Renting out lots on private land

[FloridaFlyer86]

I am hopefully going back to school as an adult student at UF and looking at buying land near Gainesville since paying for a rental lot for 4 - 6 years doesn't sound too appealing. I've looked at a few different ways of making money off the land I buy and having a half dozen or so RV lots seems pretty high on the list, I really don't want to own and maintain a rental house or duplex. Does anyone have experience doing this? I'm wondering how many lots I can have without attracting the attention of the authorities, where I can advertise, etc. I'm assuming I could have a handful of lots and just advertise on craigslist and I could probably just get away with having the proper permits for the electric, water and sewer installations. I haven't made any organized calculations on economies of scale for putting those utilities in and may find it makes more sense to put more than 6 lots in if I have the room. Would I have to be concerned with how the land is zoned at some point? I would like to make this a legit business with a dedicated website and more advertising than just craigslist. Maybe have laundry facilities, etc, at some point.
Thoughts?

[FloridaFlyer86]

SDcampowneroperator wrote:

I encourage starting with a real estate broker, as that is free knowledge of local ordinances and 'persons of concern' in the immediate area.

Probably will be one of the next directions I look.

Incidentally the other idea I had was to have some Photovoltaic solar installed on the property, which avoids a lot of the drama that would come with renters. PV I wouldn't even attempt to finance on my own - either lease back to an energy company or crowdfund a startup. I'm sure that as soon as a grid tied system is on the ground instead of on a residential roof the property would need to be commercial zoned. So that will be another series of questions I can ask a realtor when I get closer to go-time.

[tatest]

You are not going to do much of any kind of land development within commuting distance of UF without attracting the attention of the authorities. Getting permits is attracting attention, and you will have their full attention before you get very far with an illegal development. Particularly in that part of Florida.

Just buying the land gets attention. So best be prepared to go into the venture with the money to do it right.

[SDcampowneroper]

tennesseegirl wrote:
I think as soon as you rent a spot (a single spot) it becomes a commercial venture and would fall under regulations just as if you had 50 spots.

Maybe not, it depends on local statutes. For instance,if there is no odinance against an endeavour, if the land is on public water/waste system, or has licensed capacity for it, etc,etc. OPs idea could be easily doable. It is possibly lined with potholes, but maybe not.
He has to research that feasability, decide the practicality. Lets help with pointers for guidance.
I encourage starting with a real estate broker, as that is free knowledge of local ordinances and 'persons of concern' in the immediate area.

[tennesseegirl]

I think as soon as you rent a spot (a single spot) it becomes a commercial venture and would fall under regulations just as if you had 50 spots.

[FloridaFlyer86]

Roy&Lynne wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

my thoughts are you are trying to do something probably illegal and the end result won't be to your liking.
bumpy

If you were alone on the property and cut corners that would be one thing, but if your going to rent to others without doing it with proper permits, your setting yourself up for getting sued over something. It is just not worth it.

I think my wording was confusing. I'm defiantly NOT trying to get away with doing anything illegal, just wanted to get a feel for whether the local gov just wouldn't CARE if I was only renting out, say, 2 lots on my property. I haven't been a FL resident since I was a wee lad so I'm not familiar with how things are down there currently, and am used to seeing RV lots advertised all over the place for Marcellus Shale gas workers in PA, whether those land owners are going to get in trouble or if they have gone through the hoops already I don't know.
And I DEFINITELY didn't say anything about avoiding utility permits! I said WITH. Focus on keeping everything to code and approved for residential use, but low enough number of renters so I wouldn't have to legally comply with NFPA or other commercial regs. If that's not how it works, that's the way it is.. Thats why I'm here, to find out.
As for the fun of being a landlord and maintenance, don't doubt whether I've given that some serious thought.. I'd want to be able to keep the property and rentals running after moving away so would want to have it under some kind of rental management agency eventually (obviously going to eat into profits, and yes I know that may render the whole plan impractical) The only maintenance would be on utilities (which is why I want to stay away from owning a rental house) so if anything needed doing I'd be calling someone in anyway, whether I was still residing there myself or not.

