Snow Birds Opting to Buy, Not Rent, RV Sites

Mogens Hermansen is what you’d call a working Snow Bird.

He lives in Memphis, Tenn., but spends much of the winter enjoying the sunshine in southern Alabama.

But unlike most Snow Birds, Hermansen and his wife don’t have to worry about trying to reserve a site for their 45-foot Beaver motorhome. They own an RV site at Bella Terra RV Resort in Foley, Ala. (Learn more about Bella Terra in today’s Featured Video.)

“It’s our home away from home,” said Hermanson, 59, a full-time operations manager for a global packaging company.

In fact, their RV site at Bella Terra is not their only home away from home. The Hermansens also own a site at Traverse Bay RV Resort in Acme, Mich., where they like to enjoy the summer months.

The Hermansens are part of a growing number of RVers who are purchasing RV sites at upscale RV resorts across the country.

“This segment of the industry is generating increasing attention from consumers,” said Linda Profaizer, president and CEO of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) in Larkspur, Colo.

While most campgrounds, RV parks and resorts rent their sites by the night, week or month, there are growing numbers of parks that have started selling their sites, particularly Sunbelt parks that cater to Snow Birds.

Nationally, more than 25,000 RV sites at nearly 200 RV parks and resorts are privately owned, according to David Gorin, a longtime campground industry consultant and principal of MacLean, Va.-based David Gorin & Associates.

That’s still a fraction of the market, when one considers that there are more than 8,000 private campgrounds and RV parks nationwide. But it is a significant trend, and an attractive investment option for working professionals, empty nesters and retirees who want to spend all or part of the winter in the Sunbelt, said Gorin, who also owns Holiday Cove RV Resort in Cortez, Fla., which offers RV sites for sale.

While prices for RV sites vary from roughly $50,000 to $250,000 or more, depending on the park’s location and amenities, the numbers make sense for Snow Birds who plan to spend extended periods of time in the Sunbelt.

“If someone comes down and spends $3,000 or $4,000 a year every winter in Florida, and let’s say they come down five years, they have already invested $20,000 in Florida,” said Eduard Mayer, president and CEO of Elite Resorts Management Inc., which has developed several RV resorts in Florida that sell their sites. On the other hand, many consumers do not want to commit themselves to a single location, which is why most people rent RV sites, Profaizer said.

Most RV resorts that sell their sites also set up rental pools, which enable RV site owners to generate income from their campsite when they’re away. The resorts take a percentage of the rental income to cover their management services.

The economics of modern RV resort development are also leading growing numbers of private park developers to build upscale resorts that sell their sites. “When you consider the cost of land in attractive locations, the cost of design, engineering, permitting and construction costs, it’s almost impossible to justify building a new park for a rental market only,” Gorin said.

And while the downturn in the economy has taken a toll on RV site sales, some RVers have found that they can purchase RV sites through their Individual Investment Accounts (IRAs) and 401K plans, said Tripp Keber, COO of Bella Terra Resort, which recently announced plans to begin building its second phase. “With the income that can be realized through our rental management program and the lot’s appreciation, this represents a great investment,” Keber said.

Many RV enthusiasts also like the upscale nature of RV parks and resorts that sell their sites as well as the convenience of owning their own site.

“The advantage of owning our own site is we can come and go as we please,” said Emile LaChance, an Ontario, Canada, resident who recently purchased a site at Silver Palms RV Village in Okeechobee, Fla. “If you’re renting a site,” he added, “you’ve got to be on a schedule.”

Looking to the future, Gorin said the concept of owning an RV site will continue to grow in popularity, especially in highly attractive vacation destinations and in resort locations within a two-hour drive of major cities. Gorin added that the development of new, upscale RV parks and resorts that sell their sites will also create a new supply of modern RV sites for the rental market.

Florida’s Campgrounds Look to the Future

It’s a tough economy, right? 

Not so harsh, for Whispering Pines Village in Sebring, Fla. Well, only 13 customers are there right now; the snowbirds left in April. 

But the park, which has room for 154 recreational vehicles and 75 mobile homes, is booked for the coming winter, according to theTampa Tribune. 

“My park is already full for next year,” said Mary Cassidy. She and her husband, Edward, manage the RV park. 

They don’t advertise, Cassidy said. “Word of mouth. We have very satisfied people here, because we have so many activities.” 

Chicago-based Equity LifeStyle Properties, the nation’s largest owner and operator of RV resorts for retirees, said 2009 numbers were down 10% at its two Orlando properties. However, its Venice and Vero Beach properties had 3% and 7% more visitors, respectively, said CEO Thomas Heneghan. 

Ignoring the recession, Bill Harvey opened a new upscale resort in Okeechobee, Silver Palms RV Village. By March, during the first phase, he had sold one-third of the 167 sites, even though prices ranged from $55,900 to $77,900. 

The Cassidys are preparing for the November rush. The electric company has hooked up new transformers, and trees that were in the way were removed. 

“We’ve been putting in new pads,” she said. They’ve been pouring 12-by-8 feet concrete patios where there were none before. Visitors can rent year-round sites for $199 per month, and they get the use of the pool table, the swimming pool and the communal bathrooms. 

On the east side of Highlands County, there’s Mossy Cove Fish Camp, south of U.S. 98. 

Summers used to be dead spots in the schedule, said the manager, James Saunders, whom folks call “Jimbo.” The former owners went on vacation for three months, leaving Saunders in charge, telling him not to even worry about renting the 12 cabins or the 40 RV spots. 

