Cathy Evans is with Montana Home & Land, and specializes in RV Parks. In this discussion we cover her thoughts on RV Park investing, how to properly interact with a broker, and review two of her listings. Since brokers have been historically one of the best ways to find RV Parks for sale, we thought you would find this conversation of interest.
Discussion with Cathy Evans On Her Current RV Park Listings - Transcript
0:00:00.0 Frank Rolfe: Welcome to our first segment titled All About RV Parks with Cathy Evans. We're excited to be having a discussion of RV parks, the business, the listings, all kinds of different ideas. And I'm here with Cathy Evans. Cathy is with Montana Home and Land Incorporated. And she has been in the RV park industry for nearly a decade, has a lot of listings, has sold a lot of RV parks, has a lot of good knowledge on the industry. And so, Cathy, we're delighted to have you. Are you here with us?
0:00:33.8 Cathy Evans: Yes, I am. Yes. Thank you, Frank.
0:00:36.4 Frank Rolfe: Well, great. Well, Cathy, let me ask you first, how did you get into the RV park industry? What drove you to get into that industry to begin with?
0:00:45.1 Cathy Evans: I sold my first park a few... Seven years ago and just kind of rolled into one park after another. And here, almost a decade later, and 15 RV parks later throughout Montana, it's pretty much my passion. And...
0:00:57.4 Frank Rolfe: Got you. And what... Go ahead. I'm sorry.
0:01:02.4 Cathy Evans: Yeah. And so now I actually get calls from clients through word of mouth because it is definitely my expertise and niche. And it's not just... It's a real property, the personal property and parks of all sizes throughout Montana.
0:01:18.5 Frank Rolfe: All right. And what are maybe your top five things that you love about RV parks?
0:01:25.9 Cathy Evans: Well, my top one right now is I actually just bought my own classy motor coach, so I can drive around to RV parks and not only do they invite me to come stay with them. I love the aspect of working with both buyers and sellers. I think it's a very lucrative business. To me, RV park... People who come and stay in RV parks, especially here in Montana, they're pretty much happy campers. And so as far as loving what I do, I not only do I live it, I breathe it, and I sleep in the RV parks as well. 'Cause it's like I said, it's definitely a passion of mine.
0:02:04.1 Frank Rolfe: And for someone listening who's just toying with the idea about RV parks, what are some of the basic drawbacks to RV park investing? Are there any negatives or things people need to be aware of?
0:02:16.3 Cathy Evans: Not necessarily unless you don't have your books in order, because you're so busy in the summertime. And if somebody is trying to sell a park, you want to make sure you have your books in order. During the summertime, you work a lot of hours and a couple of parks here, well, they'll shut down. They're only open maybe 138 days out of the season, then they'll take the winter off. It's a lot of work in the summertime, and just make sure you have a lot of good work campers lined up in advance.
0:02:47.9 Frank Rolfe: Got it. Okay. So let's talk about listings. First off, how do you get listings? Are you out there talking to sellers all the time, and when they finally decide it's about time to sell, they reach out to you or? Give people an idea of how when a broker gets listings, how does that happen? What's the methodology?
0:03:08.9 Cathy Evans: Typically quarterly, I send out a flyer with all the listings, all the parks that I've sold, the transactions that I've worked on. And people will call me right away, or they'll wait a few months and reach out to me based on the parks that I've worked on and the areas. And I will go, as I mentioned, I might have mentioned I go statewide. And I was just traveling in my motor coach, and I just got a call from a client saying somebody highly recommended you as far as talking about selling my RV park. So it's either my information that I send out, or else word of mouth.
0:03:46.3 Frank Rolfe: Okay. And what is the correct etiquette for someone trying to buy an RV park, and you've got listings, and they want to buy something? How often should they reach out to you saying, hey, do you have anything? And then how often does that inventory change of things for sale, and what can they do to get to the top of your list?
