West Baton Rouge RV Park (man camp in close proximity to Dow Chemical - Plaquemine)

[Adam Campo]

Investment Info:

Mobile home hard money loan investment.

Purchase price: $1,450,000
Cash invested: $2,000,000
Sale price: $2,300,000

Letter for bank financing:

"Dear Debbie,

We would like to apply for a construction loan to fund a project that we are currently finalizing our construction plans for. The project is 300+ lot RV park that is located outside of the city limits of Addis at the intersection of Hwy.1148 and Charles Ory Road (about two miles from Dow Chemical on the West Baton Rouge side of the West Baton Rouge/Iberville Parish line). The park will serve as housing for the surrounding chemical plants, and we are confident that it will be successful since there is very little short term housing on that side of the Mississippi River. In addition to the allure that this project possesses in terms of return on investment, the West Baton Rouge Parish Council has made it even more attractive by revising its criteria for applying for RV zoning immediately after granting us what we needed. Due to this, it is less likely that we will have to compete with any new parks in West Baton Rouge in the near future.

As for the construction of the park, the plans will be put out for bid as a negotiated job upon completion, and we will be using a third party, general contractor to perform the work. We will require workman’s compensation, general liability, builders risk, and a performance bond from any company that wishes to bid. We will choose our general contractor based upon reputation, references from my own commercial construction contacts (I have held a LA State - Building Construction license since 2001), their solvency, then finally their proposed bid. We prefer talent and organization over a cheap price. However, we will not let a good contractor take advantage of that. I have spent a great deal of time operating in the construction industry as a company owner, and I know the processes and challenges that come with the job. After twenty years of running projects, we have completed every job we have undertaken (even the painful ones) and we have never had any loan payment issues. Given my background, I feel confident that we will have no issues with completing the project on time and under budget.
We have begun the interviewing process already, so we will have several contractors to choose from. Whoever finances the project can rest assured that we will make good decisions in that regard.

The management of the park will be handled by the property management division of Adam Campo Real Estate {Limited liability company established in 2006/Managing countless properties professionally (as a sole proprietor) since 1999}, and we will be employing a full time on-site manager. We have several qualified people who have already requested an employment application. As for the manager I hope to hire, we plan to build him a house attached to the on-site office that will accommodate him, his wife, and his mother in law who are to serve as relief for him as needed. That way the park will never be left unattended.

We will have heavy surveillance with video cameras on 30 foot poles in multiple locations. This will help to minimize legal liability and any concerns that could arise regarding employee theft (We plan to retroactively count the RV rooftops present at noon each recorded day (every 30 days), and compare it to the park management software/bank statements as a system of checks and balances. The video web portal will be made available to each of our partners. We feel this will lead to peace of mind for everyone involved."

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Very profitable

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Concept has been proven across the street.

How did you finance this deal?

Bank financing was facilitated but not finalized due to deaths of partners.

How did you add value to the deal?

Zoning change and a lot of design an lobbying.

What was the outcome?

Zoned, planned, and approved project on all fronts.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Water to the site was a challenge that has been overcome.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Jim Pergurson at Home Bank was very helpful. He approved the project, but we postponed the project start as previously stated.