FL Options/Opportunities

[Sox_Fan]

I have never done the snowbird thing... 30 years on Active Duty pretty much made that impossible. I have begun looking around at options for winters in FL (not for this year). I found that sites are not always available due to high demand and RV site ownership is fairly expensive and includes significant maintenance fees. Both options seem to tend toward the fairly crowded luxury resort type and not the more open rustic camping I prefer.

I have done a bit of research on land and zoning with the thought of buying an acre or so to set up my own "campsite" but found that most counties do not permit that.

So I thought I would see if there is any interest in a "campground" that would be more rural with large sites set up as a co-op with each site owner contributing to the establishment and maintenance of the campground. There are some areas that permit RV parks (zoned RVP) and some that permit single family mobile home cooperative (zoned TRC-1 in some areas) among others. They vary by county so before expending a great deal of time and energy into the various counties I thought I would see if this was of interest to anyone else.

The few counties I check have varying minimum property sizes but most are 10 to 15 acres so my thought was an acre per site but no less than half an acre so I'd be looking for anywhere between 15-30 interested people or couples to start the discussion and narrow down the areas or counties of interest. I am not looking for any commitment of money, just some likeminded people to start the conversation and consider the idea in a bit more detail and select a few counties for more detailed research.

Feel free to reply or contact me privately. I don't mind suggestions or comments that are critical of the idea, as a matter of fact I welcome them, just keep it civil please.

Thanks....

Bob

[2gypsies1]

Learn to boondock. There is forest land in Florida that you can do so.... all the space you want.

[Gulfcoast]

Lots of LOTS in NW Florida and south Alabama that can be used with an RV. It's cheaper, colder and less things to do than further south though.

[Sox_Fan]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
You could just buy into an existing co-op park like the Florida SKP Resort near Wauchula:

Florida SKP Resort

Member Prospects

Thanks... I did a quick scan of the web site and it looks interesting but I did note that no campfires are permitted on the individual sites. Not sure that will work for us. But maybe I can find a similar location that would.

In looking at the membership I did read that an effort was started to create a similar property in central FL that did not succeed. I'd be interested to find out why. Maybe it is the stricter sewage restrictions since the first location was established or maybe it was something else.

Thanks,

Bob

[Sox_Fan]

Deb and Ed M wrote:
My first thought is: how will you maintain that many acres? Stuff grows like crazy in FL and if you don't keep it cut back, you'd be amazed by how fast it can catch fire 😞

My current thought is that most of it would either remain natural or be maintained as the individual site owner desires. Individual owners would have the majority of the land area with only the minimum required common area as dictated by the specific county zoning requirement. I wanted to avoid the manicured resort type facility that is both expensive to maintain and already exists in many places already.

I understand vegetation grows quite well in FL and things may be different in every county but in Miami-Dade they are very reluctant to do prescribed burns to deal with the underbrush and overgrowth problem.

I think the specifics of site vegetation issues depend on the location and local regulations that would need to be evaluated as part of site selection. Thanks for the input.

[Ivylog]

Assuming you are 50, you might get it operating by the time you are 60 if you do not have neighbors that fight you. Who is going to maintain it during the half of the year when the members/owners use the wheels under their rigs?
I would not go larger than 1/4th acre lots if you proceed and it needs to be south of I-4 so you are down to a half dozen countries that has the correct zoning and land you can afford to buy.

[Sox_Fan]

Lwiddis wrote:
Bob, thirty years of active duty doesn’t make you qualified to enter the world of RV FL campsites. Proceed slowly and with caution...and expert advice.

Never insinuated it qualified me for anything, only the reason I hadn't looked into it much sooner. Still flushing out the idea and seeking input here to help narrow down the areas to research so I don't have to evaluate the zoning laws and other requirements for all 67 Florida counties. But thanks for the word of caution, I appreciate the response.

[Sox_Fan]

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Something like that , as a new operation may get tough, septic systems are becomeing more difficult everywhere. For yourself as a single entity looking for a site, check on fire or other damage to a location which had well and septic installed, in many cases rural counties may allow what you want for yourself, (not a group) but you will have to locate a location with pre -existing well and septic that would be considered grandfathered so long as you "re-occupy" the site within a certain period of time. (usually one year)

Thanks for the suggestion, something I hadn't considered.

[fchammer1]

How about warm, sunny SW Florida? We sold our 40' diesel pusher after three years here. The $10 per month RV rental for members of the co-op had nothing to do with the sale. Maybe it was the $113 per month maintenance fee on our mobile -- & that was lowered last year to $83, but Irma might cause it to go up a bit. People try to tell you how expensive it is south of Lake O, but most of the time it's winter Texans trying to justify existing (not living) in a windy RGV. Many RVers become members of our co-op after a few seasons. Check it out at Imperial Bonita Estates
And, because we've had hurrincane damage, a number of our older residents are not returning. Either their mobiles or their mobile home lots are now for sale. There are some bargains to be had, especially for those who are handy with carpenters' tools. It will be a long time before opportunities like this pop up again. In the meantime, there's always Texas if you like the colder temperatures. Yes, we've been to Wauchula. It's chilly up there! And, their activities schedule can't match our 80+ activities -- from tap dance to bean bag baseball. Hey, we even have one of Florida's Senior Female Athletes of the Year on our horseshoe pitching team!

[Dutch_12078]

You could just buy into an existing co-op park like the Florida SKP Resort near Wauchula:

Florida SKP Resort

Member Prospects

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

My first thought is: how will you maintain that many acres? Stuff grows like crazy in FL and if you don't keep it cut back, you'd be amazed by how fast it can catch fire 😞

[Lwiddis]

Bob, thirty years of active duty doesn’t make you qualified to enter the world of RV FL campsites. Proceed slowly and with caution...and expert advice.

[kerrlakeRoo]

Something like that , as a new operation may get tough, septic systems are becomeing more difficult everywhere. For yourself as a single entity looking for a site, check on fire or other damage to a location which had well and septic installed, in many cases rural counties may allow what you want for yourself, (not a group) but you will have to locate a location with pre -existing well and septic that would be considered grandfathered so long as you "re-occupy" the site within a certain period of time. (usually one year)