I have been looking for a campground to buy for the last year. I have quite a few of the websites that list campgrounds for sale but I'm wondering where other owners found their campgrounds to purchase? Did you deal with a lot of sellers before you found the right one? How firm was the seller on price? Did they get their pricing from a real estate agent? The reason I ask this is, I have been dealing with a few agents who don't seem to know how to valuate the properties.
To steal a quote "you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince.". You just have to dig and dig and dig to find parks that are realistically priced. There are a lot of parks listed for sale where the sellers are just plain dreaming when it comes to sales price. The best advice I can give is if you like a particular park, make a fair offer and be prepared to walk away. I usually present my offer with the background of how I arrived at that valuation. That being said, most of the time you will be met with a resounding "NO WAY". No law required a seller to sell at a fair price and conversely no law requires you to pay more for a park than it is worth.
Buying/selling RV parks is no different than buying/selling cars as far as the process goes. The buyer and seller each arrive at a price, and then the "fun" begins. The seller's job is to get the most money possible for his property, and the buyer's job is to get the property for the least amount possible. Somewhere between the two starting prices is a point that will be acceptable for both parties. Note I said "acceptable", not necessarily "satisfactory". The key on the buyer's side is to never fall in love with a potential purchase, making it much easier to walk away from a poor deal. In general, the longer the property has been on the market, the better your bargaining position will be...
Most people in the real estate business do not have a clue how to price or market a RV campground. Many of the folks who are in the specialized campground brokerage business have the knowledge, it seems, but are few and far between. I do have a campground for sale and would be happy to discuss with you. PM for details.
I used Resorts International to sell mine. http://www.resortsinternationalna.com/index.php When it comes to valuation, what really matters is cash flow that can be proven. These folks can walk you through the process to find a park based on the Cap Rate.
I have read a lot of useful information on Wikipedia about camping and all around this. Found some interesting devices for camp. Maybe someone wants to help me with building a camp?
