What is the difference between a campground membership and ownership?

A campground membership gives you the right to use a site, usually for a fee that increases each year. You don't own anything. An ownership interest — a deed or a long-term recorded lease, paid in full at closing — is real property. You can build on it, sell it, will it to your kids, and borrow against it.

What are 99-year leasehold lots at Lake James?

Lots within 250 feet of the shoreline fall inside the Lake James Protection Zone. For regulatory reasons, these are offered as 99-year leases paid in full at closing and recorded at the McDowell County Register of Deeds. There are no monthly lease payments or annual increases.

Are short-term rentals allowed at The Reserve?

Yes, short-term rentals are permitted.

Lake James RV Lots for Sale: What "Deeded" Actually Means

The Reserve at Barefoot Landing
May 1
5 min read

RV Lots for Sale at The Reserve at Barefoot Landing on Lake James. In Lake James, NC

When you search "Lake James RV lots for sale," most of what comes back isn't actually for sale. It's a campground site with a transferable membership, a seasonal rental that someone is trying to flip, or an annual fee that goes up every year and disappears the day the campground changes hands.

That's not what we sell.

The Reserve at Barefoot is an ownership community on Lake James. You pay once, at closing. You own — or hold a long-term recorded interest in — your lot for the long haul. When you sell, you sell real property, not a membership.

If you've been shopping for campgrounds and getting confused about what you'd actually own, this post is for you.

Three Categories of "RV Lots for Sale" — They Are Not the Same

A campground membership gives you the right to use a site, usually for a fee that increases each year. You don't own anything. If the campground sells or closes, your membership goes with it. Resale is restricted, and the value of any improvements you've made — sheds, decks, an RV — depends on what the next owner is willing to pay.

A short-term lease or annual seasonal site lets you use a spot for a season at a time. Premium seasonal sites on Lake James run $5,000 to $8,000 a year. At the end of the season, you have nothing to show for it.

An ownership interest — a deed or a long-term recorded lease, paid in full at closing — is real property. You can build on it (within the community covenants), sell it, will it to your kids, and borrow against it. That's what we sell at The Reserve.

Two Ownership Structures at The Reserve, Both Paid in Full at Closing

The Reserve has 142 lots. Phase 1 is selling now, with lots starting at $89,000. There are two ownership structures, and the difference matters mostly for one specific reason — the lake.

Deeded lots (fee-simple). You hold a deed. You pay the McDowell County property tax. You own the land outright, the same way you own your primary home. Most of our lots are structured this way.

99-year leasehold lots (paid in full at closing). Lots within 250 feet of the shoreline fall inside the Lake James Protection Zone, the area governed by McDowell County's shoreline ordinance and Duke Energy's federal lake-project boundary. For regulatory reasons tied to lake protection and shoreline management, these lots are offered as 99-year leases rather than deeded — paid in full at closing, with the lease recorded at the McDowell County Register of Deeds.

Read that again: paid in full, at closing. There are no monthly lease payments. There are no annual increases. The recorded lease is your legal interest in the lot, and it functions for everyday use exactly the way a deed does. You can place your RV or park model, connect utilities, landscape, use the boat slips and amenities, and transfer your interest when you sell. The only difference is the legal mechanism.

That mechanism exists because Lake James is a regulated lake. Shoreline land falls under the McDowell County Lake James Protection Ordinance and the Duke Energy / FERC project boundary. The leasehold is the structure that makes private waterfront sites possible at all — most properties on Lake James cannot offer shoreline lots at any price. We can.

What Ownership Actually Changes for You

Whether your lot is deeded or leasehold, paying once at closing instead of forever changes the math on three things buyers usually care about:

Resale. Both deeded and leasehold interests at The Reserve are recorded at the county and transferable on the open market. If Lake James property values rise — and they have, steadily — your lot moves with them. A campground membership is worth what the next member will pay, which is a much smaller and less predictable market.

Equity. Most campsite fees and seasonal rentals are pure expenses. Pay $6,000 a year for 10 years, and you have $60,000 in expenses and zero equity. Pay $89,000 once for a Phase 1 lot at The Reserve, and you have an asset.

Control. You decide what goes on your lot. You decide when you visit, when you rent it out (short-term rentals are permitted), and when to sell. The HOA enforces community standards — the same way any neighborhood would — but the lot is yours.

What's at The Reserve

Phase 1 is selling now. Lots start at $89,000.

The community sits on a forested ridge above Lake James in Marion, NC, about 90 minutes northwest of Charlotte and just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Black Mountains sit on the horizon. There are 113 boat slips on the lake, available to add to a lot purchase.

Each Phase 1 lot is laid out for either an RV (10x40 concrete pad, full hookups) or a park model up to 400 square feet on the same pad setup. Phase 1 utilities — water, sewer, and power — are substantially in. The road is graded and on track for completion this summer.

Concrete pads are scheduled for the showcase lots, so within the next few weeks, you'll be able to walk a finished site and see exactly what you're buying.

This is a working community for outdoor people, not a resort. You'll find it appealing if you already RV, plan to RV in retirement, or want a piece of lake property without paying $800,000 for raw lakefront and another year building it out.

The Honest Part

We're under construction. Phase 1 utilities are largely in place, the road is graded, and final completion is targeted for mid-June, with concrete pads on the showcase lots scheduled. Phases 2 and 3 are graded and waiting for utilities. The gate is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 4 if you want to walk it. Bring boots if it's been raining.

We're being upfront about that because the people who buy here are the people who get it — they can see the bones of the place and the lake from the ridge. If you need a finished resort with a pool and a lazy river, this isn't it. If you want to own a piece of Lake James and have your camper parked there next summer, this is probably it.

How to Find Out If a Lot Is Right for You

A few ways to go deeper:

Get the lot map. It shows what's available, what's deeded, what's leasehold, and what's priced where. Use the form below to request it.
Visit on a Saturday. Someone is on-site to walk you through the property. Bring questions — pricing, financing, the boat slip program, deeded vs. leasehold — and we'll answer them in plain English.
Ask about seller financing. We offer it to the first 10 buyers who qualify. Cash buyers get a 10% discount. You pick one or the other.

If you're three months into searching "Lake James RV lots for sale" and starting to wonder whether anything in your price range is actually ownership and not a membership — yes. Phase 1 lots at The Reserve are. Deeded or leasehold, both paid in full at closing. That's the whole reason we built it.

Get Phase 1 Lot Map & Pricing Sheet

Name, email, phone. We'll send it the same day. No pressure, no drip onslaught.