Interested In Building A RV Park On Lake Martin?
Lots of people enjoy Lake Martin by taking their RV to or camping in Wind Creek State Park. It has lots of sites on the waterfront, and is really a pretty park. As you can imagine, it can get crowded on the summer weekends with camping spots in high demand.
Recently this was a topic of discussion on the Lakes Online forum that is dedicated to Lake Martin. You can read the posts’ thread here. The general consensus was one of wishing for more options to RV or camp on the water, and why there aren’t more places like that around Lake Martin.
I chimed in on the thread, saying:
“this is a generalization, but usually land on the water is so expensive it is hard to make the numbers work for an RV park. Plus it is hard to find land on the water that doesn’t have a deed or neighborhood restriction against commercial use like an RV park.That said, there is plenty of land that is close to the lake that you could do it on. Maybe you could have the park, then boaters could go put in at a public ramp.
There are also some parcels here and there that are on or near the water that you might could do homes to rent and also park and RV. Just depends what you want to do. Email me if you would like specifics.”
Then someone emailed me anonymously (through the Lakes Online) and asked me the following questions:
“So do you have property on the water for sale? Everyone I talk to says sewer is the issue. You can pump sewer up hill to make it work. Thanks. ”
My response was:
“someone emailed me thru lakes online as an anonymous visitor, and asked the below question, I really don’t know how to email them back, so I will answer them here. Their questions:‘So do you have property on the water for sale? Everyone I talk to says sewer is the issue. You can pump sewer up hill to make it work. Thanks. ‘
Sewer / septic might be the issue in that you might have a hard time getting a system approved, but that is only on a lot by lot basis. It’s hard to make a call on the septic because it’s only approved by the county when you turn in a plan for that specific lot.That to me is the lowest of three hurdles for a project like this. the highest would be cost. If you were to buy a lot for $300,000, and it was only an acre, how many RV spots could you fit in there, 7, 8? If you can charge $50 a night, even if you rented it every possible night, would that be enough to float the debt on the $300,000, plus operating costs? Maybe you supplement by other income, I don’t know.
Second hurdle is zoning. The lot / land you buy would have to be approved for this use. Not saying it can’t happen, but it is a consideration.
Third hurdle is septic. Do you have enough land for a proper area for field lines, based on the amount of waste that will be discharging? Just a matter of math and money.
Again, I am not saying it can’t happen. There are a few spots around the lake that maybe, possibly, could work. You don’t know until you get into the details.
As to me sending you info on possibilities, please email me from your real account so that I can reply, or just call me.
I thought it might help to post the same to Lake Martin Voice, maybe other readers have the same question.
One final thought regarding Wind Creek: I have never tried this, so I disclaim all potential legal and ethical liability, but it seems that, in general, in theory, hypothetically, sometimes when you have a scarce product (like RV lots) that are 
monitored by salaried personnel (like Wind Creek employees) it seems that it helps to TIP the folks? Ha! Only kidding, of course.
Related Post:
5 Questions and Answers: Alabama Power Leased Lots on Lake Martin
4 Points To Ponder On The Future Of Lake Martin Zoning
Right now there is no one set of zoning rules that covers the entire Lake Martin area. Why? For starters, it stretches over three different counties, and most of the shoreline is not inside any cities’ limits. It’s an old lake, developed in a rural area. But, as things change, prices rise, and high end developments are created, more people start talking about a zoning plan that would control the entire Lake Martin area.
I have been hearing a lot of local and industry talk about this lately. It seems that some mysterious document has appeared on the internets (insert grain of salt here) that purports to be a proposed bill for the Alabama legislature and would create a Lake Martin Planning Commission. The Commission would create and regulate zoning for all of the Lake Martin waterfront and surrounding area. You can see a copy of the document here on savelakemartin.com.
Is it for real? Is it a hoax? Who knows. I certainly don’t. Judge for yourself. But it got my puzzler puzzling, ‘til my puzzler was sore. Can “they” really do something like that? Ain’t this America? If something like the Lake Martin Planning Commission was done, how would “they” do it? If “they” could do it, would it be good or bad for Lake Martin?
