Excalibur Motor Condominiums

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Motor condo vs. self-storage, dry stack, an RV lot and a bigger garage.

Every one of these options solves the same underlying problem, a vehicle that does not fit, or does not belong, where you currently keep it. They do it at very different price points, with very different ownership structures, and none of them is universally right.

Excalibur Motor Condominiums3 min read

Rendering of an empty finished unit with a marbled epoxy floor, the stair and the second floor above
Rendering of an empty finished unit with a marbled epoxy floor, the stair and the second floor above
In this guide
  1. 01Six ways to keep a vehicle, on the same seven measures.
  2. 02If this is you, a self-storage unit is the better answer.
  3. 03A $1,000 / quarter association fee, with taxes and insurance on top.
  4. 04What the table does not capture.

This page lays out six options side by side, measure by measure, including the case where we tell you plainly that a self-storage unit is the better fit.

Six ways to keep a vehicle, on the same seven measures.

Conditions are typical for Southwest Florida. Your site and your vehicle will move them.

  • Ceiling height

    Self-storage unit, 8–10 ft typical

    Dry-stack boat storage, N/A (boat lift, not enclosed)

    Outdoor RV lot, N/A, outdoor

    Home garage addition, Varies, usually under 12 ft

    Bigger house, bigger garage, Varies, usually under 12 ft

    Motor condominium, 25 ft clear

  • Climate control

    Self-storage unit, Rare, and shared if present

    Dry-stack boat storage, None

    Outdoor RV lot, None

    Home garage addition, Owner's choice and cost

    Bigger house, bigger garage, Usually none in the garage bay

    Motor condominium, Dedicated HVAC per unit, included

  • Power available

    Self-storage unit, Shared outlet at most

    Dry-stack boat storage, None to the boat itself

    Outdoor RV lot, None

    Home garage addition, Whatever the home panel allows

    Bigger house, bigger garage, Whatever the home panel allows

    Motor condominium, 220V, 150A, 1 or 3 phase service, individually metered

  • Can you work on the vehicle

    Self-storage unit, Usually prohibited

    Dry-stack boat storage, No

    Outdoor RV lot, No

    Home garage addition, Yes, subject to HOA/neighbors

    Bigger house, bigger garage, Yes, subject to HOA/neighbors

    Motor condominium, Yes, it is your deeded unit

  • Security & access hours

    Self-storage unit, Gate code, limited hours common

    Dry-stack boat storage, Marina hours

    Outdoor RV lot, Fenced lot, limited hours

    Home garage addition, Whenever you're home

    Bigger house, bigger garage, Whenever you're home

    Motor condominium, Gated, 24/7, camera monitored

  • Wind & flood exposure

    Self-storage unit, Facility-dependent, rarely disclosed

    Dry-stack boat storage, Outdoor, high exposure

    Outdoor RV lot, Full outdoor exposure

    Home garage addition, Whatever your home's rating is

    Bigger house, bigger garage, Whatever your home's rating is

    Motor condominium, Engineered to 170 mph ultimate design wind speed (3-second gust, Exposure C); FEMA Flood Zone X

  • Do you own an asset

    Self-storage unit, No

    Dry-stack boat storage, No, you hold a slot

    Outdoor RV lot, No, you hold a space

    Home garage addition, Adds to home value, not separable

    Bigger house, bigger garage, Yes, as part of the home

    Motor condominium, Yes, deeded real property, separate from your home

If this is you, a self-storage unit is the better answer.

We sell motor condominiums, and we are still going to say this plainly: if you have one car, no plan to work on the vehicle, and you are only in Southwest Florida a few weeks a year, a self-storage unit is the right tool. It costs less, it requires no maintenance decisions, and you can walk away whenever your plans change.

Ownership makes sense when you need the space, the power, the height or the access for years, not for a season. For one car and a short season, it rarely does.

It also does not make sense to buy a unit sized for six cars to store one. Buy for the collection you have and the one you are actually going to add in the next two or three years, not an aspirational garage.

A $1,000 / quarter association fee, with taxes and insurance on top.

The association fee at Excalibur is $1,000 per quarter on a 1,350 sq ft unit, increasing pro rata with size. Property taxes and insurance are always additional and vary by owner.

For that one fee, a four-car collection sits under one roof, on one deed, at one temperature, with room on the second floor for everything that goes with it.

Ask us for the written price of the plan that fits and set it beside what you are considering elsewhere. The per-square-foot figure is the fairest way to compare one car condo with another.

None of the other options give you a deed separate from your home.

What the table does not capture.

A boat in a dry-stack rack launches on the marina's schedule, and the slot is the marina's, not yours. Outdoor RV lots expose a coach to UV and rain year-round, which shows up later as faded gel coat and seal failures. A home garage addition in Lee County commonly runs $150 to $250 per square foot to build, and that assumes your lot and HOA allow a structure that size, tall enough and wide enough for the vehicle you actually own, which many suburban lots do not.

None of the other options give you a deed separate from your home. If a facility is sold or converted, you move, and moving a boat, an RV or a collection of cars is its own expensive project.

Sources

Public listings and recorded transactions, Lee and Collier counties
Motor condominium purchase prices and price per square foot used against the other options.
Double unit staged with vehicles at Excalibur Motor Condominiums

What buyers comparing the two ask.

Yes. If you store one vehicle you rarely visit and have no interest in working on it, a self-storage unit is cheaper and requires no capital outlay. Ownership pays off when you need space, power, height or access that a storage facility does not offer, and when you plan to keep the vehicle or vehicles here for years, not months.

In a dry-stack rack the marina decides when the boat goes in the water, and the boat sits in a coastal structure near sea level. In a unit here the boat is nine miles inland in FEMA Flood Zone X, the tow vehicle fits beside it, and you take it out when you choose.

Sometimes, but not always, many Lee County residential lots and HOAs restrict height, footprint or use for a detached structure. Where it is allowed, construction commonly runs $150 to $250 per square foot, which for a 1,350 sq ft bay is on the same order as buying a finished, deeded unit outright.

It means the unit is deeded real property in your name, separate from your house. You can sell it, finance it, or leave it to your heirs independent of anything else you own.

No. The $1,000 / quarter association fee covers shared site costs. Property taxes and your own unit insurance are billed separately and are always additional.

That is exactly the range where ownership starts to make sense, particularly once you count multiple vehicles or a boat and a car together.

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