Campgrounds Selling and Taking Profits?

[Lt Keefer]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

The option is you can buy the campground and charge what you want and manage it the way you want.

If you don’t own it it’s none, repeat, none of your business what the owner does.

Adapt and overcome!

Amen, amen. We live in a market economy. The only risk a consumer takes is the initial purchase. The business owner has to deal with all the risks.

[EA37TS]

On thing that crosses industries is in today’s environment the family doesn’t want to continue the family business when mom and pop want to get out. The business gets sold to the highest bidder and in one case I know of first hand 80 years of customer service comes to an end and the community is now subjected to some conglomerate that doesn’t give a squat about community relations.

Heck, look at all the family owned RV dealers selling out. It’s no different.

[mgunnin]

Originally Posted by Scubawise

My God you are not on the beach for that money
We go to Corpus Christi park Padre Island $7 day ..20 feet from beach

That is correct that they pay that kind of $ to own not just rent and may one day run into what this was all about. Losing the ability to go some where.
Let see you buy in one of the best places to spend your winters and not only regain all of your $ you make a profit. The Northerns and Canada's think it is great.
Properties go up for sale and are purchased with a day or two.
Perhaps that see and understand an investment while enjoying it.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by mgunnin

That is correct that they pay that kind of $ to own not just rent and may one day run into what this was all about. Losing the ability to go some where.
Let see you buy in one of the best places to spend your winters and not only regain all of your $ you make a profit. The Northerns and Canada's think it is great.
Properties go up for sale and are purchased with a day or two.
Perhaps that see and understand an investment while enjoying it.

My parents came to Cape Coral, FL when they retired 25 years ago. They were paying $3000 - $4000 a month to rent a house. They started coming down from Pittsburgh one month a winter, then two months, then three. I started coming down a week in the winters about 20 years ago. I decided this is where to spend winters in retirement but I wasn't paying that kind of money to rent.

I almost bought in 2004 - 2006 when real estate was skyrocketing but glad I didn't. In 2010 when the market in Florida hit rock bottom, I bought a 6 year old carriage home in foreclosure for $190K. I knew at that time I would never be able to buy real estate in southwest Florida that cheap again.... certainly when I was going to retire in 10 - 15 years from then. My neighbor across the street just sold their's for $600K in January in less than 3 days.

I was still working and traveling a lot when I bought so I let my parents start staying at my place only having to pay the utilities when they stayed. They would spend 5 - 6 months here before my dad passed.

A Westin Resort Hotel in my community has rooms for $600 - $800 a night. The Hilton and Marriott Resorts ocean front on Marco Island are $1000 a night right now.

Real Estate here is on fire and I'm glad I had the foresight and resources to buy a place in Cape Coral in 2010. I retired in January at 58 and I would not have wanted to spend $600K to buy now. In 5 years or so we will probably sell the coach. I saved up enough miles and points from traveling for 30 years that we can then travel for low costs once we are done with the coach.

[lwmcguir]

Our primary home value and property tax increased in March 18.9%

Other properties had significant increases as well.

Entertainment and travel plus food and utilities all up significantly

We have created Trillions of dollars on the computer that have led to inflation

How can all this be sustainable without a huge correction?

RV sales are still up although i see less on the road currently in the Midwest

Another new campground is under development near our lake house although the neighborhood is fighting it

Travel and enjoy while you can afford it

Lets hope for a soft landing and as Warren Buffet does, keep a cash reserve

[Judge]

Originally Posted by lwmcguir

Our primary home value and property tax increased in March 18.9%

Other properties had significant increases as well.

18.9%...... Ouch!

One thing that attracted me to Florida was their Homestead Tax Laws preventing property taxes from being raised so high it prices people.... especially retirees...... out of their homes.

Since I purchased in 2010 and became a Florida resident, my property value has tripled but my property taxes have basically stayed the same.

[ericmac450]

Originally Posted by Judge

My parents came to Cape Coral, FL when they retired 25 years ago. They were paying $3000 - $4000 a month to rent a house. They started coming down from Pittsburgh one month a winter, then two months, then three. I started coming down a week in the winters about 20 years ago. I decided this is where to spend winters in retirement but I wasn't paying that kind of money to rent.

I almost bought in 2004 - 2006 when real estate was skyrocketing but glad I didn't. In 2010 when the market in Florida hit rock bottom, I bought a 6 year old carriage home in foreclosure for $190K. I knew at that time I would never be able to buy real estate in southwest Florida that cheap again.... certainly when I was going to retire in 10 - 15 years from then. My neighbor across the street just sold their's for $600K in January in less than 3 days.

I was still working and traveling a lot when I bought so I let my parents start staying at my place only having to pay the utilities when they stayed. They would spend 5 - 6 months here before my dad passed.

A Westin Resort Hotel in my community has rooms for $600 - $800 a night. The Hilton and Marriott Resorts ocean front on Marco Island are $1000 a night right now.

