The RV Park Mastery Podcast

Once you’ve owned your RV park for a while, invariably you will receive a call or letter from someone wanting to buy it from you for more than you paid. Should you take the money? Is there another option? In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore the reasons to sell versus hold on as well as the difference between selling and refinancing your RV park.

Equity Lifestyle (ELS) is a public REIT and the largest owner of RV Parks in the U.S. They recently announced their 2023 earnings and there are some interesting conclusions that can be drawn from them. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore what the ELS financial performance suggests about the future of the industry.

RV Park owners have the benefit of getting paid twice: once with monthly cash flow and then a second time with appreciation in value. So how does this occur and how can you estimate your rate of return with this knowledge? In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore why RV Park owners get paid twice and what this means for your investment success.

You can pay managers a flat rate or include a bonus. But never pay managers with equity in your RV Park. In this RV Park Mastery Podcast we’re going to focus on why giving managers part ownership in your property is never a winning strategy.

Some sellers and brokers will try to convince you that you’re crazy when making an offer – that the property is worth twice that amount. But you’re not the crazy one. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review how RV Parks are valued and why the crazy one is the one that does not follow the math.

There are two givens in life they say: death and taxes. And those tax returns can often be the death of many RV Park deals. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the ins and outs of seller tax returns including what they can tell you about the property as well as what to do when they don’t match what the seller tells you.

Part of bringing an older RV Park back to life – so it can be the best it can be – encompasses making structural repairs and upgrades to the infrastructure and amenities. But ever since Covid the availability of qualified workers is greatly diminished. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review some creative ideas to find workers with the skills you need.

Most of the time you are buying from the original mom and pop builder of the RV park. But sometimes you end up with the next generation – which could not be more different in goals and personalities. So how do you bridge the age gap? In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to give you real-life tips on cutting deals with the heirs.

Of all the important formulas that revolve around RV Park investing, there is one simple fact that explains how the business functions and what makes RV Park investing successful. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review what that fact is and the many ways it applies to the business.

If you have even one vacant space in your RV park then you’re losing potential income and value. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the top five ways to boost any RV park’s occupancy – and all of these are things you can do right now and at very low cost. If you harness these five strategies you can boost your occupancy quickly.

With loan interest rates high and the economy troubled, many RV Park deals are requiring an element of creativity to get finalized. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we're going to review the types of creative thought and strategy that can make deals possible and how to get the seller to be as enthusiastic as you are to embrace their outside-the-box mentality.

If you watch the news right now you will come to the conclusion that the world is coming to an end – which is pretty accurate. Recession is certainly on its way to the U.S. and investments should all be currently graded by their resilience in tough economic times. And one of the best of that group are RV parks, which are well positioned to survive whatever the economy throws at them. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review what makes RV parks a safe bet in both good times and bad.

The standard construction of an RV park purchase contract is for the buyer to put up refundable earnest money, subject to the findings of due diligence and financing. However, some sellers and brokers will float the idea to you of that earnest money being non-refundable on day one. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on this concept and why it’s always a bad idea for the buyer.

Many RV parks are seller financed and the topic of interest rates is always a part of that discussion. So how do you properly set the interest rate on a seller note? In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the necessary steps and strategies to selecting the right rate.

A good manager can really push your business forward – and a bad one can wreck it. And since even good managers can go bad over time, it’s important that you don’t provide your manager with the ability to cause you harm even after you’ve replaced them. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review smart tactics to make sure that you can focus on your business and not the aftermath of a bad employee.

One of the methods to find an RV park is to look at “online” listings –typically on RVparkstore.com or Loopnet.com. But there’s a lot you need to know about how to properly navigate this deal-finding platform. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the basics and give you some tips to be more successful in the online arena.

Seasonal RV parks have a continual challenge: surviving the off-season when revenue can sometimes equal zero. However, there’s a way to balance the off-season out with the addition of park models, allowing people to live full time in the RV park. Additionally, some RV paks that are open year-round can still benefit their revenue stability by adding park model structures. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore the topic of park models and how they can help you attain a more dependable revenue stream.

