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I am moving back to Washington in my Class A motor home. I have been searching in Western Washington for a full time location. I am not retired yet and need a place 365 days a year. But I am told Washington state law says I can only live in my RV 210 days and then I have to move out. Really!!!!!! I have no other place to live! What is the purpose of this stupid law? Can I get around it be living in a mobile home/rv park? Something about how the park is licensed as to length of stay allowed. I know some do not take full timers but there are a lot who do and none of them mentioned the 210 day rule until about half way thru my search. Full time RVers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their abode and spend money every where they go. I guess Washington doesn't want any of us full timers as permanent residents???
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Don't jump to any conclusions, It is probably a park zoning criteria.
Just buy a piece of land with a shop and RV hook-ups. I have several in WA (and TX) where I rent out the main house and I stay for free. They were each under $100k and have nice views, great gardening, close to town and a QUIET. + spin off $1000/ month cash for me to live on.
I never plan to be in We_tern WA for 210 days at a stretch. (I am not keen on rain, I take off from WA every chance I get). My RV STAYS in WA, cuz I 'fly' for under $100 and keep an extra RV at my other homes.
I have a friend who has an RV lot in Ocean Park, WA, and has to move his RV every so often. Guess that is why it is on wheels (he also has a park model on that lot / permanently)
Don't jump to any conclusions, It is probably a park zoning criteria.
Just buy a piece of land with a shop and RV hook-ups. I have several in WA (and TX) where I rent out the main house and I stay for free. They were each under $100k and have nice views, great gardening, close to town and a QUIET. + spin off $1000/ month cash for me to live on.
My research indicates the 180 day rule is not a major obstacle. The real difficulty for anyone wanting to maintain WA state residency while full-timing is the need for a permanent physical address. This because the WA state DMV will not issue driver's licenses or vehicle registrations to a non-physical address (a PMB, for instance).
Posters in both these threads say they have been told by state agencies that the use of a mail service or a relative's address as a physical address is considered fraudulent and a felony.
Another difficulty is that banks are required to record a physical address for all account holders, under provisions in the US Patriot Act.
These issues are not a problem in states that have designed their laws to be friendly to full-timers (South Dakota, Texas, and Florida). But, there can be other drawbacks to domiciling in those states, it depends a great deal on individual circumstances.
My own conclusion is it is necessary to either rent or own property in WA state in order to claim and/or maintain WA state residency. I don't think a campground works unless you can have your mail delivered there, and you pay rent there year-round. StealthRabbit's suggestion is certainly a possibility. I think another solution would be to rent a small furnished apartment, or purchase a small condo in an affordable and desirable location with nearby facilities for RV storage. Or, maybe even buy a small home with a big driveway. But the thing is, I really don't want to rent or own property!
I hope others will chime in with information or ideas.
Thank you all for your responses and I will certainly check out all the links you sent. Here in GA I have a permanent address. I use the campground address with my Lot number. The office gets my mail and they have boxes for all those who want them to collect our mail (not individual boxes....a box for every letter in the alphabet and they hand me my mail so that I don't get someone else's). I will ask the parks I plan on staying in to see if they have such a service. So I wonder if using the park address with lot number even if you don't get mail there would work? It would be the same thing as an apartment building! That is what is so discriminating about this...Apartment renters are doing the exact some thing us full time rvers are doing...renting a place to live year round.
As far as buying and renting out property....been there and done that and don't want it any more. Granted it is an alternative but I refuse to be propert poor ever again and don't wish to be a property owner or landlord any more.
I've been trying to locate an area where I can buy a piece of land and park my RV on it to live full time. It doesn't seem right that it's ok to use an RV Park at $500 + a month, but couldn't find a place in the boonies to live on without a stick and brick home.
. But I am told Washington state law says I can only live in my RV 210 days and then I have to move out. Really!!!!!! I have no other place to live! What is the purpose of this stupid law?
It might be some archaic law that is never enforced. Or enacted for a specific purpose that no longer exists.Personally i think the worst that can happen is every 180 days you may have to drive your Rv around the block then re register at the campsite.
Some reading on the issue= https://www.google.ca/#safe=active&q...aw+%2C210+days
I'm interested in this as well. For any of you that live in an RV on your own land, can you give some advice/details? I'm hoping to move back to Oregon later this year, and I've considered buying property and buying an RV to live in. I'm not sure how to go about it.What type of RV do you guys have? A motorhome, fifth wheel, other?
Karla honestly I have no clue why anyone would want to buy an RV and put it on land somewhere and never move it again, because that's not the purpose the rv was designed for to begin with. No rv is built contruction wise (insulation, power consumption etc) that comes anywhere close to a the construction of a house or even a double wide trailer.....so I would just build/buy/rent a home be it prefab or stick and brick and be done with it because I do not think you will find a piece of land where the zoning laws will allow you to park any rv style unit long term on raw land anyway.....even places out in the middle of nowhere like west Texas or New Mexico where it was once common the local governments has now pretty much put a stop to it....
Now don't confuse buying raw land and wanting to put an rv on it with developed land zoned as an rv resort/park where you can buy a lot and live on it permanently. Those types of properties do not fall under a campground but under a condo type association where you own your lot but everything around you is common land for all the owners to use (pool, clubhouse etc) and you must abide by the rules set in place by the board of directors etc....just like living in a stick and brick condo..these types of properties also require a monthly maintance which is often pretty costly...they are very popular and you will find many "owner" rv resorts in rv destinations like Florida and Arizona. I actually own a lot in south Florida that I spend most winters at.
Last edited by rtandc; 03-15-2016 at 03:57 PM..
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