October & November 2007 Newsletter

Newsletter

This issue of the RVParkStore.com Newsletter includes:
  1. Finding and Evaluating RV Parks and Campground Investments, by Dave Reynolds
  2. Special Promotion & RV Park CD Series Coming Soon!
  3. RV Parks and Campgrounds For Sale
  4. Featured Listing
  5. RV Park and Campground Memberships For Sale
  6. RV Park Employment
  7. The Importance of RV Park Signage, by Frank Rolfe
  8. Tell us what you think and send us your articles!
Finding and Evaluating RV Parks and Campground InvestmentsBy Dave Reynolds Of all the questions I receive from investors that are looking to purchase an RV Park or Campground there are two questions that are asked most often:
  1. How do I find an RV Park or Campground deal that makes sense?
  2. How do I place a value on that RV Park or Campground?
These are important questions and there are several ways to find RV Parks and Campground investments and even more ways that one can approach evaluation of that investment.  When I first started in the business about 12 years ago, I spent a lot of money driving across the country looking at listings I found in major newspapers and on the internet.  While this allowed me to see a lot of potential deals, it was a big waste of time and money.  Many times I would get in my car and drive 1,000 miles only to find that the park I was looking at was a complete dump, had unrealistic profit and loss projections, or was already under contract by another investor. I soon realized that it was worthwhile to do a more thorough analysis before visiting the property.  If it passed the initial analysis, then I would try to get an accepted offer and request detailed financials from the seller.  If it still looked good I would schedule a trip to visit the park.  Before implementing this strategy, I was visiting about ten parks for every one I purchased.  Now, that ratio is more like two or three to one and I am not on the road all the time. If the RV Park looks good on paper, get it under contract before spending $1,000.00 in travel and two days to visit it! In order to find a RV Park or Campground that makes sense financially the most important part is to be able to quickly identify and separate the good deals from the bad.  The only way to acquire this skill is to educate yourself on this business (through books and other resources) and start looking at as many RV Park and Campground offerings as you can.  With the availability of information on the internet you can accomplish this task quickly.  Go to www.rvparkstore.com and other internet websites where you can view over a 400 RV Parks for sale. Whether you are a new or seasoned investor in this asset class I would suggest getting the information on as many properties as you can and then put them side-by-side and analyze each one.  You will get an idea of the capitalization rates, expense ratios, occupancy levels, and rental rates for different markets.  You will find prices all over the place but if you invest the time and effort in evaluating deals, you will start to develop an idea of what to look for in terms of price-per-space, how seasonal RV Parks differ from overnight type RV Parks and other important factors. Invest the time in evaluating as many deals as possible and invest the money on properly educating yourself on the business so that you can separate the good deals from the bad and concentrate on those with promise! So where is the best place to find an RV Park or Campground?  The best answer to this question is that you should try as many logical approaches as possible.  As mentioned above, I would suggest you start by checking out the websites that have hundreds of Campgrounds for sale like www.rvparkstore.com and other commercial real estate sites.  There are new parks listed daily on these sites and the best way to utilize these services is to sign up for notification of new properties for sale.  This way you have a better chance of jumping on the good deals before they are available to the general public. About half of the RV Parks that I have purchased came as a direct result of listings on the internet. The next strategy that I would suggest is to start a direct mail campaign to RV Parks that are in the markets and states that you are interested in.  This has accounted for several more of my purchases.  If you obtain a good list of addresses, you can target only those properties in select markets expressing your interest in purchasing an RV Park or Campground. I have experimented with postcards, letters, and even actual purchase contracts and have found that the response is about the same for each of these.  The key has not been in the type of piece but in the frequency of mailing.  I have received many calls from RV Park owners saying that they have received our numerous mailings over the years and are giving us first shot at the park since they know we are a legitimate company.  I actually had one seller pull out a file included over 25 mailings from us.  In another instance I mailed out 1,000 letters to two states expressing our interest in buying Mobile Home and RV parks.  I followed this up about 2 weeks later with the same mailing piece (in error) and found that my response rate was about 100% higher from the second mailing.  So the key with direct mail is in getting a good list to mail to and frequency. There are several other options that I have used with varying degrees of success.  I have listed some of these below.
  • Driving through parks in markets you are interested in and talking with the onsite manager/owner or following up with cold calls or letters to parks that you would be interested in owning.  The advantage of this method is that you see the park before you start any communication with the owner and it will give the owner a level of comfort dealing with someone that made the effort to see the park first.  This works best with an owner that lives onsite and you can meet face-to-face.  I have purchased several parks this way and there are many other parks I still have an open line of communication with the owner that I anticipate purchasing when they are ready to sell..
  • Making cold calls to parks in markets I am interested in.  While this works best when the owner answers the phone, it can be very frustrating.  I have been hung up on many times as have my employees.  However, if you don’t mind the frustrations, this is a viable method of finding potential deals.  Besides being hung up on, the biggest frustration I have had is that you often get the response that anything is for sale at the right price (which is usually more than it is worth).
  • Another option is to stay in contact with real estate brokers that specialize in the sale of RV Parks.  The key here is to stay in constant contact with these brokers in order to get a copy of all of their listings as soon as they receive them.  Before they put the listings on the internet they will send out the information to the buyers they know are serious in hopes of making a quick sale.  You want to be on that list so you get first shot at the good listings.  Once you have a relationship with a broker and especially after you successfully close a transaction with them, they will know that you are a real buyer.  I have one broker that I have purchased three parks from and he knows what I am looking for and contacts me anytime he gets something that fits those criteria.
  • Along with staying in contact with those brokers that specialize in RV Parks and other commercial real estate, you should contact brokers in those specific markets you are looking to buy parks.  Many times these brokers will not have any idea about the internet sites that can help them sell the parks and otherwise do not understand how to value and market mobile home parks.  While many times their listings will be grossly overpriced you will occasionally find those listings that are priced right or even better… under market.
  • Newspapers (online and offline), trade magazines, local and national MLS services, and other websites.
  • Country tax records, banks, appraisers, movers, dealers, and other industry professionals.
The key to locating good potential RV Parks and Campground investments is to be diligent in your search and use whatever methods work best for you.  The best deals are usually found by finding those parks that are the least advertised. So how do I determine what a specific RV Park or Campground is worth? That will be the subject of the next newsletter.

