RV Condominium Resorts Continue to Grow in Popularity across the Country

How would it feel if you sold your campground this year, and next year you learned that the new owners converted it into an RV condominium resort with lots selling for two or three times the price they paid you for it?

That’s exactly why campground owners should know about the advantages of converting their parks into RV condominium resorts.

The average condominium lot in an RV resort sells for about ten times the current seasonal rent price, a price substantially higher than what an business investor would likely pay.

A campground in a popular upper Mid-west location sold last year for $600,000. It’s fully wooded, on water, with nearly 100 full hookup sites and a good seasonal business. Had it been successfully converted and marketed as an RV condominium resort, lots there would have sold for an average of $25,000.

And with a little extra attention to detail and some careful planning for a year or two, it would have worked very successfully!

Growing in popularity across the country, RV condominium resorts are simply campgrounds in which campers have purchased their own camp sites. A new owners association takes over the responsibilities of management.

Besides increased return on investment for the campground seller, there are many other advantages. First, those who love the park the most, the seasonals and regular campers, have an opportunity to buy the park they love at an affordable price.

The dream of campground ownership comes true for hundreds of campers. And when they place their RV or park model trailer on their own site, average families can own a very nice summer or “vacation home” without great cost, without great work, and without great responsibility.

Owned by many campers who love the park, the RV condominium resort will remain in the industry.

And now the new owners can enjoy watching their investment grow in value while enjoying the tax benefits and appreciation of owning real estate instead of renting it.

Usually, when campground owners think of selling and retiring, they often discuss the value of their business with a commercial realtor who looks at the gross, the net, and the capital investment rate.

This can be disappointing especially after working so many hours a week for so many years, probably selling everything to buy the place and investing everything back into it for so long!

The condominium conversion sales approach enables owners of well-run, smaller campgrounds to get their highest return on investment. While not every campground is suitable for this type of conversion, many could be very successfully converted.

Importantly, a campground does not have to be the best park in the state to succeed at this. Nor does it have to offer everything that every other campground offers.

But in order to maximize lot values and velocity of sales, it does have to be the very best it can be-clean, fresh, nicely landscaped, well-managed with quality equipment and amenities throughout.

While some aspects of conversion are relatively easy to accomplish, others require specialized attention. Conversion won’t take place overnight. It takes time to get things ready-documents, marketing plans, and a number of other items.

But campground owners who are thinking of selling in a few years would be wise to look into this concept more thoroughly and to begin planning for this important step.

How you sell your campground could be one of the most important decisions you ever make. And conversion to an RV condominium resort can be incredibly rewarding for everyone involved.

Interested? For information about how David Gorin & Associates can help find out if your park is a candidate for condo conversion and if so, help it become a reality, contact David Gorin at DgorinAssociates@aol.com or by phone at 703 448 6863. David is always available to answer your questions and work with you.