0:04:09.0 Cathy Evans: I do have a database of prospective buyers, 'cause not every RV park is going to fit somebody's portfolio. So when I do have a listing coming on the market, I have, as I mentioned, a whole portfolio of investors that I will send the information out to in advance. So if somebody is looking to buy in Montana, then they would definitely want to reach out to me, and I can get the information to them as soon as something is coming on the market that I know of. If that answers your question.
0:04:39.0 Frank Rolfe: Okay. Are they best calling you or emailing you, or how's the best way to touch base with you?
0:04:47.0 Cathy Evans: Either or, but I actually prefer to talk to people, because there's a lot of moving parts. And especially if it's a first-time buyer, and they're not familiar with the area, they're not familiar with the county regulations. I always talk to clients first. Even if I'm selling a park and a buyer reaches out to me, I will never send out somebody's information unless I talk to that buyer and kind of pre-qualify them. So I prefer people calling me over the phone, absolutely.
0:05:17.6 Frank Rolfe: Got it. Okay. And how often would someone call you before they become a past? In other words, should they call you once a month, once every two weeks?
0:05:26.3 Cathy Evans: No. No.
0:05:26.7 Frank Rolfe: What is the normal pace?
0:05:28.9 Cathy Evans: Anytime, just anytime, because sometimes people are kind of filling out the market. What's becoming available, and what's out there as far as what's going to fit their criteria. Some people are looking, they'll call 'cause they have 1031 exchanges, and they're trying to identify property before they sell theirs. So you can call me anytime, even if it's another year or so out. And then that way you can be ready for the park that does possibly come up to the market that's going to fit what you want as part of your portfolio. So anytime, they can call.
0:06:02.6 Frank Rolfe: Got it. Okay. Well, good. Well, so let's just jump into some listings, Cathy. Share with us some of the listings you have, and your thoughts on them, and who the right buyer for them would be.
0:06:13.7 Cathy Evans: Yeah. One of the premier listings I have is Moose Creek RV Resort and Bed and Breakfast, and it's located 2.5 miles from the entrance of West Glacier National Park. It's on 22 acres, and currently it's only built out 11 and a half acres. And so there is room for expansion. It's got 58 RV sites, 4 glamping pods, 10 sites, dry cabins. It's also got an Airbnb, 6-bedroom Airbnb, dining. So this is your premier prime real estate located obviously next to a national park. And so they, the buyers, excuse me, the sellers have kids and they work the park every summer. They only open 138 days out of the year and they do quite well. So that's one of my premier parks right now.
0:07:06.9 Frank Rolfe: Is there a listing price on that or is it basically just make an offer?
0:07:11.0 Cathy Evans: 8 million...
0:07:11.0 Frank Rolfe: I'm sorry?
0:07:11.5 Cathy Evans: No, it's 8,000,675 and you can find it on [0:07:15.0] ____ Crack-C. You can find it on RV Park Store, Moose Creek RV Resort and Bed and Breakfast.
0:07:22.0 Frank Rolfe: Got it. Okay. And then, okay, and then tell us about another listing there.
0:07:28.2 Cathy Evans: The other one is going to be, this is a unique one, it's Montana Pines RV Retreat and that one is located here in Bigfork, I actually live in Bigfork, and what they are is it's 16 acres and they're condo motor coach sites. So each site can be sold individually. They're individually metered and taxed. With 16 acres there is definitely room for expansion to add more motor coach sites, which are really, really in demand here in Montana as people want to get out of the warmer weather in the summertime and they'll end up spending their summers here in Montana. So that one is at a million, excuse me, $4,000,295 or $4,000,395, somewhere around there. But both of these parks, one thing I want to mention is there's some creative owner financing on both parks, which is really key right now, especially with what's going on with the interest rates.
0:08:24.2 Frank Rolfe: Got it. And could you give a little more description on how it's set up on the solar tariff or a certain percent down or is it just completely at this point variable?