Special Promotion:

Purchase Dave's ebook on How to Buy, Sell, and Operate RV Parks and Campgrounds AND receive the following:

  1. A Listing on RVParkStore.com for 1 full year under the Investors Section. 

    You will be able to display your contact information and property specifications to potential sellers of RV Park and Campground Sellers.  These sellers may not wish to post the property for sale on our website and would rather contact potential investors directly.

  2. Email notification for all new RV Park and Campgrounds for sale that are listed on RVParkStore.com.

    If you are serious about buying an RV Park, then this service will work for you in two ways:

  • You will be constantly reminded of your goal of Purchasing an RV Park
  • You will be one of the first people to see the listings so you do not miss the Perfect Deal!

This service is currently only available to those that purchase my book!
The RV Park CD Series... Coming Soon!

Frank Rolfe and I have just completed our 9th cd on How to Buy, Sell, and Operate RV Parks and Campgrounds.  We are anticipating having the series done in the next couple of weeks.  So watch your email boxes for this great new product that should be available before Christmas! 

RV Parks and Campgrounds For Sale

We currently have over 450 RV Parks for sale and the list is growing daily.  So far this year RVParkStore.com has helped many campground investors find their property and there are several more in the works. 

At last count, there have been over 125 confirmed sales so far this year!

If you are looking to sell your RV Park or Campground you can do so Risk FREE.  Find out more about Selling your RV Park. 

11-28-07Diane,

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR SITE AND SHOW MANCOS COLORADO PARK . NOW CLOSED AND SOLD. LISTED AND SOLD BY ME IN 45 DAYS. LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!

Mike K

--------------------

10-20-07

SOLD! We received many inquires from this ad. Better than any other advertising. Well worth the $50. donation.

