Sunday, January 16, 2011

Saturday at the RV park

OK, I wrestled the computer back from Biscuit, and she thanks all those folks that responded in her defense of not needing to get a hair cut, and told her to keep up her attitude, and so forth.

But what you can't see is how really long her hair has become.  She has almost 3 inches of fur hanging from her underside belly and off of her little legs.  She drags this around as we walk the streets and it becomes black.  She then jumps up on your lap and you feel dirty like her when she gets back on the floor.

The park sealed the blacktop streets this past summer, and that seal coat seems to wipe off on all the dogs.  Everyone here agrees, as we discuss the matter at 4 PM happy hour, that you have to keep the dogs hair really short around here, or your going to have a black dog, no matter what color he or she started out to be.

And she is so nasty, that we probably can't wait until Thursday to give her a provisional bath.  I'd take a picture but we are not about to have someone think we are abusing her that way. LOL

Today we were back over at the swap meet, and I bought some of The Solution from the RV place in the meet.  $15 for a quart spray bottle.  It has the proper label, so I think it is original from the folks that bottle it.   I was told that sometimes the internet vendors will repackage  the larger quantities and then send them out in order to make a little more from selling the stuff.  Say it isn't so!

I walked around spending most of my time in row B, which is a row that I haven't concentrated on as much this year.  Had some fun and talked to a lot of folks, but didn't buy anything else.  After about an hour, Loyce and I ran back across each other in the C row about where the car was parked.  We had agreed that we would meet back at the car in an hour or so, and it fell into place quite naturally.

She had a bag that had Sponge Bob on it, but I didn't even inquire what was inside.  Probably something for one of the grand kids.

As we came back to the RV, I changed into my riding gear and went out for a sandwich and then rode back thru the housing development we visited the other day.  I found a group of guys out solving the developments faults in the street, and I stopped by to hear the local complaints.

Mostly they said the monthly fees were too high, and that they had been indiscriminately raised by the development company over the years until many folks just want out.  That is why so many places are for sale.  It was simple, they didn't trust the company any more.  And it takes about 30K to move the homes to a new park or place.  And what was to say that the monthly at the new place wouldn't skyrocket as well.  Isn't it fun to hear what the locals have to say?  The fees are over $600 a month now, without any accounting of what it is spent on.  It is a private company, not an association of owners!

Back here at the RV, I thought about the fact that we can just pull up the jacks and move on.  Yes we have paid the same $600 a month, but only for three months, and then we are gone!   And that is only $20  night, which is cheap as far as RV parks are concerned.  We have to pay the electric separately however.

Yesterday they hauled out another new park model from behind us with a big mover truck.  It will go over to new park model row on 94th street.  Almost all of the rigs there are these brand new models.  They have some of the spots saved for folks that buy these new rigs.  And if you are camped there with an RV, you might be relocated, if someone wants your spot for their new home.  It isn't in a "dog row" so we are safe.  The price set up with an Arizona room is 69K.  You can piece it backward from there by eliminating stuff, but they will not let you go cheaper than mid 40s.  What they really want is the income stream of monthly rents for the lot.  Somewhere around $400, but it must be paid all at once in the fall before you are allowed to return for the winter.

Now we are completely rented on our street, in this end of the park.  There are vacancies on the high traffic main street coming into the park, and some others in the back part of the park, but I would guess that we are over 90 percent full now.  But it is January 15th and it should be full now, if they are to succeed.

This place radiates this success, where as the old park was struggling at a minimum.

Retired Rod

5 comments:

  1. It's always interesting to ponder the financials of a park - both to wonder if/how the park makes a success (or not) of it, and to wonder about those who buy (or lease long-term) a lot. We go out of our way to make certain we can carry everything with us, since we don't want to return to the same spot year after year and get involved in park politics. Either we haven't found the right spot, or we are gypsies through and through!

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  2. What kind of citrus tree is that at the front of your lot?

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  3. Whether to buy park model or continue to rent a site and use an RV seems to be an important topic of discussion in every RV resort. I hear folks talking about this in the pool here all the time.

    I'm not even going to think about it until if, or when, the time comes that I can't RV anymore.

    I'm sure Biscuit will look every bit as cute with her new haircut.

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  4. $20.00 a night is a good deal, but you failed to mention how much the electric rate is. If it is also low you are getting a really good deal, and it is a beautiful place to boot.

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  5. As we have retired young, we cannot see ourselves buying into a place - there is too much to see and too much to choose from! While it may make travelling to your destination easier without a rig, a park model would be one more place to take care of! Love the Biscuit pictures!

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