But Saunders – then the maintenance man, promoted to manager under new ownership – started to bring in fishing tournaments for three-day weekends: the Homestead Ambassadors, the West Orange Anglers. 

“We filled up,” Saunders said. 

Right now, there are only five permanent residents, a married couple and three singles. A few more come on the weekends. So Saunders spends his time on maintenance. 

“We have to mow the grass twice a week,” he said. Turns out, the wide-bladed St. Augustine grass grows exceedingly well in the nutrient-rich muck on the shores of Lake Istokpoga. 

“We’re putting new roofs on all the cabins, and porches on cabins,” Saunders said. They rent for $525 a month, pots and pans and Direct TV included. “And we’re painting, and pressure washing.” 

The house, which leases for $700 a month, is getting new cabinets. 

Neither Whispering Pines nor Mossy Cove is expanding, their managers said. But both are focused on the future. 

Like Whispering Pines, most of Mossy Cove’s business comes by word-of-mouth and the chambers of commerce. He can point to only one advertisement, in a 7-year-old paperback called “Fishing Camps.” 

“Some people have been coming here for 20 years,” Saunders said. 

One reason why: everyone has access to a Lake Istokpoga canal, where there’s lots of bass. And at night, in the recreation room, there’s Karaoke night, a fish fry, a pot luck supper or another event nearly every night. 

“We’re just one happy family,” Saunders said.

Florida Developer on Target with Resort Plan

In a pocket of land north of Lake Okeechobee in South Florida, past the winding nature trails that fill this 5,600-person town, Bill Harvey is patiently waiting. 

He waits for the flock of snowbirds traveling in recreational vehicles headed for the warmth of the South, according to the Palm Beach Post. But the commercial real estate developer’s also hoping to point those travelers to his new Silver Palms RV Village, a $15 million project built on faith that a recession could never kill Americans’ passion for RV travel. 

“The demand for RVing is still unbelievably strong,” Harvey said, “and it’s not something people are willing to give up now.” 

Harvey bases that optimistic outlook on the fact that over the last five years, nearly 50 Florida campgrounds have been sold to developers and turned into condos and strip malls. That’s left a gaping hole in the demand for RV sites, he said, one he aims to fill. 

A PKF Consulting study has shown that even with gas prices on an upswing, RV vacations can be 27-61% less expensive than other forms of travel for the savings on hotel, airfare and rental car costs.

As families turn to vacationing in RVs, Kampgrounds of America, a chain of 450 RV parks in North America, reported a 3% increase in campers this Memorial Day weekend. 

“A lot of people are camping today instead of other forms of travel,” said Bobby Cornwell, executive director of the Florida Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds. “It’s the RV sales that are down; not because of a lack of popularity, but it’s … lending and being able to get financing.” 

In fact, new RV sales are down 57.6% in the past year because of financing trouble, but Cornwell said current owners of RVs are camping now more than ever. 

And Harvey said those faithful to the RV lifestyle are now demanding a new generation of campsites, equipped with the activities of a recreation center and the atmosphere of a country club. 

When construction wraps up on Silver Palms in late July, the park will be a part of this new species of campgrounds – with a pool, Jacuzzi, 9,000-square-foot clubhouse with a ballroom, lakes and daily activities for residents. Moreover, the RV sites sit in the landscaped, 90-acre gated community and are paved in flashy stone. 

Since construction began last July, Harvey has sold about one-third of the completed 167 sites. Eventually, the park will have 512 RV sites, starting at $55,900, which Harvey said people are willing to pay to be able to own their own site in a competitive market. 

“I felt really good at the prospect of moving forward and spending millions on this,” he said. “There’s nothing in Okeechobee that’s even close to us.”

Florida RV Resort Restores Natural Wetlands

For decades, the site where Bill Harvey would build Silver Palms RV Village in South Florida was used by local ranchers as a cattle pasture.

Some of that land was a natural wetlands. But over time, the wetlands disappeared and a thicket of Brazilian peppers grew in its place, choking off the ability of native plants to survive.

But when Harvey presented his plans to build a luxury RV resort to local officials, he agreed to restore nearly 13 acres of land abutting the resort to a natural wetlands. And as Florida celebrated Earth Day, Harvey’s plans are being realized, according to a news release.

“We’ve removed the Brazilian peppers and are now planting small clusters of cabbage palm and wax myrtle, which will serve as a natural buffer between the RV resort and the wetlands,” said Chris Sopotnick of Ecological Consulting of Florida, the Stuart-based consulting firm that Harvey hired to oversee the restoration of the wetlands.

Once the buffer zones are planted, Sopotnick will then plant pickeralweed, cord grass, spike rush, Canna lilly, blue flag iris, saw grass, thalia, duck potato and bulrush, all of which he’d like to get established before the rainy season begins this summer.
By next year, some of the new plants should be mature enough to treat residents and visitors to Silver Palms RV Village to a natural Florida habitat that provides forage for resident and migratory waterfowl, Sopotnick said.

The work is being done in cooperation with the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversee wetlands protection and restoration efforts in South Florida.

Meanwhile, construction work is still underway on the $15 million Silver Palms RV Village, which opened in March. For more information on Silver Palms RV Village and its wetlands restoration efforts, contact Chris Sapotnick at (772) 220-7817 or Phyllis Walker at (863) 467-5800 or visit the resort’s website at www.silverpalmsrv.com.