I am no expert on zoning laws or Alabama lawmaking, so I talked to someone that is. My resource had these interesting observations:
1. Currently there is no proposed bill to create a Lake Martin Planning Commission or some such other Lake Martin zoning entity. If you would like to search pending or proposed legislation, click here for the Alabama Legislature search site. I can’t find one right now. Maybe it’s being crafted right now and will pop up there tomorrow, but at this writing, there is no such bill.
2. A Lake Martin Planning Commission as proposed would more than likely originate at the County Commissioners’ levels. Since Coosa, Tallapoosa, and Elmore Counties would be ceding their right to zone and control part of their land, each county’s commissioners would have to agree on it, vote on it, pass it, and petition the State first before it would go before the legislature.
3. Such an action would probably take more than one legislative session to approve. Since there are so many moving parts, things like this take time. So the public could have two chances at input, once at the county level and once at the state.
4, There might be many opponents at the state level that might lobby heavily against it. In the past, when other rural counties in the state have tried to set up special zoning for unincorporated areas, large insurance type companies have opposed it on the premise of looking out for the little guy.
Disclaimer: I do not have a crystal ball to predict the future. I don’t have x-ray vision to pierce the proverbial smoke filled rooms of politicians. “I am lowly priest from Honan province.” I am not even saying that such zoning would be bad. Part of me cringes at the mere mention of Orwellian sounding “commissions.” But practically speaking, if the two landowners that control 99% of the undeveloped land around Lake Martin want to voluntarily limit themselves, well…. And it may very well be beneficial in the long run. Who knows. Whether this turns out to be true or a hoax, I doubt it will be the last time the subject comes up.
Lake Martin Property Taxes - It Pays To Do Your Homework
Lake Martin waterfront property owners are in one of three counties – Tallapoosa County, Elmore County, or Coosa County. If you’re considering buying on Lake Martin, and are curious about property taxes, you would need to research all three counties to cover of your bases.
There are some similarities, however, in that they all are governed by the state of Alabama’s property tax laws. The property tax fiscal year in Alabama runs October 1 - September 30 every year. So the property taxes you would pay by December 31, 2007, were generated based on a snapshot of value taken on October 1, 2006. Here is some info for further research:
Tallapoosa County – Click here for a link to the Tallapoosa County Tax Assessor. The office number is 256–825–1046. Click here for an online calculator for Tallapoosa County taxes. It is a really good tutorial of how to translate assessment and millage rates to the actual taxes you might pay. They use an example of a $100,000 single family home, not in city limits, which yields a tax of $300.00 per year.
Elmore County – Click here for a link to the Elmore County Tax Assessor. The office number is 334–567–1184. Click here for a link to their explanation of rates and here for the millage rates.
Coosa County – At this writing, Coosa County does not have its own website. Click here for info. The Revenue Commissioner is Charlie Luker, and is a heckofa nice guy. His number is 256–377–4916. Their rates may be a tad different from Tallapoosa and Elmore, but for planning purposes, they are about equal.
Online Research
All three counties employ third party websites to publish their property tax map and owner information. The online sites are very useful, but take caution. The best way to determine current ownership is to do a deed search at the courthouse. Also, most of the time the lot lines are generally correct. But the best way to know your lot lines is to get a professional survey.
Many times the info online will only give you who was the owner on the previous October 1. That said, sometimes the counties update a sale as the year goes along. Consider if John Doe owned a property at 10-1-07 and sold on 1–10–08 to Bob Smith. Many times I have seen where the will leave John Doe as the owner but have Bob Smith’s name and mailing address in the mailing address slot. Then when the next year rolls around, they bump John Doe off and Bob Smith is property owner. But this is only a case by case observation.
Need Help?
If you are thinking about buying waterfront property on Lake Martin, and need some help in sifting through all of the Counties, school districts, and tax zones, I would be glad to help you estimate what your annual property taxes might be. As compared to other states, property taxes in Alabama are pretty low, so hopefully it will be a nice surprise. Email me, come by my Kowaliga office, or call my number at the top of this page. I would be glad to help you out.
Mythbuster: Alabama Power Leased Lots - Lake Martin
Alabama Power has leased waterfront lots on Lake Martin for decades. Yet, so much rumor, speculation, and innuendo surrounds the topic it remains mysterious to many people, real estate agents included.
Allow me to try to bust the myth on this subject.
Why are there leased lots on Lake Martin?
