Resources for renting land or place to park

[mandolindave]

I plan to buy a small home and turn it into a trailer.


( joking…..I'm kidding already )

[mandolindave]

I think that I might have a weird sense of humor.

But I really crack myself up sometimes.

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by mandolindave

I plan to buy a small home and turn it into a trailer.


( joking…..I'm kidding already )

I was just reading an article about someone who did just that...built a tiny home on wheels for he and his family, that can go with them as they travel.


Maggie

[mandolindave]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

I was just reading an article about someone who did just that...built a tiny home on wheels for he and his family, that can go with them as they travel.


Maggie

Yeah many tiny homes are on wheels….But I meant buying an existing home and putting it on wheels. The joke being a trailer is not designed to be a stationary domicile, and a stick house is not designed to roll down a highway.

[OTRA15]

And so the thread devolves . . .

[Rocinante]

BTW, welcome to the forum, glad to have you here waltzing happily amidst a garden of curmudgeons. Regarding this topic maybe you shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque, but here we are.

If your potential buyers are serious about full-timing in an Airstream, they're going to have to do that where they can park it at a reasonable cost. The Bay Area, by and large, isn't going to be one of those if they have a reasonable commute in mind. Neither is Seattle or Portland. There's more than local ordinances and zoning, btw. Never forget the all powerful HOA, which inevitably hates an RV in the driveway, even more than it hates rusty old cars on blocks.

So, where could they go with their Airstream? If they have the right kind of job (usually in Tech) they could go boondock on public lands (BLM) for some portion of the year, like many folks who wind up in Quartzite for the winter. I actually know an entire group of young full timers, many with children, who do exactly that and do it quite successfully because they've actually thought it through.

As Maggie suggested earlier, if they don't have financial security via a job that lets them work remotely then buying an Airstream and dragging it around looking for the place to live is a really bad idea. RVs and their tow vehicles are expensive to own and operate, even if the camping is free. If they get into this without enough capital and a plan to survive the experience financially, they won't. They'll wind up somewhere with a couple of flat tires or a busted-something-expensive, begging for money on GoFundMe so they can get back home again and park the RV at the "Mom & Dad Hotel" until they figure it out or sell the thing and rent an apartment so they can commute to their jobs.

So, let's also be clear about who's helping whom.

Selling a trailer right now helps you, right now, due to quotas and such. That's fine, I respect that.

OTOH, selling them a trailer right now may hurt them if they don't actually have a plan that has a chance of working.

Best wishes and again, welcome to the Forum.

[AirDavid.com]

Thank you all for your input, the sarcasm is not offensive but I did forget how forums can be, LOTS of assumptions

I was basically just looking for other resources other than Craigslist to find long term living locations. Thank you to those that got that and gave valuable input.

The young couple that I talked about are already buyers, they are not "prospective buyers" they have the means and purchased last week but the spot they had picked out fell through so I'm trying to help them find something else.

OTRA15, thank you for your help especially, those other threads have a lot of great info. I'll try and contribute when I can to other threads but selling Airstream is a VERY busy job right now and we are the #1 dealership in the country. Basecamp is kinda like the new Iphone, everyone wants it because we don't have it! I'll give my thoughts on it soon, does look pretty cool though.

- David

p.s. My airdavid.com website isn't up yet, just bought that domain and working on it now. My background is ecommerce and tech so plan to use that to sell Airstream

[lovetokite]

Originally Posted by mandolindave

Can I live in my camper... in your yard? I don't want to pay very much. I'll need to be close to your house so I can hook up to your sewer, and water, and electric. Most likely, your neighbors won't mind very much. If they report you, you might have to declare the income when you file, but you can write off the finders fee. Most likely, your insurance company won't find out, and charge you extra, ya know, in case I get hurt on your property and sue you. If you are not interested, is there a lot next to you that's for sale? Maybe I could buy it and live there…in my camper.

See what your up against? Then there is the zoning issues. ( you can research that because I'm too lazy get into that…but I'll give you two. The town I live in doesn't allow clothes lines, The county where my country home is, doesn't allow you to live in a trailer that is shorter than 50 feet )

Just thinking that most folks that can afford a really nice location, with pretty views, won't need the income, or want to give up their privacy.

Folks that would be willing to give up their privacy, because they need a few extra bucks, might not have a very desirable location to camp long term.

Remember all those annoying cliches? There are no free lunches, You reap what you sew, You get what you pay for

I'm sure you could find some nice places, but they might be in the middle of nowhere, hopefully not next to a meth lab, or a pig farm.

Hope you got a chuckle, and aren't offended by obnoxious sarcasm ha ha.

very good points...and entertaining as well...