0:08:36.9 Cathy Evans: Yeah. So the Moose Creek one, the RV Park by Glacier National Park, they're going to carry about 65% and they'll do anywhere from 6% amortized over 20, 30 years, but a balloon do in five. And what we have here in Montana is what we do is called Montana Trusts and Dentures. There's a company that I work at, a Whitefish, that I've sold a few parks. They're a 1031 intermediary, so I would work with the buyers agent or sometimes I work as dual agent and setting all of that up. So that's on Moose Creek. So like I said, yeah, 65% they'll carry. And then Montana Pines, he's around 4%, excuse me, 5%, 6%. He'll carry 15, 20 years with about 25% down.
0:09:25.9 Frank Rolfe: And Cathy, what is there about Montana that makes it special? Why do you focus on Montana and what should potential buyers know about Montana as a state regarding RV parks?
0:09:37.3 Cathy Evans: Yeah. Montana is definitely where I live, it's only a few miles from heaven, especially this area, the desirable area, northwest Montana. You've got Glacier Parks, you've got lakes, and it's just a beautiful state. I want to say that there's certain areas of Montana, like eastern Montana up on the high line, where not exactly the most desirable location, but we are quite a big state and there are a lot of beautiful RV parks throughout. And as I mentioned earlier, people are coming to Montana for the summers. And there's actually people, if you think of RV parks in winter, a lot of people are living in their RV sites year round here, kind of like a mobile home park...
0:10:19.6 Frank Rolfe: Got it.
0:10:21.7 Cathy Evans: Because there's a lot of housing. So there's an RV park I sold by the airport here in Kalispell, and he's got 38 sites, 750 a month plus their own meters. So that's what's happening here in Montana, is people are also living in RV sites year round.
0:10:38.8 Frank Rolfe: And where do you see the industry going in the years ahead? It's been around obviously for nearly a century, but do you see any big changes coming up, any new areas for RV park owners to expand their revenue, or what do you see as far as new things on the horizon?
0:10:57.3 Cathy Evans: Well, from the parks that I sold a few years ago, they're at eight cap. Right now, you're looking at about five, six, seven caps, six cap, if there's more added value. You are seeing a totally different pool of investors. Before they are like mom and pops. Now there are more investment firms that are coming in. And yeah, they are definitely in demand. The parks and a couple of park owners that I know, they actually were up quite a bit this last year. Yeah. And they're definitely still in demand here. As far as building out RV parks, that can be kind of tricky here with the county. So investors are looking for some parks like I have, like the two listings that I have, there is room for expansion. So even though they might be at 5.5, 6 cap, the investors also know to do their own performance to do projections, so.
0:11:51.2 Frank Rolfe: Got it.
0:11:51.2 Cathy Evans: [0:11:51.1] ____ And luckily these investors... Sure.
0:11:51.2 Frank Rolfe: And if someone's listening to this... Sure.
0:11:52.9 Cathy Evans: What's that?
0:11:53.6 Frank Rolfe: Got it. And if someone's listening to this, Cathy, how's the best way to reach out to Cathy Evans to talk to you and get your listings?
0:12:03.7 Cathy Evans: Phone number, I actually sent you an email with all my contact information. I can give my phone number 406-531-6433, or just Google Cathy Evans, Bigfork, Montana, and you'll find me.
0:12:16.5 Frank Rolfe: Got it.
0:12:17.9 Cathy Evans: Or Montana Home and Land Incorporated. Okay?
0:12:17.9 Frank Rolfe: Okay. Well, we really appreciate you being on here. A lot of good information. Again, if you hear some listings there that you're interested in, reach out to Cathy. And even if neither of those work for you, still reach out to Cathy and get out her list of potential buyers because she always has a continuous new inventory of deals to look at. And again, Cathy, we really appreciate you being here. And so that completes this segment, but hopefully I think we all learned something from this and we will talk to everyone again soon.
0:12:47.9 Cathy Evans: I thank you for your time. Thank you Frank.
0:12:50.4 Frank Rolfe: Thanks, Cathy.