As the U.S. heads toward a potential recession in the next few months, the logical question is how that economic reality will impact the RV park industry. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on this topic and identify the potential issues to consider. As you’ll see, there’s a lot to consider.

When a seller signs a contract, the general expectation is that they will go through with it. But what do you do when the seller has second thoughts and later wants you to render the agreement null and void? That the focus of this RV Park Mastery podcast, in which we review the options when this circumstance may arise.

Every RV Park in America gets an annual tax bill – but how you approach it makes all the difference. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the normal strategies that are employed to try and address your property tax obligations.

When you’re doing due diligence on an RV Park the worst thing you can do is to make early decisions about whether or not you’re going to go forward with buying it. A good buyer must remain like Switzerland and remain neutral until all of the facts have been explored. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review methods to remain impartial until the appropriate moment to make a final decision.

When looking at buying an RV park, there are three units of mathematical comparison that are the most important: 1) cap rate 2) cash-on-cash, and 3) cash flow. In this RV Park Mastery podcast, we will drill down on what these are, how to calculate them, and what they mean when acquiring an RV park property.

When the seller won’t agree to the amount you think the RV park is worth, is there anything you can do but simply walk away? In this RV Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to examine six different methods you can use to make deals happen even when the seller is originally reluctant to give you the price you need.

There are countless stories of individuals who bought RV parks that were underperforming and made them into huge success stories. But was that triumph because they were lucky or smart? In this episode of the RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to investigate the concepts of “luck” and “skill” to properly identify which is the key ingredient to success.

Sometimes you get an RV Park deal ready to be signed up, but the seller keeps procrastinating. You feel helpless to push them over the top, and it drives you nuts because you’re afraid that another buyer will come along and steal your opportunity. So how can you create seller urgency to propel them forward and get your deal signed? That’s the focus of this RV Park Mastery Podcast.

There is nothing more dangerous to stay on budget with your RV park than the relationship between the manager and contractors. Even the best-planned renovations and property updates can go bad when a manager gets involved in the process. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review how a manager can ruin your budgets – and even create liability – when you let them have a say in what, when, and how a contractor works on your property.

Some RV Park sellers have perfect, computerized financials that you can seamlessly give to lenders. But others have numbers written in crayon and still others are missing the financials altogether. Can you still buy those properties? In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the various scenarios of incomplete financials and the message they send.

We have employed hundreds of managers over the past few decades, and some properties have suffered through two or three manager changes in one year. After you have owned and operated RV parks for a while you start to lose hope that you can make a single hire and that manager will last until you sell the property decades into the future. Yet it happens. In this podcast we try to identify the traits and methods required to attain a “lifetime” manager.

Sam Zell is the largest owner of RV parks in the United States with over 160,000 lots. And he has attained that stature through a heavy focus on risk. Zell sees risk as a tool and the healthy byproduct of taking chances in the pursuit of making money. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore Zell’s views on risk and how to use that concept in making better RV park acquisition decisions.

Every storm cloud has a silver lining, and higher U.S. interest rates can be used as an important lever to obtain desirable seller financing on RV Parks. How does that work? In this RV Park Mastery Podcast we’re going to break down the action steps to convince the seller to carry paper, as well as tips on how to get the job done.

Getting a loan to buy your RV park is an essential part of the business model, unless you are obtaining seller financing. So what really goes on in those bank loan committee meetings and how can you impact that discussion from outside the room? In this episode we’re going to discuss how banking works and what you can do to improve your odds of success.

Buying an RV park typically includes a due diligence period and financing contingency. But what do you do when you can’t meet the timetable spelled out in the contract? In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review constructive steps to successfully obtaining an extension from the seller if that is necessary. In a perfect world everything would fall into place on the promised dates, but the world is not perfect.

Between Hurricane Ian and the Federal Reserve it’s easy to get paralyzed by fear when looking at any RV Park deal – or even simply going to the grocery store. But life must go on. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review decision-making techniques to help reduce your stress and to make better decisions possible on when deals should – or should not – be pursued.