[D2LLIO]

AirDavid, go to realtor.com and search for land (not homes). You can specify an area, price range, size of lot, etc.

[rjmaype]

I always had the dream to rent a large garage or shed and park the AS in there stating it is a "restoration project".

Then I would just live in it.

[mandolindave]

Originally Posted by rjmaype

I always had the dream to rent a large garage or shed and park the AS in there stating it is a "restoration project".

Then I would just live in it.

He had permission from the property owner who lived in a house there. He was well hidden, I think he got busted by posting videos on "off grid " living. He got evicted. ( No running water, no septic etc )

The other issue is people who worked hard to buy a nice house, sometimes take issue with people living in RVs, bringing the property values down. Then there is the municipalities, that like folks to pay taxes.

[ijustlee]

I hate to be a buzzkill but just say "NO" to someone who thinks they will live cheap in an Airstream in a populated area like the Bay Area. The zoning laws will get you in trouble very quickly unless you are very good at flying under the radar. The number one $50 a day fine comes from not being hooked to a legal sewer. In the rural county where I live your trailer or camper is subject to a fine if it can even just be seen from the 3 main state highways in the county because the board of supervisors were worried about the "image" tourists might get. In an industrial area the little shop/garage spaces are subject to monthly inspections from code inspectors looking for pollution sources, supposedly. It is tough to live inexpensively in the USA nowadays. It can be done but is not easy. It seems that the powers that be hate the tiny house movement. I commend Mandolindave for being realistic and would be OK with him posting at a "5"! Just my 2 cents worth!

[mandolindave]

I am ALL FOR small affordable housing. Homes that could be heated or cooled for a few dollars a day. Homes that could be painted in a weekend for a hundred dollars worth of paint. It would be good for the environment, and carbon footprint and such.

I think the powers that be should make areas available for that. They actually kind of already do. New Jersey requires "well to do" municipalities, to provide a certain amount of low income housing. Some "well to do" towns pay other towns to take over their quota of low income housing. The whole " not in my backyard " mentality. The same with Wind Turbines, great for the environment, but people don't want to spoil their pretty views of the countryside.

One of the problems with it is the cost of police, firehouses, and education. Taxes have to pay for that. Who is gonna pick up the slack. Property taxes are already chasing me into homelessness.

Another problem is the need for jobs, medical care, and stores to be reasonably close to these areas.

Tough economy now….no easy answers .

[AWCHIEF]

Interesting info,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gobank...b_9942198.html

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by AirDavid.com

Thank you all for your input, the sarcasm is not offensive but I did forget how forums can be, LOTS of assumptions

I was basically just looking for other resources other than Craigslist to find long term living locations. Thank you to those that got that and gave valuable input.

The young couple that I talked about are already buyers, they are not "prospective buyers" they have the means and purchased last week but the spot they had picked out fell through so I'm trying to help them find something else.

Some options:

Many RV parks have long term leases available.
DNR land can be camped on for extended periods of time
How about a house sitting gig with parking rights?
Campground host?
Intentional community?
Search realtor.com in the desired area for land.

[ckandmonair]

As a realtor of 14 years I must say this thread was highly amusing. 😂😂

[mandolindave]

Originally Posted by ckandmonair

As a realtor of 14 years I must say this thread was highly amusing. 😂😂

Why do you find this thread highly amusing because you are a realtor.

[xrvr]

Probably finds it amusing because people actually think one can put a tiny home or trailer anywhere they want to and live in it. Not gonna happen in my neighborhood or yours if you are smart. If you don't understand why, well, you just will never understand.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by avionstream

The tiny house thing is resurrecting the reason zoning started.

You are more correct than you might realize. I used to be an HGTV junkie but the tiny house propaganda has really turned me off. In my opinion, it has become an endless stream of happily-ever-after presentations that have questionable basis in reality. Most HGTV money shots (aka "reveals") do not show tiny houses with any obvious hook-ups to water, sewer, or electric, or even lawfully parked (I suspect, at least not beyond the filming permit). They build these custom units and find the prettiest natural staging area possible and they just set the unit out there for the 3 hours it takes them to do the shoot, implying that it's the destination in many cases. The whole basis of the show is supposedly sustainability via smaller living, but they don't bother to mention that their presentation itself is inherently unsustainable. That kind of practice results in the public developing unrealistic expectations.

Here's a screengrab from tinyhousegiantjourney, who got busted for violating code. This kind of outcome will only increase, and it irritates me because it casts a potentially bad light on those of us who are interested in the lowest-profile stealth camping in a vehicle rather than showboating a politically-correct lifestyle.

[xrvr]

You are so right!