Lake Martin was created in 1923 when the Southern Company (Alabama Power) built Martin Dam on the Tallapoosa River. They bought up all of the eventual waterfront at the elevation of 490 feet above sea level. Since old Mr. Ben Russell (founder of Russell Mills), already owned the damming rights to the Tallapoosa, the Power Company swapped him those rights for one half of the waterfront. Pretty much every inch of the 700 miles of waterfront of Lake Martin at one time or another was owned by either Alabama Power or Old Mr. Ben.
When did Alabama Power begin to lease lots on Lake Martin?
Sometime around in the 1960s, Alabama Power allowed people to build homes on the waterfront, but they retained ownership of the land underneath the home. The people own the sticks and bricks, the company owns the dirt. The people paid a monthly lease to do so. Over the years, depending on the opinions of officers at Alabama Power, the homeowners were given the chance to buy the dirt under their homes. No rhyme or reason to it, some years they would decide to sell, other years they would institute leases. That policy continues today. Who knows, they may decide to start selling lots to leaseholders tomorrow. They might not.
How does a lot lease work on Lake Martin?
These days, when Alabama Power leases a waterfront lot to homeowners, they have a written lease, just like you would for an apartment. The lease specifies the monthly rate (currently around $400), the length of the lease (currently twenty years), and the yearly increase of the rate. The key here is that every lot is different, so if you’re concerned, consult a lawyer. Alabama Power assigns the lease amount when they offer new lots for lease. They offer the lots in a bid system, meaning, the homeowners bid offers of cash to pay for the privilege of entering the lease. If you are the top bidder, then you must pay the monthly lease rate on top of that.
What happens at the lease end?
Again, you must examine each lease to be sure of how it works. But generally speaking, at the end of the lease, one of 4 things can happen:
1. Alabama Power renews the lease
2. Alabama Power sells you the lot
3. Alabama Power buys the house from you
4. You pick up the house and leave.
My family has been selling real estate in the Lake Martin area since 1953. We have never heard of Alabama Power buying a house, or making someone move their house away. Not that it is impossible, but it is, in my opinion, highly, highly, improbable. Most of the time they either renew the lease or sell you the lot. Once again, if in doubt, talk to a lawyer.
Can you sell a leased lot home?
One word answer - YES. There are plenty of great leased lot homes
for sale now (like this one) on Lake Martin and many that have sold in the past. Generally speaking, you can get more house or view for your money on a leased lot house than you can on a deeded lot home, because of the existence of the lease. The transaction works just like a deeded lot sale, except you have the added step of transferring the lease to the new owner. Alabama Power must approve this transfer, but usually it’s just a matter of paperwork.
Can you finance a leased lot home?
YES - easily. I almost always recommend that Lake Martin buyers use lenders from around the lake. Not because I am related to any many of them, but because lake financing is usually a bit different than your standard McHouse in McSuburbia. Local lenders are especially handy when it comes to financing a leased lot home. They are familiar with all of the documentation, so it’s a lot easier to work with them.
Do you own a leased lot home and have some advice to add? Or maybe you have questions that I haven’t answered here. If so, please comment on this post and I will do my best to answer anything else.
Related posts:
When Does The Water Level Go Down On Lake Martin?
When does the Water Level go down on Lake Martin?
When does the water go down? Does this house have water year round?
I hear this a lot. When people are looking for homes or a lot on Lake Martin, they soon learn that the lake’s water level fluctuates. Depending on your preferences, this might affect where on the lake you choose to be. If you are not aware of the lake level’s changes, it may affect how happy you are with your purchase. If you want to be able to take a New Year’s Eve boat ride, you will be disappointed if you are high and dry with no water in the winter. Or, maybe you prefer a quiet cove off of the main thoroughfare. In that case, don’t over pay for a place that doesn’t fit your needs. You need to learn a little about Lake Martin in order to make the right decision.
Why does the lake level go up and down? First, you need to know that Lake Martin was created back in then 1920s when the company that is now Alabama Power dammed the Tallapoosa River. The Tallapoosa River joins the Coosa River to form the Alabama River near Montgomery. The Alabama flows all the way to Mobile Bay, and is a navigable river. The Alabama River must maintain a certain level so that barges can move up and down it.
So, part of the reason the Martin Dam exists is to ensure that the Alabama has a certain amount of water flow. Since Alabama Power owns the dam, they (with permission of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) decide how to regulate the water level. So how does this affect your lake house?
