Recreational RV Property Ownership – Buying Tips and Trends

By Perry Mack

It’s a hot summer Friday and RV’s are everywhere. RV parks, resorts and campgrounds are full and I haven’t made a reservation. I pull into my favorite park and there it is; a spacious, empty site near the water. How did I do it?

The trend towards recreational RV property ownership is a result of mainly two contributing factors. The first is the increasing popularity of RVing. Many of us who started with a tent in our younger days have decided we would rather not forego the creature comforts of home, so we’ll take them with us. Tourism Alberta recently announced a 24 million dollar facelift for provincial campgrounds to address this trend.

Secondly, you may have noticed the declining number of waterfront RV parks. The property values (especially in British Columbia) have skyrocketed in the last 10 years and the recession hardly put a hiccup in the trend. These properties have become large waterfront homes, townhouses and condos.

Which is why the number of reasons to own your own property continues to grow.  An RV lot can serve many different purposes for us as our needs change.  A person in their 40's or 50's may only use their site for occasional recreational retreats and/or a good rental investment until they have more time to use it themselves.

As we age into our late 50's and 60's and want to travel, we may sell the family home and head out full time traveling for several years, using our RV lot as a home base.   There comes a time for many of us when due to poor health, death of a spouse or a multitude of other reasons, RVing may not be an option any more. At this point we can place a nice Park Model on our RV lot and settle into a fulfilling lifestyle with like-minded people.

Buying can be cheaper than renting. Our mortgage payment & strata fees & taxes is generally cheaper than rent. So whether you are using your RV lot, or renting it out and generating income when you are not using it, it makes good financial sense.

Many of my friends enjoy RVing and generally go to the same resort. Every year they look forward to seeing familiar faces as well as meeting new friends. They like the familiarity of knowing their neighbours, getting involved in social events and belonging to a community. Most of them wished that they could or would have bought years ago. By now they would own the property they enjoy and be able to leave it as a legacy for their children and grandchildren.

If there is a good side to the recession it’s the fact that the real estate market has cooled. Prices for recreational RV property have dropped or leveled off temporarily making it a great time to buy.

Here are a few suggestions for buying the right property;

Location, location, location - look for a property that is going to serve you for many years, what is the proximity to the type of hobbies and activities you and your family enjoy now, and may enjoy in the future? If it’s a new development, have the services been professionally engineered and installed? If it’s close to the water, has the 100-year high water mark been accounted for? I mention this because of recent flooding in the Shuswap and Kootenay regions of British Columbia where the best designed properties are high, dry and occupied.

If it’s in an existing park, buy in a well-managed park.  Look around and take notice if all the amenities are in good repair i.e. clubhouse, pool, roads, common areas etc… Are individual lots clean and orderly? Are RVs in the park in good repair?  Ask to see the financial statements. Is there a good contingency fund? Is the strata in good financial shape. Are there any cash calls or special assessments coming? Is there a maintenance program in place? If you are unsure about reviewing strata financials and bylaws check with a real estate agent who understands them. Gord Wall of Remax Nanaimo -  www.gordwall.com - is one and Ryan Mayne at Points West Realty - www.jsmayne.com - in Kelowna is another. There are also lawyers that specialize is strata law – Matt Fisher and Mike Hansen of Fisher & Co in Kelowna is one firm – www.www.fischerandcompany.ca.

Do the park rules and local bylaws align with your plans? For example are there age or pet restrictions? Does the lot you are looking at give you enough sun? too much sun? would you like morning sun and afternoon shade? 

And finally, talk to people in the park. Are they happy? Chances are, if they are, you will be too. With your own recreational RV property, no matter how busy the season, you’ll always pull in to a perfect site in a great property, without a reservation.