mtnspringskate wrote:
Hi I am new here and I'd like to get some feedback please. My husband and I live north of Dallas/Fort Worth. We are on 21 acres. It's about 36 miles from our land to the northern suburb of Frisco, Texas.
We are considering installing a pad that would be long enough to accommodate up to the size of Motor Home. We would have full hookups. The purpose is to have some extra money each month. We'd like to appeal to people that would like a place to stay short term or just traveling through.
What are amenities or "musts" when you are looking for a place like this? Please be frank. I'm wanting to do something nice. I take great pride in my property. Thank you!
In a nutshell, you ARE creating a "campground" without calling it a "campground"..
To me, that is no different than being a landlord with rental "homes", basically a business.
In doing so, you are opening yourself up to a lot of headaches.
For the few measly dollars you might squeeze out of that land you will be putting in a lot of work.
You have infrastructure such as roads, water, sewage, electric, Internet, GARBAGE that will need to be paid for and maintained by you.
You will need insurance to cover your behind.
You will need insurance to cover losses (yep, damage done by renters or vandals).
You will not be taking ANY "vacations" yourself.. No one will watch your "campground" for free..
Taxes on your land WILL go up due to "improvements"..
In the end, you WILL be taking a loss..
This is where you would have to go big or go home, one little "pad" isn't going to net any profits, only losses..
Then there is dealing with deadbeats, vagrants, squatters, riffraff, party crowd.. Wouldn't take long to wish you had a few hundred acres that you could have them at the far corner away from you..
And forget about the "pride" you take with your property, once you open your property up to renters you won't have time left cleaning and fixing things to take pride in it any more.
Camping to me is my relaxing time, a "hobby".. Don't turn your love for camping into a BUSINESS which turns into work.
