Forum Discussion

viajante's avatar
viajante
Explorer
Jul 01, 2013

RV port home or RV resort space

Been seriously thinking about making a move out of the current stick built house. I am thinking about either a house with an RV port or a purchased RV resort site.

I'm not terribly found of high heat and everything I've found is either in Florida, the hottest part of Texas, Arizona or states with very high humidity. (I know, I know,............. picky, picky, picky)

Anyone have any suggestions for other options ? Thanks a bunch for your help.
  • There are RV ownership parks in Southern California. Some of them you do need to leave for the summer. I saw it was 119 in Palm Springs today and that's where a bunch of them are. If money is no object I think there are some near San Diego.
  • Retama Village in Mission Texas is one of the nicest and reasonably priced. It is not far to take the RV to Colorado for the hottest months, Durango, Pagosa Springs or South Fork.
  • The vast majority of ownership parks are in the South because that is where the snowbirds congregate. People can go to all corners of the country in the Summer, but good winter weather exists primarily in Florida, South Texas, Arizona and California.
    As for ownership parks, they can be great or they can be an absolute nightmare. Remember, the dues paying owners have to cover all the expenses of the park. If a bunch of people just quit paying dues (and it happens, a lot), suddenly your share of the parks operating costs start to skyrocket.
    You are also going to be a subjected to one of the toughest HOAs there are. RV owners tend to have very strong opinions, one way or another. If a voting majority want to build rec centers, pools and provide free liquor, they can vote an assessment increase and you will have to pay it, regardless of whether you were in favor or not. To the other side of the scale, a voting majority of cheapskates can prevent the roads from being repaired, can let the landscaping and grounds go to heck, all because they don't want a $25.00 a year increase in the HOA fees.
    As for real estate with RV Ports or garages, they are a bit harder to move because they only appeal to RV owners, which is a very small subset of home buyers. For 99% of homebuyers an RV port is either worthless or an eyesore that will prevent them from buying an otherwise perfect home. With the absolute right buyer, it will be a plus, but absolute right buyers have a habit of not appearing when you really need to sell.
    They are both great ideas if you enter into them with your eyes wide open. Jump in the deep end without research and full knowledge of all the pluses and minuses, you could lose big-time.
  • I hear Yuma, AZ can been quite "dry", of course summer temps above 115 are common. At least. according to BIL. He comes to San Joaquin Valley to cool off in our 108 temp.