central".

Buying a lease I think you have to really examin the lease or get professional help to understand what you are buying. If it is a long term it may be fine.

Annual lease.
Advantages. No large capital investment. Additional costs (risks) are for the owner. Easy exit
Disadvantages. No say, higher annual fees. Risky for major improvements.

You are looking at a very nice area but it is a long way from any major centres. I think this helps keep values lower. Great for buying. We with other family members have a recreational condo in Kimberley. Despite excellent upkeep & improvements we could not sell it today for what we paid 11 years ago. Like an RV it has been a fun toy.

Are you looking for something to set up full time or just a retreat?

Hi,
You have provided much food for thought, and I can see that we are very much on a learning curve here if we decide to go that route.
I guess the buzz about town is this...There are so many more Full Timers staying in Canada that winter sites are going to be difficult to obtain, which led us to look into it.
Like playing the markets!
Thank you so very much for your thoughtful reply.

mayo30 wrote:
Are you thinking Canadian property or American?Oh oh I can't read this morning!!

Hello,
Canada, either BC or AB

Whatever you decide you should check online to see if there is a market in people trying to sell their leases/timeshares. In the US there is a large market for timeshares where people bought them and now want out. You can often buy in for a fraction of the cost new.

I struggle with the term buying a lease. Think of renting a house. You enter a lease but don't buy or make a substantial payment. Why would an RV park be different? Scaricity of supply enables them to do so I guess. Or perhaps it is a very long term lease, i e 99 years in which case I could see it having value.

Looking at the options,
Buying a share
Advantages. As you and other owners have covered the capital costs the annual fee should be smaller than a comparable leased site.
You have a say in decisions impacting the park.
You do have a saleable site with potential to recover costs of improvements..
Disadvantages. Large initial cost
Potential for additional costs for improvements or unforeseen events caused by floods, fire, wind etc. these could be considerable.
You are locked into a specific site even if your neighbour does run "party central".

Buying a lease I think you have to really examin the lease or get professional help to understand what you are buying. If it is a long term it may be fine.

Annual lease.
Advantages. No large capital investment. Additional costs (risks) are for the owner. Easy exit
Disadvantages. No say, higher annual fees. Risky for major improvements.

You are looking at a very nice area but it is a long way from any major centres. I think this helps keep values lower. Great for buying. We with other family members have a recreational condo in Kimberley. Despite excellent upkeep & improvements we could not sell it today for what we paid 11 years ago. Like an RV it has been a fun toy.

Are you looking for something to set up full time or just a retreat?

Are you thinking Canadian property or American?Oh oh I can't read this morning!!

trigley wrote:
A lot of Parks are bareland condominiums or stratas as they are referred to in B.C. You own a share in the condo which in turn owns the land and common facilities such as clubhouse, washrooms, roads etc. You have use of a specific lot. Similar to a regular condo the shareholders get to elect the board and vote on items such as changes, dues etc at annual meetings.

You mention resorts with deeded titles. Have you found many? The subdivision would have had to be approved by the municipality. I wouldn't think many municipalities would want to be dealing with a large number of individuals when they could deal with one entity.

If you are leasing you would want to closely examine the lease to determine the terms. Is it for a fixed term? If so, can it be renewed?
If it isn't fixed likely either you or the landlord could cancel with notice. If the landlord cancelled what would happen to your improvements if they are fixed.
I can think of one case where the owner decided to expand his golf course and gave notice to renters to vacate. The park had been there for years and many had substantial improvements. As it happened the economy went south and the expansion did not happen but it could have.

Unlike a condo you would have no say in changes, accept them or move.
The problem with many of the condo parks in this area is the shares are extremely expensive, usually 6 figure for bare lot. That may radically change with oil at $35 a barrel.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the county or municipality will have set certain zoning and occupancy periods for the park. Make sure these meet your requirements
I am far from a legal expert on these matters but these are a few observations I have made over the years.

Excellent information and you have outlined several considerations we had not thought of.
I do see that BC prices are tending on the lower end of the pricing scale, especially around the Cranbrook and Creston/Yahk areas. Some are open year round, and one that I called, does offer "purchase" of a share of the development. You make improvements and when you sell, you ask a price accordingly.

Others that I called are "buying a lease", also with improvements for a set price, for example, Moyie Resort Group at Owls Nest and Eagles Nest. I guess if one wants security for the future, buying a lease would not be the wisest option? But buying a "share" would be?