Real Estate here is on fire and I'm glad I had the foresight and resources to buy a place in Cape Coral in 2010. I retired in January at 58 and I would not have wanted to spend $600K to buy now. In 5 years or so we will probably sell the coach. I saved up enough miles and points from traveling for 30 years that we can then travel for low costs once we are done with the coach.

That's awesome! I was in my 20's but I was trying to find a house for investment in the 2008-ish time range in the Destin area. I wish I could have found something that fit my budget at the time. It would have been worth a fortune now! I was going to do the same thing, let my Mom live in it until I was able to move when ready.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by Judge

18.9%...... Ouch!

One thing that attracted me to Florida was their Homestead Tax Laws preventing property taxes from being raised so high it prices people.... especially retirees...... out of their homes.

Since I purchased in 2010 and became a Florida resident, my property value has tripled but my property taxes have basically stayed the same.

Same here...I used to make fun of blue hairs...now, proud to be one. Florida is the bomb!! They know how to attract and keep people with money!

[FloridaFlyer]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

On thing that crosses industries is in today’s environment the family doesn’t want to continue the family business when mom and pop want to get out. The business gets sold to the highest bidder and in one case I know of first hand 80 years of customer service comes to an end and the community is now subjected to some conglomerate that doesn’t give a squat about community relations.

Heck, look at all the family owned RV dealers selling out. It’s no different.

What is the name of the conglomerate?

It's rare in today's world for large corporations--especially publicly traded ones--to "...[not] give a squat about community relations".

Look at how Disney's actions in Florida have backfired--soon, the Reedy Creek Improvement District will be dissolved and Woke Disney World will fall under the purview of Orange County.

The publicly traded firm for whom I work provides us 40 hours a year of time off for service work. Take a week and give back.

Kelly

[EA37TS]

Topic of the thread is campgrounds selling out and not Florida’s real estate. Back on topic or the thread will be closed.

[lwmcguir]

Back on topic

The new Campground under construction is between the two bought out by a group from the Eastern US a little over a year ago. The new campground is on private property about .5 miles from a State Campground and Marina

Original owners sold at a nice price however both properties are on Army Corp ground so they are long term leased

Rumor was early on they would become KOA however the only big change was the Lippert component store addition

[Judge]

Everything is cyclical.....

This industry will hit a large correction as the rest of the economy corrects. With higher fuel prices and higher campground prices, people who didn't add up all of the expenses associated with owning will sell their RV's or use them much less as inflation hits other parts of their lives harder.

I think we will see more open spaces in campgrounds in the second half of the year. The companies buying some of these campgrounds may see their value go down as what people will be willing to pay starts to drop based on supply and demand.

I'm already seeing a lot of RV dealers with plenty of inventory sitting on lots and I am hearing about less people buying or unable to find something.

[Capt.Tom]

This is not something new, and it might even be the same owners just changing the brand. If the new company is giving them a better deal than a KOA franchise.
I can't count the number of previously branded KOA that I recognize by the little A-frame at the office that are something else now. It's almost a game to see what old Campground used to be a KOA.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by 71_340

We have yet to use a privately owned campground/RV park. Locally we use a state-owned park.

When we travel we use RV parks on military bases (always safe, clean and rules are enforced), federal parks or state parks.....in that order. On the way to our destination it's Walmart for overnight (always call ahead to make sure it's allowed).

I can use my Access card in all those locations and get a discount on the already relatively low price. I guess I am a cheapskate but it sure works for us and we can spend our money on other things.

Originally Posted by EA37TS

You cannot use your access card for military bases.

FamCamps are for certain folks and are not open to the general public.

What are you calling an "Access card"

The Military Common Access Card?
or the National Park Access Pass?

The NP Access Pass can be used in National Parks and some Famcamps give a discount for one as well, but you STILL have to qualify otherwise to use the facility.
Here's one example at Holbrook Campground at Fort Stewart:


I have not seen any State Park that gave a discount for a NP Access Pass.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Capt.Tom

This is not something new, and it might even be the same owners just changing the brand. If the new company is giving them a better deal than a KOA franchise.
I can't count the number of previously branded KOA that I recognize by the little A-frame at the office that are something else now. It's almost a game to see what old Campground used to be a KOA.

These other larger companies are more likely buying out the owners. The original owners aren't likely going to pay another franchise fee for a smaller, lesser known brand name as well as the costs for rebranding to meet the new company's requirements after paying all those costs to have a KOA branded campground.

This is what the typical costs are for KOA Campground Ownership. It ain't cheap.....
Depending which of the following applied to the original owner is going to determine how much the deal was worth in order to give them their desired profit and incentive for selling.


The investment necessary to purchase an existing KOA campgrounds franchise ranges from $225,950 to $4,462,925, which includes the initial franchise fee of
$7,500 that the franchisee must pay to the franchisor.

The investment necessary to convert an independent campground to a KOA campground ranges from $26,750 to $482,050, which includes the initial franchise fee of $11,250 that the franchisee must pay to the franchisor.

The cost to construct a new KOA campground will range from $1,474,100 to $4,091,900, which includes the initial franchise fee of $30,000 that the franchisee must pay to the franchisor.