My RV owner friends typically fall into one of two camps (pardon the pun): There are the “Planners,” who have researched their overnight stops far in advance and have made reservations at the best possible campsites. And there are the “Wingers,” who are more spontaneous travelers and are comfortable ‘winging it.’ To them, the specific campsite is less important than the flexibility to stop when tired, to avoid bad weather, or to stay at an interesting place longer than anticipated.
I admire the Wingers and not-so-secretly wish I could be one of them. But I’m not wired that way and prefer to have my timing and destinations pre-arranged. This pattern started when I was still working full-time, with rather limited vacation periods that I wanted to devote to the best campsites I could find. Therefore, my usual pattern has been to use online apps and advice to identify campgrounds that offer beautiful scenery or a quiet setting, to make reservations months in advance, and to arrange our agenda so that the available resources are timed right. For example, if we want to spend a few days at a remote campsite without water or electricity, I make sure that our next stop allows us to replenish and rebalance with full hookups (electricity, water, sewer). If a planned stop is disappointing or the weather is uncooperative, we’re not unwilling to bail out of the agenda and wing it until we can get back to our plan. But . . . there’s always a plan.
Yet things have changed over time: My wife and I recently retired, opening up the possibility for more RV travel that is not squeezed into vacations that have been scheduled around work commitments. Fuel costs are dramatically higher than last year, encouraging us to drive less and stay longer at each stop. And staying longer puts even more emphasis on planning in advance, especially if you want to find an RV site at a beautiful national/state park or a luxury motorcoach resort.
Deeded ownership RV resorts offer another possibility if they are located in an area that you want to keep exploring year after year. If you purchase your own lot, you can keep it open for your own visits and (at most resorts) rent it when you are not there. At Deer Creek Motorcoach and Golf Resort, you have all sorts of local options for hiking, biking, kayaking, sampling wineries and restaurants, and enjoying live music. Scenic drives along the Blue Ridge Parkway and the backroads of Virginia and North Carolina will take you to dozens of beautiful vistas, state parks, and charming small towns.
The advantage is obvious: owning your own RV lot gives you a base camp available whenever you want it. The economics are not so obvious: does buying a campsite make any financial sense? There are inherent risks to any property purchase, but the financial risks are reduced if you see a good track record of recent sales and a robust model for rental activity. The former makes it more likely that you will be able to sell the property without losing money on your investment; the latter makes it possible to offset your expenses of ownership.
Compared with other deeded ownership RV resorts, Deer Creek has low Homeowner Association fees (about $3000 per year) and reasonable rental rates ranging from $100-$140 per night (owners keep 75% of the rental revenue). Renters are encouraged to visit longer by taking advantage of discounts for weekly or monthly stays. Each year we’ve added up what we pay for HOA fees, electricity bills, personal property tax, insurance, and landscape maintenance. And because we rent our lot when we are not there, our net rental income has exceeded those property expenses every year. Financially, this experiment has made sense through our last six years of ownership.
Is this a smart decision for your RV travel style? For an investment like this, the financial outcome depends on a number of key factors:
- the use model (the more you use the property, the less rental income it will generate)
- the popularity of the location for RV traveling
- a good balance between expenses and revenue (monthly costs and resort rental commissions that are not too high, combined with rental rates that are not too low)
- a management system with a good track record of property maintenance, site rental, and online marketing
- the cost of the purchase and the future outlook for the real estate value
Future property values are hard to predict, but RV owners can assess most other factors by visiting the resort and asking if it fits their current and near-future travel style. At Deer Creek, there is a wide variety of sites, many already outfitted with small cabins and outdoor kitchens for entertaining friends and family. Thinking about RV lot ownership is mostly a matter of considering how the concept would fit with your personal lifestyle and travel. It’s especially appealing for those who want a place for longer stays in an area that features mild summer weather, beautiful mountain scenery, and lots of outdoor activities. That happens to be what we currently seek when we plan most of our RV travel. For this particular Planner, it’s been a pretty good plan.