RV Park Investment Articles

Owning an RV park can be a great experience, but just like any endeavor there are risks to consider. Despite the strongest RV sales in U.S. history – and many more years of strength projected – there are things to be concerned about. So what do RV park owners worry about? And how do they protect against these issues?

RV parks have been around for 100 years, but they have only been subjected to the Covid-19 pandemic for a couple months. And in just that short amount of time there are some observations that are of importance to both current owners of RV parks as well as potential buyers. So what are some of the opportunities and problems presented by Covid-19 regarding RV park investing?

The average RV owner in the U.S. plans on hitting the road two weeks per year. Yet there are many customers that plan on 52 weeks and have not home other than their RV. Indeed, the RV park industry is seeing new forces for permanent housing in addition to temporary residency. So what are these new occupancy sources and what will the impact be on the RV park industry?

As winter ends, it’s time to get ready for the prime part of the year for RV park owners: spring and summer. This is when most of your revenue will be derived and you will be very busy. Proper preparation is key. So what do you need to do to get ready for the new season?

America is enthralled with the concept of “living small” and tiny home programs have taken over HGTV. So how does this related to RV parks? Few people realize that the only legal place where a tiny home can exist in most cities is inside an established RV park.

There are around 9 million RVs on the road in the U.S. – a huge number. But there are also those who want to stay in RV parks but do not own a recreational vehicle. And this market is growing as a larger percentage of Millennials enter this space. So what are the options?

Although commercials abound promising you vast wealth with certain stock choices, the fact of the matter is that traditional investing is a financial death sentence if your goal is financial independence. The odds are simply stacked against you.

Lighting has long been an important asset to any RV park. But solar lighting is a new invention that is proving to be an extremely cost-effective way to improve the appearance and safety of your property. So what is achievable with solar lights in your RV park?

RV sales are at an all-time high in dollars of revenue, and RV park occupancy has never been higher. It’s been this way, year after year, for over a decade. So that begs the question “has the RV park industry ever had a recession?”

We saw this article in a popular magazine recently, bragging about the possibilities to earn 2% interest on your investments. Seriously? How in the world can you get anywhere with your finances at 2%? Let’s take this opportunity to review the basic numbers on a typical RV park deal, to compare them to the 2% available in most traditional investment options today.

Records written in purple crayon on loose-leaf paper. Revenues in cash kept in a metal box. These are all things that we’ve seen in RV park due diligence. And they can cause real problems in trying to obtain debt to buy an RV park or even instill the confidence needed to make a legitimate offer. So what do you do when the seller does not have good “books” – any “books” at all?

There are few products in America that have become so beloved by the media as the Recreational Vehicle. From coast to coast there is nothing but continued respect and appreciation for the RV as both a product as well as a lifestyle choice. And this reach cuts across all media types, from hot rod magazines to upscale fashion catalogs. So why are RVs so visible in U.S. media and what does it mean for the RV park industry?

Timing is everything. Just asked anyone who bought Apple stock for $5 a share, or sold their house in 2006. One of the most important aspects to investing is simply timing. So why is the timing right for buying RV parks right now – the best it’s ever been? There are many reasons.

The media is awash in concepts to fund your retirement. There’s infomercials for “reverse mortgages” and discount brokerage from Schwab so you can trade stocks. Then there’s the advertisements for Exxon that suggest investing in the old industry will pay big dividends. But when you sort through the hype, you’ll see the absurd reality of what they’re saying. If you amassed even $1 million in cash in your account – whether at Schwab or Bank of America – you’d only earn maybe 1% to 3% in anything better than a junk bond, and that would yield a whopping $30,000 per year. And even if you withdrew $100,000 from your account, you’d be broke in 10 years. So how can you build a retirement that pays $100,000+ per year with no limitation or end date? The answer: one good RV park. So how would that work?

When I bought my first RV park, it was a very unusual deal construction. Since the property was in poor condition – and the seller very motivated – I was able to get him to agree to the following terms: $400,000 sales price, $10,000 down payment, and the seller would carry $390,000 for 30 years. I was immediately hooked on seller financing. My next five deals were also seller financed. I had never heard of that type of lending before, and the benefits were immediately obvious to me. So how can you buy an RV park using seller financing?

Perhaps the ultimate deal is the one that you buy with no money down. Real estate investors consider this the Holy Grail - the "hole-in-one" of RV parks purchasing. We've done this twelve times over the past two decades. So how do you buy an RV park with no money down?

When it comes to investing, most people look only at the numbers. But RV park owners enjoy dividends that stretch beyond simple economics. They can gain personal rewards that are equally as impressive as their financial benefits. So why do RV parks have a higher return than just money?

Marcus Lemonis is the star of the hit show “The Profit”, but most people don’t realize that he made his fortune in the RV industry. From 2001 to 2003 he served as CEO of Holiday RV Superstores Inc. Following that, he co-founded a company called Freedom Roads and began acquiring RV dealerships. In 2006, the company merged with Camping World and then with Good Sam Enterprises, with Lemonis serving as CEO. For his efforts, RV Business Magazine named Lemonis "Newsmaker of the Year" in 2007 for having “more impact on the industry than any [other] single individual or company in recent memory as an agent of change and retail consolidation”.

With 10,000 baby boomers retiring per day, there has never been more demand for RVs and the retirement lifestyle of traveling America in an RV. And with more RVs on the road (currently over 8 million of them), they all have to have a place to park for the night - or head for a destination. Many Americans are taking advantage of this demand by buying RV parks as an investment. But how do you successfully buy an RV park?

Do you enjoy people? Do you like being outdoors? Do you like being your own boss? If the answer is "no", then buying an RV Park is the worst thing that you could do. If you answered "yes", then read on and learn more about owning an RV Park.

Many people live out their lives without really enjoying their work. Then they retire and try to enjoy their final years, but really spend all their time fretting if their retirement savings will hold out. What if you could combine investing your savings with having the time of your life? Well, you can. And here's how to do it.

When most people think of investing in real estate, they always think of single-family homes. Since most of us own a house, we feel like we have a pretty good handle on evaluating them and spotting a winner from a loser. But the problem is that everyone thinks that! As a result, you have so many people chasing houses that there is no profit in any of them.

There are over 8,000,000 RV owners in the U.S. And they all have to stay somewhere. But that's no excuse for not treating every single one as though they are the most important customer in the world. That kind of attitude will propel you to the top of the pile in RV park owners - and reward you with outstanding occupancy and cash flow.

Many investors are considering buying RV parks as not only an investment, but as a lifestyle choice. With millions of Americans approaching retirement, a very fundamental concept is combining one's retirement years with one's investment objectives - and this often points to an RV park as the best of both worlds.

For some reason, many people put down the concept of "buying a job" when investing in real estate. Of course, those same people don't consider spending $200,000 to get a law degree "buying a job" as an attorney. Or $400,000 to "buy a job" as a doctor. Every kid in college today is spending $40,000 to $200,000 "buying a job" for when they get out (if they can find one). So why should real estate be different?