What are the best places for an RV'er to buy a house?

[marlindy]

I hope this is the correct forum for this question:

 

My wife & I live in South Florida (Delray Beach). When I moved here 38 years ago it was great. But now it is too crowded, too expensive since we retired & we can't keep our fifth wheel RV or our tow vehicle at our house, even though we own it, because of what they call HOA's here.

 

So, we have to move. We could really use some help from fellow Escapees as to what are the best & cheapest places to own a home & an RV & still be within an hour +/- from good hospitals, etc.

 

For instance, I know that Indiana & probably some other states charge a very high property tax on RV's, boats, etc., if you have the audacity to own one in their state.

 

What is your experience?

 

Thanks, Bob & Mary Lindemuth SKP#113190

[Chalkie]

Are you satisfied with the tax situation in Florida? It sounds like the HOA is your main complaint (a view point I share).

 

If so, I would suggest simply moving elsewhere in Florida where the restrictions are not so onerous.

[AFchap]

I agree. If you like Florida otherwise the first thing I would do is look for a place with no HOA. If you do want to go to another state I suggest you consider Texas. You can pretty much pick your climate depending on which part of the state your choose, there is no state income tax, and vehicle registration fees and sales taxes are not bad at all. There are HOAs and/or restrictive city ordinances in pretty much any state you can choose. When we bought our place in East Texas five years ago we were very careful to ensure we would not be in an HOA or in a city that restricted our keeping our motorhome on our home property, OR that is likely to be moving in that direction. Our the area we are in near Tyler has all kinds of medical resources w/o the typical traffic or other problems of large cities.

[Mr. Camper]

Hi,

 

If you want to stay in FLAUSA you might check around the Mt. Dora area. They have homes with attached garages for your RV. Wish I could be more specific but a good realtor could get you information.

[Kirk W]

On the other hand, are you considering a move to another state? While east TX isn't much like FL, we live in a community where everyone has an RV port, and we are about 20 miles from Tyler, where there are three teaching hospitals and an orthopedic hospital as well as pretty much all of the medical specialists.

[marlindy]

All good suggestions. They give me some more options to investigate.

 

Thanks,

Marlindy

[marlindy]

Also, we were thinking about Tennessee. Does anyone live there with their RV?

 

Marlindy

[Kirk W]

Also, we were thinking about Tennessee. Does anyone live there with their RV?

It would help if we had some idea of what you are looking for. We seem to have a very wide range of ideas about what is the perfect place, and that is a good thing since it would sure get crowded in that perfect place if we all had the same things in mind.

 

TN has a lot to offer but it also has much more winter than you have experienced in FL. As far south as you are used to living the winter will seem pretty cold in any part of TN and parts of it get above 5000' and all of it has much more winter than you are used to. Do you want to be near water or would desert be OK as that is one of the warmer locations to winter. And do you want a summer that is mild, or will you be gone with the RV all summer so it don't matter? Also, since FL doesn't have a state income tax, you may want to narrow the search to states which don't have one as in Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

[Daveh]

Just a reminder this conversation changes if you or a loved one are under 65 due to health care insurance considerations.

[marlindy]

We are past age 65 & on Medicare. During our travels we have spent quite a few weeks in deserts, having stayed at most of the SKP parks in Texas & Arizona. We really don't care much for the deserts.

 

Also, before we were in south Florida, my wife was raised in Indiana & I was raised in Pennsylvania & Michigan. So we have experienced cold, although have no desire to back to anything THAT cold. I have worked outside most of my life & until 5 or 6 years ago we had nice winters in Florida, 40's to 60's. However, now the temperature stays in high 70's & 80's in the winter pus the high humidity & we don't ever get any relief.

 

I have been looking online at the Kiplinger & Sperling evaluations on various cities, but they are no substitute for someone who lives or has lived there.

 

We will normally RV spring through fall, but someday we won't be able to do it at all & would like this to be our last relocation.

 

Again, thanks for your input.

 

marlindy

[Gannet]

There is an area in Sarasota called Desoto Acres where all the plots are 2 acres or larger and many have RV garages. There is no HOA or other restrictions other than mild residential zoning restrictions. We're selling our house there, and going fulltime, but we unfortunately do not have an RV garage.

 

The point is, this is not a "state" issue so much as it is a "local" issue. Florida is one of the best states for retired RVers. If you like it here, you just need to find a property with few restrictions, and there are plenty of them if you look.

[Drifter1981]

Consider this place: Windsor Place RV Estates, Athens, Tx. There is about 45 sites and all, but about 3 sites are covered. Look up this site on the internet. Just a few of the things in this park; Each site has a full cover wide enough for any Rv with slides, a covered car port with storage room 8X20 ft and washer, Dryer connections, private fence on all sites for your dogs. This is a rent only place and not a bad price considering you are in a town of about 20,000 people. Lots of everything a RV person likes and you can hold your lot the year around as a sub rent out if you are gone part of the year. It is a 55 yrs and over place with a lock gate at night. If someone is looking to try a place before buying this might be the answer..

 

There is no over night sites to rent and there is a waiting list to get on location. Check it out.

[2gypsies]

We would get clautophobic at Windsor Place with all the metal outside our window. I know some folks wouldn't mind but we need scenery to look at!

[jc2]

2gypsies, on 02 Nov 2016 - 1:05 PM, said:2gypsies, on 02 Nov 2016 - 1:05 PM, said:

We would get clautophobic at Windsor Place with all the metal outside our window. I know some folks wouldn't mind but we need scenery to look at!

 

I agree. The park model homes and rv lots with their respective covered parking looked kind of tacky and waaaaaaaaay to close for us also.

[Retiredin1993]

Try http://www.tgoresort.com/properties/ Titusville, FL they have any thing from an RV pad to a million dollar homes. There is an HOA fee of less than $200.00 a month that includes water, cable, lawn care, trash pickup and many more amenities

[Lafitte]

Tyler, Texas area

Shopping

Medical care

Mild winters

[MNRon]

Marlindy,

If you're interested in TN you should look at gardensrvvillage.com I'd recommend looking at it even if you don't know if you're interested in TN yet

 

We lived in MN and escaped winters to TX and then found The Gardens last spring...by summer we'd purchased a lot and sold our place in MN. We're now in the process of building and hope to move in by spring next year.

 

We love it here, and have heard the same from all the residents. I could tell you more but the website does a better job. Good luck with your decisions!

[jc2]

http://gardensrvvillage.com/ They even have 15 rv spaces with full hookups that you can stay free for a couple of days while someone shows you around the property.