Current Events > I'm excited, I will be visiting a campground tomorrow I am interested in buying.

(+) Yeah! (+)

80/80

20 acres, $1.8M, lake frontage, quick numbers after all expenses would make >$100k first year based on 2017 actuals. Current permit allows expansion up to 60 more units (currently 40 units). Includes a building with 4 spaces rented out, a house that is rented out, and 2 apartments that are unrented (I would live in the larger and try to find someone willing to work 2 days a week for a studio apartment with a great lake front view.

It is in a great location just off I5, has wonderful mountain views and great recreation in the area. Over 500k people visit the area annually and have great traffic right off I5 as well.

No pics, if I buy I don't want angry shut-ins knowing what campground it is.
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Bump!
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nice find. how much will you put down?
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minimum $650k. if i can sell my house before it closes, another $150k or so (would be doing a $250k cash out HELOC, have at least $400k in equity). Also I have an aunt and uncle who may invest. They are looking to invest $500k-$1M into something that will generate expected returns basically for the duration of their retirement. Conceptually they are ok with first 5 years deferring payment and with subsidized interest in exchange of a small equity stake. No payments first 5 years, 0% interest first 2 years, 4% years 3 and 4, 8%* year 5, payments at 8% start year 6, loan for 20 years, and for $1M would get 10% stake. But it all depends on the property. The key is cash flow so improvements for further cash flow early are important so I can buy additional properties as soon as possible.

*8% is a nominal figure, actual interest rate would be whatever I can manage to get approved for with a bank.
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Nice. That's a lot of property for that price tag. It'll probably be more work than you expect. And more investment in tools than you expect. But I think you'll do well.
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right now its 100% long term rentals which is pretty low effort from what I am reading. but the money is in daily/overnights. $500 a month or $50 a day. I would probably stay working until I get laid off in October since that comes with a $25k check and then start working it full time. My parents aren't too far from it, like 40 minutes, and they are retired and willing to do the daily operations except when on vacation until october.
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imagine what u could do with all that space!
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What can you tell us about the people selling it?
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Grats. Sounds like a deal. Back when I was younger some friends and I wanted to do buy a place like that, and just chill but it never wound up happening.
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DarkChozoGhost posted...

What can you tell us about the people selling it?

She is a real estate agent and investor. She said she spends about 5-10 hours a week (busiest week is first week of the month) managing it today. She is selling to buy a larger campground because her business partner backed out.
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KILBOTz posted...

No pics

:(
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have fun working til ur 70

damn, rich guy
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I can only wish to be fiscally sound enough one day to make investments like that.
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chill02 posted...

KILBOTz posted...

No pics

:(

I'll take pics this afternoon, just don't want anyone to be able to reverse image search it.
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how much would you lose per year if there's a recession and you can't find any tenants?

KILBOTz posted...

chill02 posted...

KILBOTz posted...

No pics

:(

I'll take pics this afternoon, just don't want anyone to be able to reverse image search it.

you can PM them to me, I won't tell e_e
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CharlesBronson posted...

have fun working til ur 70

I am expecting 20 years of hard, hands on work and by then with no further debt I would easily be able to hire people. The plan is to buy multiple campgrounds eventually.

Orthopox12 posted...

I can only wish to be fiscally sound enough one day to make investments like that.

I'm 35 and I've been a good saver since I was a kid. And I am making a good income now. So takes time and initial capital.
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CharlesBronson posted...

how much would you lose per year if there's a recession and you can't find any tenants?

Campgrounds are pretty recession resistant. The largest group of RV owners are retired. But there would be about $200k in annual expenses. This particular campground has been at 95%+ capacity since the current owner bought it. It would have to be a long term depression I think for it to be hurting me.
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until jason vorhees shows up
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weekoldhotdog posted...

until jason vorhees shows up

Yeah what a dick driving down property value like that.
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Wow that's great! I'm jealous.
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What area TC? North or south of Seattle?
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sktgamer_13dude posted...

What area TC? North or south of Seattle?

South

So just got back. Number of negatives but quite a few positives.

So biggest negatives:
property isn't actually on the lake. there is a hwy between the lake and the property.
of the 20 acres about 5 of it is wetlands that can't be developed.
the remaining 10 acres that is undeveloped but can be developed is hilly and would need to be terraced and leveled to get new spots. This would be space ineffective since pull through sites are desired so I would probably only be able to have a single row of RVs on each terrace which is inefficient for pull through site design. I.e. 1 row needs 2 roads, 2 rows needs 3 roads, 3 rows needs 4 roads, etc.
The current development was not done with the future in mind. For instance, they have 5 septic drainage fields instead of a single large one. The drainage fields are also in some of the areas that would need to have excavation/leveling work done so I would need an engineer to actually plan out the leveling/terracing.
No amenities. No put-put golf, no rec room with pool table, no horse shoes even.

Positives:
Currently at 100% capacity.
Great location
I would love to live there
It is a turn key operation from a business perspective. I could actually own this and still work a full time job.

