Renting Land or Boondocking?

I suspect the biggest challenge will likely be with local government.

I've not seen too many areas where you're allowed to park a single RV, let alone several without the appropriate zoning.

A single park model connected to services is usually considered a residence, a TT that isn't connected to permanent services isn't.

so you are buying these units from Airbnb in the hopes of making this a successful venture. sounds almost like a pyramid scheme to me.
bumpy

N7SJN wrote:
What do you do with the grey water? I don't know of a composting toilet that can handle the grey water produced by daily living.

That was another thought.

When you rent out a residence, over the years I have rented houses out, there is a lot more than just finding the right person and picking up a cheque every month.

I really think it would take a lot of these units to make your idea profitable.

What do you do with the grey water? I don't know of a composting toilet that can handle the grey water produced by daily living.

They aren't RVs and aren't really portable.

Oops, further research says I'm wrong - they are RVIA certified as park models.

First, you've got to have commercial land - not public land.

You probably have to go through the same legal and zoning issues as anyone building a new RV park would have to do.

While they may have self-contained composting toilets - I doubt any building codes would allow a commercial property to not have a sewer system and connections to all rental units.

There are many commercial real estate agents/ companies who could locate a likely property for you to lease. I think 6 to 18 months would be too short a time to recoup the investment necessary to make the property legal to rent the units.

You probably need to check some small business sites and a commercial real estate / zoning attorney. Its a really complex area which requires great expertise.

Thank you for the great response Dutchmen, I completely agree with you. What I am hoping to do is definitely a challenge, however, since the units are mobile I can choose a county where zoning laws are a bit more relaxed (this will obviously take a TON of research though).

Even though we would be "running a business", it is still through Airbnb, so you are covered on most insurance and all you have to pay is the hotel tax, if I'm right. The great thing about Airbnb is it allows anyone to be an entrepreneur and rent out their units. Also, I would be reviewing tenants as they would be me, so I can make sure we don't have any sketchy sex offenders staying in the units.

Does anyone know any counties in California that have more relaxed zoning laws? Or, any other opinions on how this may work without actually having to purchase the land?

Personally, I think you'd be in a legal nightmare if you tried renting the units. 1 - you're running a business, you'll have all the legal ramifications to contend with - insurance, taxes (private and business), liability, upkeep, maintenance, repair, utilities. 2 - you're wanting to use public land to set them. All you need is one disgruntled person (either renting or a neighbor) and you'll most likely be getting a visit from some authority person, possible fines or worse! 3 - If you are able to use private land and "rent" the land, you'll have zoning issues, even if it's in the country. Eventually someone will report and the owner of the land will get notices from the zoning board (city or county) they are in violation. Then you'll have to break leases or contracts with your tenants, move the units and could face legal action against you from your tenants.

If you can find a way to get around zoning, insurance liability, and state/federal/local taxes, then you'll probably be OK.

Now, if you're wanting to set one of these units up for your own use, and park it off the grid, you can probably get away with that, just like any other camper parked "off the grid".

You also run another risk. Actually, this is a true story. There's a little "campground" right off of I69 North-East of Indianapolis at the Anderson exit. This little campground consists of several little cottages, plumbed, electric, and actually livable. You can also park an RV there, but the cottages are usually all the most people use. There's a lake (dug out when I-69 was built), and its stocked with fish. You can fish there without having a fishing license since this is private owned and stocked.

A few years ago, people started moving into these little cottages and using them as their permanent residence. Unfortunately, the authorities shut down this little camp site because the people who moved in were registered sex offenders, and using these cottages as their permanent dwelling address. The site shut down because of all the bad publicity, the owners faced massive legal actions, and it was an embarrassment for the entire town of Anderson that this happened. Not to mention that "regular" (families) now quit completely utilizing this facility. I'm not sure what the outcome was, but I think the facility was finally forced to sell and it's now under new owners. It's a sad story ... I hope you really think about these things before getting yourself into legal problems that may be way over your head.

I completely agree, I was more catering the actual boondocking to our own personal use. However, if we were to rent out several of these units, do you think it would be possible to "rent" land from a private property owner? Any ideas/creative suggestions there?

I may be way out here living in Canada but I don't think any government or tax payer would appreciate land that is used as recreational public lands to be taken advantage of by someone using it for a business adventure and making a profit.

Just my opinion

oh and just to add..the units are all self contained and off the grid (composting toilet, solar panels, etc)