All Forum Posts by: Belinda Lopez

Hi Rick,  yes, Tiny Homes are considered RVs in most cases - unless they are built on a solid foundation.  A great place to start your research is municode.com to figure out what ordinances might be involved in your area.  Even if it is not in an incorporated city, it might be under the nearest cities ETJ - Extra Territorial Jurisdiction and you'd have to follow the same rules.  Next up in the County rules and building codes and then the State.

Texas has pretty strict rules on OSSFs (On-Site Sewer Facilities) that limits septic tanks to one per acre for Mobile Homes.  You have more options if there is municipal water & sewer then you can do up to 7 MHP or 20 RVs per acre.  

I'll send you my eBook, So You Want to Build an RV Park as I cover all that in more detail in there.

Looking forward to your progress!

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Whether you're a novice investor or have tons of experience in another investing area, this course can help you make your first buy/partner/lend/pass decision. I quickly discovered that the rules for other types of real estate investments simply don't apply to RV Parks. I've seen Wholesalers try to move Parks that are priced so high no one could make a profit on them. Whether you want to invest actively or passively, we have the info you need to make your first investment. Don't let others' opinions stop you from making huge returns simply because they don't understand this business model. We've even seen experienced investors pass on some great Park opportunities because they didn't want to take the time to understand why RV Parks make such great returns. Don't let that happen to YOU!

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Hi Darron, Yes, we have a community of Facebook!  Almost 1300 members right now.  I just released a new course on RV Park investing and also have an eBook on Building an RV Park.  

RV Parks are currently lumped under Mobile Home Parks on most real estate sites but we definitely need our own forum.  Maybe we can petition Bigger Pockets to give us our own forum?  I'm glad to help moderate.

Does the park have any extra land?  you could split the vacant land away from the park and put the main loan on the Park then take out an equity loan for the land to use as your down payment for the Park.

Private money will work but you need to convince someone to do a very risky loan as they will be in 2nd position.  Your bank may not even allow it.  Most will only loan 70% and they want you to have some skin in the game.

Other options are for equity partner or Joint Venture partners.  You would be the lead but then sell them shares/equity in the park and they would get a preferred return on their ownership. For example at $300k needed, sounds like the overall purchase price is around $1mm. The limited partner would bring the $300k to the deal but get 30% of the property or company/entity that owns the property.  Their return is not guaranteed so you will need to show that the park is going to be bringing them a return of at least 7? 8? 10% or more over time.

You could also buy with all private money as the hard money loan will either be based on the appraisal value or the sales price.  

Does the Seller have good financial records?  Would the Seller be willing to owner finance?  would they take back the 2nd given that they will be given 70% cash at Closing?

You can start the commercial refi process immediately once closed and you have your own books and info.  It sounds like a slow turnaround so your options may be a bit more limited.  Good luck!

Satellite and your own tower may be the only option if you're not near any city service areas. I'm researching this right now as well for some remote RV Parks we are looking to build.

Why is the Seller selling?  retiring?  I get the declining population but with that poverty rate - sounds like there is and will always be a need for affordable housing for that segment. Will they owner finance? do they have good financial records? they usually don't on Parks like this.

I have an eBook on building an RV Park you might want to check out. Is the Park going to be a "Man Camp" type park going after the Oil worker boom?  or are you looking for a longer term, prettier Park?

Lots of variables around this since Midland can get very hot and very cold thus driving up electric rates in those extreme months.  If you're going after workers, they sometimes clear out in December and January so be aware of the possible lapse in cashflow.

Building can be anywhere from$12k to $25k more per space from permitting to being rent ready.  Utilities are the long pole in the mix as getting water and then getting rid of it is the issue.  We've run into many cases where the local Water provider could not service a new Park and a new Well could take 8 or more months to get through the permitting process - IF they approve it.  If you need to do septic for every acre of park you'll be setting aside an almost equal amount for the septic.  i.e.  a 14 acre park with 7 acre of RV lots would need from 5-7 acres for your septic field.  That's not taking into account roads, drainage, overhead or underground power lines, etc.  Check municode.com to see what the ordinances are for your area.

Sounds like an an interesting project!  Keep us updated.  Contact me if you want to talk more .

Sounds like it good be a good deal. $55k NOI means at $550k that's a 10% cap rate. You've got to back out repairs and the homes are of no monetary value. In fact you may end up finding that they cost you more to keep maintained and rented. Either replace them or owner finance them out.

Even though it 8 per acre zoning wise, that doesn't take into account roads and other required setbacks, parking, etc..  What are the other parks in the area charging for lot rent?  is this one below market?

With owner financing I'd offer $250k as you're going to need some funding to do repairs and upgrade the apartments.  That's a small number to manage so you probably wouldn't need a full-time manager - are you self-managing?

Interesting little deal. Curious to see how it plays out.

Hi, yes!  Even wrote an entire eBook on this topic and now releasing a course on RV Park Investing.  This is a great and growing niche!  Building from scratch it the #1 question I get about RV Parks and there are definitely Pros and Cons.  It can be difficult to get permits and can take up to two years to get your first guests.  But it's TOTALLY Doable!

I've been asked this so much that we're now working with a group of investors to help others invest and to possibly build some new RV Parks.

Btw - as an investor, I focus more on the non-pretty Parks that are more like Mobile Home Parks but also now interested in the resort/pretty parks.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Permitting will be the biggest challenge
• Utilities - is there water available, wastewater options?  septic or municipal?
• Engineering - you'll need an engineer to lay it all out and help with permits
• Materials and Construction costs will vary
• Up North - winters can cause delays - will this be a seasonal park?
• Amenities -which ones will you have.

There is no hard and fast costs to build from scratch as it is going to vary greatly.  From a low of $12k to $25k or more on higher-end parks. A good site I use for research is municode.com to find out all the local regulations we might encounter and if there are specific building standards for Parks.  Some get really into the weeds like being very specific on fencing (height & type) as well as road park lighting and minimum spacing.  

Good luck and contact me for more info. Always happy to talk about RV Parks!

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