[FloridaFlyer86]

Seaulayter wrote:
Look at Williston Crossing RV Park (http://willistoncrossingrv.com/) ts near Gainesville and the rates are very reasonable for annual renters or you can purchase.

This looks like a nice place. Do you have personal experience there? Most of the places closer to Gainesville appear to be mobile home rather than RV parks. I will be looking for a good place to stay at while visiting the college and possibly when classes first start, although again I am going to be putting up a structure of some kind for a garage / workshop, and that's not negotiable lol. I WILL go crazy if I don't have a place at my residence to work on my vehicles and other projects. That rules out long term stays at parks/resorts or buying a condo (or a DORM!!! god forbid!!! haha).
If the permitting and utility costs exceed reasonable levels, I will probably steer towards buying land and living off grid, something I've accomplished in PA and would be much easier in FL, with the exception of powering an A/C but I like to be warmer than cooler anyway. So assuming the market doesn't crash I sell my land after graduation and move on. Definately not going to install utilities for just myself unless I was going to be there 10 years or more.

[Roy_Lynne]

Bumpyroad wrote:

FloridaFlyer86 wrote:
Does anyone have experience doing this? I'm wondering how many lots I can have without attracting the attention of the authorities, where I can advertise, etc. I'm assuming I could have a handful of lots and just advertise on craigslist and I could probably just get away with having the proper permits for the electric, water and sewer installations.
Thoughts?

my thoughts are you are trying to do something probably illegal and the end result won't be to your liking.
bumpy

If you were alone on the property and cut corners that would be one thing, but if your going to rent to others without doing it with proper permits, your setting yourself up for getting sued over something. It is just not worth it.

[mockybird]

I would buy a small Condo and then make money from selling it when you are through with it.

[Old-Biscuit]

Budget of 50-75K

That might just get you thru the permitting process.

[D___M]

FloridaFlyer86 wrote:
I I'm wondering how many lots I can have without attracting the attention of the authorities....(snip)....Thoughts?

I think you are heading for trouble if you don't jump through all of the hoops that are required for setting up a business. Just the fun you will have when the code enforcement official show up will tie up your life...and your bank account.

[nickthehunter]

Jim Shoe wrote:
...And you can't apply for a zoning change unless you already own the property....

That's not exactly true. Many times the owner of the property applies for a zoning change because he has a sale of the land pending on the change in the zoning. All of the fees and costs in these situation are almost 100% of the time paid by the potential buyer. So legally the property owner is applying for the zoning change; in reality it's the potential buyer. If the zoning change doesn't go through he is out a few hundred dollars instead of investing tens of thousands of dollars and finding out his plan won't work. Done every day.

[Seaulayter]

Look at Williston Crossing RV Park (http://willistoncrossingrv.com/) ts near Gainesville and the rates are very reasonable for annual renters or you can purchase.

[Roy_Lynne]

You know, it would take you years to make it a paying proposition. First headache is the sewer system unless you can find land already on a system. Dealing with the health department is not going to be easy. We built a house on vacant forest land and OMG what a nut roll that was. What if you buy the property and then find it doesn't perk well. Your talking thousands of dollars to have a system designed for you, if they will even allow it. They go by how many families will be on the system and we only had one. Then installing the plumbing, the electricity, the water system - which can't be near the sewer system. Then there is leveling and landscaping, and fencing. You will need some sort of storage space also. But once you get it done, maintenance would simple.
Another thing to think about is are you willing to be a landlord? Can you deal with folks who don't pay their rent, folks who start to leave their trash scatter about, the one neighbor who complains about the other neighbor at 2 o'clock in the morning?

[FloridaFlyer86]

http://www.campgrounddesign.com/index.shtml
this is another site that seems to have some good info.