RRP on Forest Lands - Pros & Cons (Yosemite Valley: for sale, real estate)

[TexasRoadkill]

I was goofing around the other day looking for inexpensive mountain homes on California, when I came across a form of real estate I had never encountered in any other state. Recreation Residence Program (RRP) on National Forest System lands.

The best I can tell, you purchase a home (most older log homes) but you cannot purchase the land, you lease it from the government and in most case the Forest Department shuts off all water service around November and does not turn it back on until spring. This prevents the owner from living on the property year-round.

And you cannot make any changes or improvements to the outside of the house without the government's approval.

It seems like a lower cost single owner time share between the homeowner and the forest department.

Does anyone on this forum own such a home and how do you like it?
Any major issues? Regrets?

[JGC97]

I'm familiar with the RRP type of purchases and residence. You're right. You can own the home but lease the land and those leases are usually set for a term of years. My parents owned one such residence. They actually built the cabin on the lot that they leased. Kept it for about 15 years and sold it. I don't remember what the yearly fee (similar to an HOA) was but it was nominal. There are certain restrictions and you can only build up to a certain number of square feet.

I know many people that live on those types of places. Yosemite is one place that's very popular. A former co-worker's mother lived decades in a home in the Yosemite Valley, until her death (at old age).

If you're interested and you see one for sale, you can inquire with the agent handling the sale to ask all the questions. Think of it as the same thing you'd find if you purchased a mobile/manufactured home. You have the residence but don't own the lot, you only pay either a monthly or yearly fee.

You insure the residence the same way you would if you owned the land. The only drawback with those is that sometimes when the federal government threatens or does shut down, you might be forced to leave because the land you're living on belongs to them. That part isn't fun.

[TexasRoadkill]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

I'm familiar with the RRP type of purchases and residence. You're right. You can own the home but lease the land and those leases are usually set for a term of years. My parents owned one such residence. They actually built the cabin on the lot that they leased. Kept it for about 15 years and sold it. I don't remember what the yearly fee (similar to an HOA) was but it was nominal. There are certain restrictions and you can only build up to a certain number of square feet.

I know many people that live on those types of places. Yosemite is one place that's very popular. A former co-worker's mother lived decades in a home in the Yosemite Valley, until her death (at old age).

If you're interested and you see one for sale, you can inquire with the agent handling the sale to ask all the questions. Think of it as the same thing you'd find if you purchased a mobile/manufactured home. You have the residence but don't own the lot, you only pay either a monthly or yearly fee.

You insure the residence the same way you would if you owned the land. The only drawback with those is that sometimes when the federal government threatens or does shut down, you might be forced to leave because the land you're living on belongs to them. That part isn't fun.

The ones I have looked into actually have the water turned off in November and not turned back on until spring. So his mother must have lived somewhere else in the winter!

[JGC97]

Originally Posted by TexasRoadkill

The ones I have looked into actually have the water turned off in November and not turned back on until spring. So his mother must have lived somewhere else in the winter!

I don't know. That was never brought up in the conversation. All I know is she lived there for decades and was very happy. She never lived anyplace else. So, it's doable.