Leasing a annual RV lot - good deal for whom

[Durango Dave]

Hi,

Who do you think gets the better deal out of this, the tenant or the owner?

So they have a great deal here, the Sabine River authority who basically owns all the land around the Sabine River for which lake fork and many other resorts around texas are leasing from them. In turn the owners lease a certain number of lots on their resort property for both income and the chance to help build up the local area markets, jobs, businesses, and so on as it is very rural.

So right now im leasing this lot for 12 months for $1500 total for the year. So when i have that paid i owe nothing more on the lot until next year. Now i will get a electric bill but thats all.

Now this is good for me because it allows me to come and go as i please and have a place to come back to. It allows me to have such a place for very little money ($125 a month basically) and its a very quiet and peaceful place to be and the people i have met here here seem really nice. I can put some money in the bank towards a new truck and other projects that i need to get done. So its good for me...

And because everything built has to be approved, thats good too.

Its good for them because they make money and they pretty much know that money will more than likely be coming in every year so they can depend on that income.

Any improvements to the property belong to them in the end so if a tenant builds a deck, then the tenant pays for the deck and when they leave the deck belongs to the owner. Also they save money because they dont have to pay someone to care for that spot, its the tenants responsibility to mow the grass and do upkeep. This also means that usually there is someone always here at one time or another so if anyone is messing around here they will get busted because everyone seens to know everyone, which is good.

So who is this a better deal for, the tenant or the owner? Maybe its completely mutual which is just fine as well, maybe thats why the spots are so popular.

Your thoughts?

[60sumtin]

Mutual. No need to keep score. Nothing wrong with a win win situation.

[traveler of california]

I'm not familiar with the area but that sounds like a deal. You must both be winning or they wouldn't offer this to you.

[biggcrisp]

How many lots total and how many of those are occupied?

[LETMGROW]

How large are the lots?
Do you have sewer and water?
What else is included or not included?
If I built a free standing deck out of pressure treated lumber and it wasn't permanently attached to the ground in some manner I would expect it to be mine and not have to be left behind if I decided to move away. The same would apply to a storage building. If it could be removed leaving no damage behind I would consider it to be mine and I would want to take it with me unless I could sell it to the next tenant to assume the lot.
The flip side of the coin though is if you are content there and are willing to follow the rules $125 a month is not all that much. What would your other options be? Buy a parcel of land and pay taxes only to decide you don't like it there?
Lynn

[Durango Dave]

Ill try to answer you both here. Well i think there are 45 spots here total ill have to find the brochure they gave me. Some of those are just daily, weekly, monthy normal rv spots they get off the reservations website. But all of the first row are annual which is about 12 spots i think, i can tell because the annuals aways have boat storage of some kind, golf carts, or the decks which is an annual spot. I think there are 5 on the second row and then 4 on the third row.

They are also developing water front lots in the future, the utilities are already in the ground they just have not dev the spots yet. I think its because they are trying to re-engineer the electric setup here to handle what they have first, the unit gets hot and shuts down the elect sometimes on a really hot day unless they leave the door open.

Yes water and sewer are included. He did tell me they only had 1 1900 a year spot open, but there are other spots open at the other resorts.

Here is what my lot looks like, i dont have the actual size but i assume its about 20 something by 40 something.

The first pic is the empty lot before i moved over there, the one accross the street next to the porch next door and next to the class A. Anything you build even my little fence that just sticks in the ground and is temp i had to make plans and submit the plans to them. They dont want anyone just building anything they want that does not meet safety or visual standards.

I did have to take some of the fence down and wait for approval first, but thats ok i want to abide by the rules.

Included is boat ramp, pool, dock, and tomorrow i am getting my dish hooked up thats already mounted there, i have to pay but its there already dish just has to set it up.

So i am planning the landscapping with gravel and garden and deciding the deck and how much grass i want to take care of.

Oh and then the lake, did i mention the lake lol

[biggcrisp]

Great deal for you. Owners are certainly not getting rich.

I'm on my way! Just kidding.

[Durango Dave]

Come on down would be nice to have ya around, i know there is one spot here for 1900 and then at popes landing there are spots i think for 2700, much nicer with their own boat dock from what i hear.

I have not been part of the normal crowd of buddies here yet, i hear them drinking beer and carrying on but have not joined them yet. But i did learn today that one thing i must have is a boat. The guy today i was talking to asked me where my barge was, i told him i didnt have one and i fished from the shore. He pretty much just looked down turned and walked away. Im not sure if he was just busy or i was not worth the conversation without a boat of my own.

I will have one before next summer for sure, i already have my eye on one if i can save enough for it.

Maybe then ill be worth talking too lol

[Forkyfork]

Lol he probably doesn't have a boat either and was hoping you had one.

[Bob_C]

Or his line wasn't long enough.....

[Durango Dave]

Originally Posted by Forkyfork

Lol he probably doesn't have a boat either and was hoping you had one.

LOL no he has a nice one, he must have some bucks because he has this rig here and another one on the coast and then one he drives around in. But yeah his boat looks nice from what i can see under the hard cover its parked in.

What i dont get is that in another part of the "resort" there is a half million dollar rig and a beautiful boat here that looks like its been sitting forever, the grass is all grown up into the axel and half way up the boat. The boat cover looks like it blew off a long time ago and is just hanging on the side. They must have tons of money for a rig like that but they sure dont take care of it.

[Isaac-1]

Originally Posted by Durango Dave

... They must have tons of money for a rig like that but they sure dont take care of it.

So often life gets in the way of having time to play with our toys, sometimes it is health issues, and there is that hope things will get better one day...

[biggcrisp]

Two people in a boat is twice the fun...someone will invite you out.

[Durango Dave]

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

So often life gets in the way of having time to play with our toys, sometimes it is health issues, and there is that hope things will get better one day...

They should at least hire some kid to go mow the grass, its so deep now they might need a bushhog to do it.