We live in an era of virtual assistants and delegation in the search of the “4-hour work week”. While there are some things you can assign to others, much of what’s needed to make good decisions in RV park investing can only come from your own experiences and information derivation. So what can you outsource and what do you need to actively be involved in? That’s the topic of this RV Park Mastery podcast.

Typically the RV park seller asks more than the property is worth. That’s the American tradition of negotiation. But what do you do when the price is just fine – or even lower than it should be? That’s the focus of this RV Park Mastery podcast in which we’ll review the negotiation playbook when there’s nothing to negotiate.

Not all RV park brokers are good at their job. But sometimes a “bad” broker is actually great for an RV park buyer. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the many reasons why bad brokers may be worth the best thing in your effort to find a good deal to buy.

Before you can buy an RV park you must have a willing seller. But how can you make them sell to you? In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to discuss what motivates a mom and pop RV park owner to sell and what you can do to push that concept forward. Why you can’t control the whole process, there are definitely three actions you can take to improve your odds of success and that’s what we’re going to review.

There’s no purpose to making offers to buy RV parks unless they get countered by the seller. But many RV parks are only deserving of prices much lower than what the seller is demanding. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the art of making low offers without them appearing insulting, with the simple goal to get the seller to share in our vision, counter our offer, and ultimately end up with a signed purchase contract.

We all know the value of bonding with sellers to attain the best prices and terms on an RV park. But what about bonding with lenders? In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to discuss the benefit of building a relationship with your lender and some practical pointers to make that happen.

Many RV park buyers do themselves a disservice by reading books from the “self-help” section of Barnes & Noble related to “how to negotiate”. These books dwell on the negotiation style known as “win/lose”. But there’s a much more effective style that you should adopt that will allow you to forge great deals much easier and often with added benefits like seller financing and this model is called “win/win”. One is consultative in nature and the other adversarial. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review these two very different styles and explain why one is clearly superior.

Virtually every RV park sold in the U.S. revolves around a mortgage. And there is a certain playbook required to successfully get a loan and maintain a good relationship with your lender. In this RV Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to examine the protocol to obtain a loan, build your lender relationship, and retain the loan upon its renewal.

One of the big concerns of RV park buyers and owners is the lack of control over revenues as you never know who will be coming and going on any given day. However, extended stay customers offer you a steady cash flow that can really ease those concerns. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review what extended stay customers are, how to attract them, and how they can give you greater peace of mind.

RV parks come in a wide variety of sizes to fit every budget and goal, but which is the right size for you? In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to examine how the size of the RV park impacts your investment and how to come up with the matrix of considerations to help you make that decision.

We all need friends, but it’s not appropriate to list your RV park manager as one of them. In this RV Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to review how to have a successful relationship with your manager, but only on a business level to maximize profitability and minimize complications.

Every business reaches a moment in which it is better served to seem “corporate” in nature. Is it that time for your RV park? That’s the focus of this RV Park Mastery podcast, in which we’ll explore the benefits and disadvantages of appearing “big” and how to get the most bang for your buck.

One of the hallmarks of great leaders is the ability to discern between what is significant and what is trivial. So what about RV parks is important and what is more minor? That’s the topic of this RV Park Mastery podcast. We’re going to not only go over these items but what the impact would be and how to figure these out in due diligence.

It’s a fact that the #1 fear of Americans is public speaking. It ranks one notch above death, which comes in at #2. With that type of fear permeating all levels of speaking before a strange audience, it only makes sense that cold-calling RV park owners to see if they want to sell would be far outside your comfort zone. But the fact is that cold-calling represents one of the best ways to find an RV park to buy at an attractive price, and without the inclusion of a broker. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review some constructive methods to cure your fear of cold-calling RV park owners.

All RV park deals begin with a signed contract. But before you can have that written agreement, a price must be decided. In this RV Park Mastery podcast we’re going to discuss how to come up with that initial offer and why so many people can’t get the ball rolling in this regard. Too much thought can lead to “paralysis by analysis” and too little can lead to an endless stream of contracts cancelled and time wasted.