How to Sell an RV Park or Campground

Build a site inventory that matches the physical park

Start with a map. Number full-hookup, partial-hookup, primitive, tent, group, seasonal, and long-term sites separately. Add cabins or park models, storage, office and store, bathhouses, laundry, pools, docks, event areas, maintenance buildings, staff housing, roads, parking, dumpsters, wells, tanks, drainfields, pump stations, meters, transformers, pedestals, fire equipment, and each parcel or easement used by the operation.

For each rentable space, record approved use, utility service, occupancy, rate, agreement, deposit, and defects. Compare the map with licenses, surveys, utility records, and tax parcels. Do not call an overflow area an approved site or count a nonworking pedestal as rentable. Buyers can underwrite a limitation; they cannot price an inventory that changes between marketing and inspection.

Separate guests, seasonal users, and possible tenants

Export future reservations and build a second ledger for people who occupy a site repeatedly or continuously. Record arrival and departure, agreement type, unit or vehicle ownership, mail or utility arrangements, deposits, balances, and any dispute. Labels used by booking software do not decide whether someone has tenant or resident rights. Length of stay, local law, written terms, and actual practice can matter.

Ask local counsel to classify uncertain arrangements before issuing a cancellation, nonrenewal, relocation request, or promise of vacant sites. A buyer should know which reservations are expected to be honored, which occupants may remain, and which situations are disputed. Use lawful notice and calm communication. Do not shut off utilities, block access, move an RV, or call a long-term occupant a trespasser merely to simplify closing.

Choose a reservation cutoff that can survive a delayed closing

List every future stay, channel, amount collected, tax, fee, deposit, gift certificate, group contract, event booking, refund term, and payment still due. Include reservations entered on paper or a direct website, not just the main software. Then decide the last seller-controlled arrival and the earliest date the buyer could lawfully operate after permits, insurance, merchant accounts, staffing, and booking systems are ready.

The sale contract should assign deposits, prepaid revenue, refunds, chargebacks, guest communications, damage claims, and the cost of any cancellation. Plan for the closing date to move. One practical approach is to block a transition window and define who hosts each reservation by arrival date. Do not hand over a personal booking login, payment account, email, or guest database without authorization and a secure, lawful data process.

Give utilities and safety systems their own diligence room

Organize water permits and sampling, distribution maps, wastewater or septic records, capacity information, pumping and inspections, electrical diagrams, pedestal tests, fuel systems, roads, drainage, fire access, pool and amenity records, and government correspondence. Add operator contacts, repairs, proposals, and known failure areas.

A busy RV park may have a regulated water or large-capacity septic system. Health, fire, environmental, building, and accessibility rules may also apply. Do not call a system adequate because it has not recently failed. When capacity, contamination, electrical safety, or permitted use is uncertain, obtain professional assessment and disclose the known record.

• Match the number of marketed sites to permitted and serviceable capacity.
• Separate a maintenance backlog from a current health or safety condition requiring prompt action.
• Record which utilities are included, submetered, directly billed, or allocated by a formula.
• Keep testing results, violation notices, repairs, and agency communication in their original dated form.

Rebuild performance by month, site type, and revenue source

RV parks can be seasonal, and a single annual total hides the workload. Reconcile monthly bank deposits and merchant statements to site revenue, cabins, storage, store sales, laundry, events, rentals, utilities, fees, discounts, cancellations, owner use, and taxes. Then organize payroll, management, merchant fees, utilities, software, supplies, cleaning, repairs, mowing, snow, pumping, testing, insurance, advertising, licenses, property taxes, equipment costs, and capital work.

Preserve actual numbers before normalizing. Explain unusual closures, storms, projects, events, or group bookings. Do not treat unpaid owner labor as free or present gross receipts as property income. Show the cost of management, software, vehicles, and licensed operators the buyer will need. A monthly bridge separates land income from operating labor.

Price the land, operating assets, and business without double counting

Inventory furniture, store stock, rental equipment, carts, tractors, mowers, vehicles, tools, laundry machines, office systems, signs, websites, phone numbers, trademarks, and assignable contracts. Mark ownership, liens, leases, condition, and whether each is included. A buyer should not pay twice for the same cash flow through both an aggressive earnings value and a separate unsupported goodwill amount.

The IRS explains that selling a business commonly involves separate asset classes and may require an allocation between real estate, equipment, inventory, intangibles, and goodwill. Have a qualified tax adviser and attorney structure the sale and any Form 8594 reporting that applies. Compare a marketed operating-business sale with a direct or as-is property offer using the same verified records, debt, repairs, professional fees, carrying time, and assets included.

Write the handoff before promising uninterrupted operation

Prepare a cutover schedule for permits, licenses, insurance, utilities, merchant accounts, booking channels, taxes, payroll, staff notices, vendors, keys, access codes, reservations, deposits, inventory counts, safety checks, and emergency contacts. Identify which approvals transfer, which require a new application, and which remain uncertain. The buyer's planned closing date is not proof that an agency will approve operations by that date.

At closing, the deed, bill of sale, assignment documents, reservation schedule, settlement statement, and possession terms should agree. Afterward, close seller accounts, retain tax and operating records, verify that deposits no longer reach your bank, and deliver required guest or resident notices. A successful RV park exit ends the obligations attached to both the land and the operation, not just the mortgage and deed.