So you may have noticed I took a few weeks off from
writing serious posts and provided a couple ‘frill’ pieces for your
entertainment. After all, this is my
second favorite time of year and I love to roam. Those of you that read my articles on a
regular basis know that I absolutely love the fall and THAT is my favorite
season – but I don’t want to rush the summer!
Sometimes you just need to take a step back from social strife, take a
deep breath and live your life free from the thoughts of others. I really felt that I needed to let the
smoldering embers of the deer cull fracas cool a bit before diving back in with
my thoughts, musings and suggestions regarding CRR. This week I had a new revelation as I perused
www.coosawattee.net. I noticed a contiguous pair of RV lots for
sale and thought….hmmmm.
First, let me start by saying that I think we need
to move away from the term ‘campground’.
Let’s face it, staying in a modern recreational vehicle is far from ‘camping’. It really is the epitome of ‘glamping’. Typically overstuffed recliners, flat screen
TVs, air conditioning and modern appointments that rival those of some homes aren’t
usually associated with ‘camping’. We
also have many folks that have chosen the downsized lifestyle of RV living over
costly and often unneeded homesite living.
The river parks that provide rental lots are campgrounds - the privately
owned RV sites in CRR are really just that:
RV Lots. I prefer to use the terminology
‘RV section’ versus ‘Campground’. I also
feel that there is an elevated level of perception using ‘RV section’ over ‘Campground’….but
I digress.
I would also encourage any new readers to read my
other posts regarding the RV section of CRR.
I personally see the great potential and benefit of this resource within
our community and hope to continue to see the positive trends that have been occurring.
So, I’m always thinking about ways to improve CRR
as a whole and had a crazy thought about the RV area when I saw the adjoining
lots for sale. I think the board and
management really need to take a step back and think long horizon in regards to
the RV section. It often seems that our
knees keep jerking when it comes to policy making and developing solutions to
known troubles in the area. A key to
any well-defined and well-structured development is consistency – and this does
not happen overnight. For the purposes
of my thoughts today, let us say we are looking 5-10 years in the future. Without lighting any fuses, let’s just agree
that there are some areas within the RV section that need some ‘attention’. Most of these issues, by my observation,
linger from abandoned properties that didn’t have much value and were left by
their owners. And it is easy to
understand why when you behold some of them.
I also believe that people may have passed, left the property to a
family member and it has simply been forgotten.
Whatever the reason the condition of some of the properties is
unacceptable and not fair to the other owners.
I also think it’s important to note that there are
some really great properties in the RV section.
The removal of the building moratorium has truly made a huge difference
in the appearance of the area. The
attractive and well-constructed roof-overs have been a monstrous leap in the
right direction. The addition of a
roof-over on a lot screams UPSCALE. The
improving pride in ownership everywhere throughout the area is really
blossoming. Below I’ll detail some
bulleted points that are ideas for continuing on this path of re-development
and re-discovery of this hidden gem.
- CRR must expand its efforts to buy distressed lots. This includes lots with and without existing units. This was a point I made in my June 2, 2014 post: Revitalization of the Coosawattee Campgrounds. A post that, as of this writing, has had 921 visitors. Not to sound egotistical – but I put that idea forward over two years ago, and fortunately, someone was listening. CRR has begun buying these lots, and reselling them. This business plan serves the owners of the area by removing known blight and benefits CRR through additional lot sales, capital contribution, etc.
- CRR needs to keep the prices of available lots stable. We shouldn’t be giving fire sale prices on RV lots UNLESS – yes, a big UNLESS, the lot is to be replatted with another adjoining RV lot. (More on this later) I’m actually quite happy to see desirable lots priced upwards of $10K. While some may disagree, it is the only way to improve an aging and distressed area. Elevated prices bring elevated buyers who bring elevated development and elevated pride in ownership.
- Legal should be assisting CRR in tracking down owners of distressed lots and instead of putting them directly on a collections list, should have the authority to negotiate an offer and purchase of the lots. Most likely an owner of an abandoned property isn’t going to follow through by actually putting the check in the mail. We could focus on deed backs and balanced sale prices based on current owed dues. Again – win/win for the community. However, the board will need to grant authority to management and let management do what they do – manage the day to day business of CRR.
These are just a few basic steps we can be taking as a
community to continue on the current upward trend. Next, I’d like to talk more in depth about
the virtues of replatting. Replatting
was a hot button issue some four or five years ago. I’ll admit I was not the first person to jump
on board as I felt the financial impact during the recession could be
devastating for the community as a whole.
As it turns out, it really hasn’t affected the community in a negative
way at all. In turn, I believe it has
helped the community. I am a believer in
the practice of replatting and have been preaching the message loud and clear. I know that many have joined me and are spreading
the good word of replatting. One of my
readers who I will only refer to as ‘Tizzy’ (as they wish to remain anonymous)
communicates frequently with me and was partly responsible for spurning the
idea of this article. Now….on with the
show……
- CRR should be communicating CRR owned lot availability to owners with contiguous lots. This should be in the form of direct mailers, phone calls and/or e-mails. I watch property availability because it is interesting to me, but part time RV owners may not visit CRR frequently enough to know a lot is available, or whether it is considered ‘contiguous’ for the purpose of replatting.
- CRR should seriously negotiate with contiguous owners to sell the lots under an agreement that they will be replatted within 120 days. With this, we also need to make sure that owners understand the costs of the septic systems. Take for instance that Lot A shares a tank with two other owners and Lot B shares a tank with four other owners. They would now be responsible for the repair costs of 50% of one tank and 25% of another tank should an issue arise with one of them. I can only guess this is a something that most people don’t think about.
Now I’m going to wander into some new territory and will be
interested to hear what my readers think.
- We should re-address the building rules in the RV section to approve larger storage on replatted lots that consist of two or more lots. And, when I say storage I actually mean single car garages. OK, so now you’re thinking I’m off my meds and have wandered too far off track…..but not really. Remember what I said earlier about consistency and higher end buyers. Many people look to downsize, but without proper storage you end up with messy properties. Furthermore, consistently constructed garages would create a re-occurring theme through the RV section just as the roof-overs have. Additionally, each garage (should the owner choose to construct) would have to adhere to identical building plans which could be scaled smaller (not larger) if required due to available space and setbacks since the RV lots can be quite irregular at times. The garages would have to be built on a concrete pad with no floor penetrations and nothing additional could be added to the structure beyond the approved plans. My recommended maximum size would be 20X20 with 8’ sidewalls. Siding and color options are at the owner’s discretion so long as they meet ARC guidelines, but the architecture would remain IDENTICAL. Think of the type of buyer and elevated appearance we would begin developing if we tried this one idea? Many owners would appreciate the ability to store their ‘toys’ for their weekend trips and not have to haul everything with them. It would also provide plenty of storage to keep a tidy and well manicured property.
So, there are some ideas for you to think about. I’d be interested in hearing your
thoughts. You can post in the comments
section below or e-mail me directly. My
address is listed in the upper left of the screen. I’m going to head back out to enjoy the
splendor of summer along the Coosawattee River.
Till next time,
Chris