Jerry

--------------------

10-16-07 Hello Diane,

Our Park is sold!!!! We want to thank all of the RVPARKSTORE staff who assisted us in listing our ad. The responses were tremendous.., we could barely keep up with them! We would definitely recommend your website to any Park owner looking to sell! Thank you again and again! Now you can put that big red word, "SOLD" over our listing!

Sincerely, Mary & Phil

 --------------------

10-11-07 We have had a good number of replies .. it is a good site. I will be looking on site soon for a replacement RV for myself. Thank you. Harvey
Featured Listing South Central, Texas

51 Spaces, Main Building with Office/Store Large Rec. Hall and Bathrooms, and Cabin$585,000

Baehre Real Estate 830-896-5050

#294 South Central Texas. This under 10 year old park has lots of bang for the buck. 51 large Big Rig Friendly full hook-up sites with 15-30-50 amp electric at every site.
RV Park and Campground Memberships For Sale:

This section of RVParkStore.com is picking up speed.  Memberships are being listed and sold quickly.  With about 150 memberships currently for sale, this continues to be the prime outlet to buy and sell campground memberships. 

Best of all, when you are selling your membership, we do not charge you up front to do so.  You only pay us if you are successful in finding a buyer from RVParkStore.com. 

Find out more about Selling your Campground or RV Park Membership

RV Park Employment Listings:

Are you searching for good quality employees or looking for a position with an RV Park?  Then be sure to visit our ever growing employment listing sections.

All listings in these sections are FREE!

Check out the Help Wanted Section

Check out the Work Wanted Section

Post your FREE Listing Here
The Importance of RV Park Signageby Frank Rolfe

One of the most overlooked improvements you can make to your RV park is professional-quality signage. Good looking signage gives customers a great first impression, and has a real purpose -- giving good information and directions. It’s the amenity that keeps on giving; making your job easier and looking good while doing it.

Many RV park owners don’t want to spend the time or money creating good signage. They are prone to just hand write some letters on a good old piece of plywood and nail it to a tree or lean it up against a wall. Boy, that sure looks good to your customers!

Nobody would disagree that great signage has many benefits to the RV park owner including:

  • Makes a great first, and lasting, impression on your customers, making them feel good about their choice and increasing the odds they’ll come back.
  • Gives the customer accurate instructions on when to check in, where to go etc.
  • Leads to higher appraised value when financing.
  • Can cause the RV park to sell for a higher price to a new owner.

So if we all agree on this, then why would you not have good quality signs in your RV park? Normally it’s money that stands in the way. Here is some ideas on how to improve your signage on the cheap:

  • Make the standard post to hold up all of your signs a 4” x 4” wood post sleeved in white PVC. Then put a nice white PVC cap on the sleeve. This low cost finishing touch makes your old wooden post look great. And the PVC never needs paint. You can even use this trick on any existing 4” x 4”.
  • Convert all your signs to vinyl lettering on painted aluminum. I use white lettering on a forest green aluminum background, but there are many other choices. The key is that the finished product lasts virtually forever and requires no painting or maintenance. And you can get signs like these inexpensively at Kinkos or Fast Signs. They are strong and can be easily attached to almost any surface.
  • Consider putting all of your budget into your entry sign. This is where you make the first impression of your business, and customers may not come in if the sign looks less than professional. For entry signs. I use routed PVC. I chose this because it is permanent, needs no maintenance or painting, an is hard to vandalize. The signs I installed a decade ago look as great today as they did then. And you can choose a color scheme to complement your park and your other signage.

Before you re-paint that old plywood sign, consider the cost of perpetual maintenance and periodic replacement of your poor quality sign against the program I have just outlined. You will soon see that the permanent solution is better financially.

Great signage can mean better sales and greater re-sale value. Invest in good signage, and the dividends will be endless!
Tell us what you think!We'd love to hear what you think of this issue!

We need your articles - send your articles to dave@rvparkstore.com to be included in upcoming newsletters (this is a great place to promote your company for FREE!).

Please send your comments, questions, articles, and ideas for upcoming issues to us at:

dave@rvparkstore.com

Your feedback matters to us!  
Until Next Time,Dave Reynolds RVParkStore.com 18923 Highway 65 Cedaredge, CO 81413 PH: 800-950-1364 FX: 970-856-4883