Building an RV Park from scratch under 50k?

First piece of advice - IF they insist after all this advice, DO NOT put sewer to each site. Make one septic and a dump.

I know, folks want permanent - use portable tanks. If these folks want back to the land, then a portable dump tank will at least limit the septic cost - which for commercial size will be very expensive.

I was a building contractor for a lot of years - I think the only thing your friends will get with this fifty grand is a good education in lost investment.

gosh, the news just keeps getting worse and worse on here...lol i mean I'm grateful you're telling me the truth and all...but even in my worrying mind I didn't estimate this many steps or costs or risks...

This is a likely a commercial venture and permits will be required (even in Texas). No permits will be issued without all the drawings and reports: Surveyed property, proposed work, including MEP, Soils, and possibly reports from a certified surveyor that your terracing won't affect property around yours (see down), and a million other things. Oh yeah, zoning changes from likely farm land to either multi-dwelling residential, or commercial. THAT goes to the city council if it's incorporated and some of those folk don't like change.

Depending on where this place is its even possible they might need to hire archeologists to survey the land as well as contact the local Indian tribes looking for ancient burial grounds, etc., and each tribe has their own review board, each requiring separate fees to review. I got caught up in this in San Antonio with both the flood plain issue (a separate presidential decree from Carter) as well as the tribal review. The company I hired to issue the report (this isn't something that can easily be done by someone who doesn't know the drill) and it cost $6500 before it was done. I just happened across it a few minutes ago and it's over 150 double sided pages. So now you're down to $43,500 because of the report I'll bet occurred to no one. Hopefully not needed, but this is a commercial development and that's a completely different ballgame.

This will be interesting to watch. I can't imagine even getting this project on paper for less than $50k

elialane7 wrote:
Thanks RVWestern, that makes sense. I didn't know that about the commercial property and his debt! that is scary!!

and Naio, I am pretty sure the step father does expect a return and is an investor because of what i know of what was said between them and because of an agreement they signed that he owns 1/3 in return. From what I gather, it's to help secure his daughter's future (she's now one of the 3 on board) so the share is for her to be a part of it.

As for what he knows about how the project is going or how involved he is, I cannot say. I know that he did tell them to do everything their selves without contractors or architects to try to save on costs. That part I do know.

Well, sadly, it sounds like ignorance of how things work and overestimation of how smart they are compared to other people runs in the (step)family.

The thing they need to ask themselves is: If it is this easy to create a profitable RV park, why isn't everyone in the county doing it? Is it REALLY because they are geniuses? Or could it be that they are missing something everyone else can see?

Thanks RVWestern, that makes sense. I didn't know that about the commercial property and his debt! that is scary!!

elialane7 wrote:

Naio wrote:

Is their land even in a place that tourists want to go?

No def not where tourists want to be , it's far outside the city , but they said its close ish go some horse track idk, I think they're more betting on a long term community of residents who have little other options ,they want it to be a kind of rural artists haven.

I don't think artists will come to a 'rural artists haven' unless it is walking distance to hip coffee houses, galleries, and natural food stores.

elialane7 wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
It would be possible to put in 15 sites with $50,000 if the people involved had all the skills and equipment necessary, there weren't any fees other than construction costs to pay and they never had a single misstep in the process. This, however, sounds like the only plan in place is to fleece an investor out of $50,000.
Property zoned residential isn't going to allow for 15 "tiny homes". Go in front of the planning an zoning board and tell them it is going to be an "artist community" and they are rightfully going to visualize a bunch of bums living in shacks. There is no way there won't be a bunch of opposition from the neighbors. Wells, septic and sewage systems, bringing in commercial electricity, roads and other infrastructure all cost significant amounts of money.
But what is really going to happen is this. They are going to plug away without any permits. They may move a little dirt. They will probably talk a good game. For every investor dollar sunk into the project, three dollars are going to be spent on their personal expenses. (I'd bet nearly everything I have that the people building the park have their personal finances is complete disarray). The project will collapse and the only thing anyone will have to show for it is a bank account with $50,000 less dollars in it. Take the advice of others and get as far away from this as possible. It isn't your money being frittered away, be thankful for that.

omgosh you are right about the finances in disarray. like i said one is living on a bus on the land as it is without plumbing or electricity. That said, he hasnt spent a penny of the 50k, and he has a company that is tanking FAST. It loses 2k a month (targeted toward struggling artist types) and he has poured his life savings and all his assets aside from the land into it, roughly 200k including credit cards and personal loans, all of which maxed out and about to go into default. Im worried w that amount of debt they will take the land. Idk how that works though

Do you think the county tracks building without permits, it seems to be quite out in the boonies, i don't know, maybe they could get away with the community thing for a little while, but who knows....

