Is it cheaper to live in an RV park or an apartment?
The Short Answer
It often can be, especially in high-rent areas like greater Portland, but it depends on your site fees, your unit payment, and whether the park allows year-round living. Lot rent at an RV park is usually well below apartment rent, but you also pay for the unit, utilities, and upkeep.
Monthly Costs at an RV Park
- Site rent: Seasonal or annual lot fees, which vary widely by park, location, and amenities.
- Unit payment: Your loan payment if you finance the park model. Once it is paid off, this cost goes away.
- Utilities: Electric is often metered separately, plus propane or heating fuel.
- Insurance: An RV policy for the unit.
- Upkeep: Roof care, skirting, seasonal maintenance, and repairs are on you.
Monthly Costs in an Apartment
- Rent: In the greater Portland area, rent for a one-bedroom often runs $1,800 or more per month, and it tends to rise each year.
- Utilities: Heat and electric are frequently extra, depending on the building.
- Renters insurance: Usually inexpensive, but often required.
- No equity: Rent buys you a place to live, and nothing you own at the end of the lease.
How the Math Usually Shakes Out
For many buyers, a park model payment plus lot rent lands in the same range as an apartment, or below it, and the unit is theirs once the loan is paid off. The comparison gets even better for people who already own land or who only need housing for part of the year.
The big catch is occupancy rules. Many Maine campgrounds are seasonal and do not allow a unit to be used as a primary residence, so make sure your park offers year-round sites before you count on it replacing an apartment.