Other consideration:
Since it is at 100% capacity, both for the RV park and the retail space, only opportunity for income increase is to raise rents. But I can't imagine people paying more without any amenities. I actually in some ways would need to price the current clientele out. It is a bit trailer park feeling. Lots of cars not running with tall grass underneath.
Currently 1 of the retail tenants (kayak rentals) has business I want. The dock has a great place to store kayaks, have them rent in store and the kayaks locked up, give them a key and send them on their way.
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Dibs on the studio and 2 day a week job
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solosnake posted...

Dibs on the studio and 2 day a week job

If I go through with this one I may actually have a better proposition.

I would rather have a park manager on-site. Job requirements: Walk the park multiple times a day. Driving the park may be acceptable too. Like 8 AM, 12 PM (drive?), 4 PM(drive?), 8 PM. Enforce rules. Estimated trip, 15 minutes unless issue is spotted. Collect rent once a month. Estimated time, 2 hours. Call me if any big issues arise.

I would be there on weekends.

Additionally, if you want to own your own business and rent space from me, that can be arranged. I.e. if you want to start your own coffee stand, I could do the initial investment for either a stake in the company or treat it as a business loan with competitive rates. I also have about 1000 square feet of good retail space that could be turned into a convenience store. Same deal, I could pay for remodel, initial inventory, etc. all to your specifications with help from me (as much as needed for set up, I could essentially build a turn key convenience store for you).
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Did you take any pics while you were there?
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It is a lot of work.

Not to mention keeping up with ever-changing state laws about that kind of place.

But the reward is it's yours.
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solosnake posted...

Did you take any pics while you were there?

No, it was a real fixer upper and had a low end trailer park feel. I should have taken a few pictures none the less but I think I was less than enthused from the second I stepped on the park.

I don't think this is the one for me. If it was on the other side of the highway it would be worth it, current model would allow me to build it into a nicer resort type campground. But this isn't the one for me.
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And random question, any game that is a campground simulator? Or any rollercoaster tycoon type games which also has housing? Or like a trailer park simulator?
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Why not invest all that cash into funds that give 7 to 10 percent per year and just let the interest build up?

I've been considering starting my own software company and working at it full-time. Already got a prototype in the works, just been hesitant to pull the trigger due to my full-time job. I might be interested in teaming up with you here. Living rent free and managing all of that stuff you mentioned for two days a week sounds good to me, as it'd give me a lot of free time to just work on my app.
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Real estate is a good way to leverage debt since it is lower risk. So really what I am looking for is a business that in 5 years would let me buy another business which in 3 years which would let me buy another one in 2 years, which would then let me buy one at 1 per year, for a few years, etc. Each time additional value streams are providing more revenue without me personally having to invest anymore.

I really liked what this guy did for some of his tenants having them work for rent. In general I like the idea of raising rents but giving out the work of managing everything to tenants for 2 2 hour shifts a week at whatever they are good at or capable of doing. Have a weed eater, a lawn mower, mail delivery, etc. Make it feel more like a community. Those that don't work pay more. And I don't have to pay wages, though I may need to take out L&I policies. Additional discounts up to free rent for more work or highly valued work are available. I.e. maintenance guy may be only working 10 hours a week but he is 24/7 on call, but he gets free rent.
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So I learned last night that a self storage facility I was interested in a few months back that was under contract has fallen through. The seller wants to sell with the house and finance himself (my parents know him and think he said 4% interest if the house is bought with the storage facility).

House is 3000 square feet, 2 car attached garage, 3 car detached with shop, big enough for a 32' RV with tall door. Also detached cottage building.

Business is cash flowing $178k a year, looks like the rates are about 20-25% too low. And its less than 10 miles from where I grew up. No room for further development without building taller, which isn't worth it.

But with this job I would be able to get a second job. Maybe become a real estate agent or something? This job I will just get a rental kiosk to put outside and I will only have to open the office when I have vacancies, which the owner told my parents last for less than a week.

Or I might get at roommate, give him the rental office to work out of for whatever they want so long as they answer the 5 phone calls a day saying we have no vacancy and tells the 3 people that come in a day that here is no vacancy.

I would probably have to do it for a couple of months to make see what it is really like but it does seem low maintenance.
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Another fairly popular use for large campgrounds is hosting music festivals, there are certainly options for that in the Seattle area/Pacific Northwest in general but a lot of the popular destinations actually aren't very close to Seattle proper. Sasquatch is in george which is hours away

though with you referring to it as a trailer park and having permanent tenants, probably not viable for you. it is more typical of grounds that are underutilized during the rest of the year so probably not the kind of thing you're looking for.
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yeah i had thought of it as an opportunity. i am looking for more campground and less trailer park, one of the reasons i didn't want this one. mostly i need a large space and a decent starting point. part of why i am thinking of becoming a real estate agent while owning another business so I have first look at opportunities.
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