I HOPE it works out, I don't want to be any sort of bearer of bad news but I feel terrible watching this going down without saying anything AT ALL...I just need to know how to save it productively and in a way where they will listen...

Did you say it was the father in law who was the 'investor'?
I've got 20 bucks says he just considers it a bailout. He may be surprised they are calling him an investor.

elialane7 wrote:
wait westernrvparkowner who would be suing them? the city?

Any contractor who doesn't get paid. The investor who saw his money misappropriated. Anyone who gets hurt on the job. Any person who actually stays there and injures themselves (I am sure liability insurance is way down their list of things to procure and you can't insure a business that isn't permitted). Anyone who has their rigs damaged by improperly wired electrical services. Anyone who gets sick because the well water wasn't tested and treated if necessary. The neighbors who have sewage flowing into their property from an unlicensed septic system. The neighbors who feel they are impacted by a park that isn't properly zoned. The state or feds who sue because the sewage flows into the stream that is the genesis of the flood zone. The city or county whose cease and desist order was not obeyed. And there are probably 100 more that I am not thinking of.

OH one other VERY IMPORTANT thing. When those credit card companies and other creditors come looking for their $200,000, in Texas your homestead is completely safe. Once you have turned that homestead into commercial property, they will attack it like a hungry bear attacks an injured elk.

wait westernrvparkowner who would be suing them? the city?

I guess its hard to MYOB when I was originally part of the group trying to make this plan happen... and i haven't given my two cents in yet about the feasibility of the project because I wanted to do my research and see if it was possible they are right and if I could have any tips for them instead of just saying "no this can't be done"

I definitely will sit back and watch it happen...I guess that is all I can do. Idk.

also yeah its out in the county and has few restrictions, that part doesn't worry me, they do however have some water and sewage restrictions that are strictly enforced that does worry me.

elialane7 wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
It would be possible to put in 15 sites with $50,000 if the people involved had all the skills and equipment necessary, there weren't any fees other than construction costs to pay and they never had a single misstep in the process. This, however, sounds like the only plan in place is to fleece an investor out of $50,000.
Property zoned residential isn't going to allow for 15 "tiny homes". Go in front of the planning an zoning board and tell them it is going to be an "artist community" and they are rightfully going to visualize a bunch of bums living in shacks. There is no way there won't be a bunch of opposition from the neighbors. Wells, septic and sewage systems, bringing in commercial electricity, roads and other infrastructure all cost significant amounts of money.
But what is really going to happen is this. They are going to plug away without any permits. They may move a little dirt. They will probably talk a good game. For every investor dollar sunk into the project, three dollars are going to be spent on their personal expenses. (I'd bet nearly everything I have that the people building the park have their personal finances is complete disarray). The project will collapse and the only thing anyone will have to show for it is a bank account with $50,000 less dollars in it. Take the advice of others and get as far away from this as possible. It isn't your money being frittered away, be thankful for that.

omgosh you are right about the finances in disarray. like i said one is living on a bus on the land as it is without plumbing or electricity. That said, he hasnt spent a penny of the 50k, and he has a company that is tanking FAST. It loses 2k a month (targeted toward struggling artist types) and he has poured his life savings and all his assets aside from the land into it, roughly 200k including credit cards and personal loans, all of which maxed out and about to go into default. Im worried w that amount of debt they will take the land. Idk how that works though

Do you think the county tracks building without permits, it seems to be quite out in the boonies, i don't know, maybe they could get away with the community thing for a little while, but who knows....

I HOPE it works out, I don't want to be any sort of bearer of bad news but I feel terrible watching this going down without saying anything AT ALL...I just need to know how to save it productively and in a way where they will listen...

You can build anything you want, anywhere you want to until someone complains or someone in authority catches wind of it. No licensed contractor is going to touch a project without permits, that's how they stay licensed. A well driller isn't going to drill a well without a permit.
The good news is, when all these unpermitted and unlicensed items cause harm or damage there is no one with any assets to sue. I sure hope the investor likes watching his money go down the drain (though in all fairness, this project doesn't have a sewer system in place, so it will be a metaphoric drain).