Not sure if this needs to be in Real Estate but posting in both places. Does anyone have any experience with dry boat/RV storage units and willing to let me pick their brain?

Have had a client in the business and a tenant in our RV park that was in the same business. I am actually looking for property to build that sort of storage and mini-storage. Got a nice deal working but need someone to look at the elevation of the property before moving forward.

I have been looking at a place for the last 6 months, but I am backing off due to drainage issues. There was another property that came on the market that I liked, but it sold within 2 weeks.

If I end up doing it, I will set it up for autobill. No paper, no rent collection and banging on doors every month.

I am also concerned about liability. Gasoline fumes and accidental fires on unattended property.

What area are you looking at building?

I have my eye on some places in South Mississippi/Alabama. I'm in Houston (also an option) but have some connections I could use down in the Gulfport to Mobile area. The only thing I'm worried about down there is it being too seasonal to support.

Are there any similar facilities in the areas that you have an interest in? Be nice if there were and one or two were for sale. Put them under contract and get a look at their occupancy and so forth during your due diligence. Other than that, if you know someone in the area, perhaps they can see how full the competition is, that is if they do not have enclosed doors on the front of each space. Most I have seen do not, at least not on most of their stalls.

I am not a big fan of absentee ownership, but that is less of a problem with this sort of rental than with residential or commercial. You likely will have to hire someone, though part time, but that still will cost you something.

jayelbee said:

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This is something that I've been looking into myself, so I'd be curious on experiences from others. Unlike some of the other posts, however, I have been looking at developing my own rather than buying.

I would rather have a partner than go it alone, but in a prior career I worked in development, so I'm certainly not starting with a blank slate and no contacts.

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Couple of things about your preference for developing your own. That is what I wanted to do with an RV park, but wound up buying an existing one. If you develop your own, find out all the permitting requirements in the area(s) in which you want to develop before you get too far along. Sometimes they are deal killers. What you are allowed as far as your roads, issues with drainage, etc. can be outright deal killers as they can be very costly, and they can add significant time to your construction. I bought an existing park for a little more than the road costs alone in one I wanted to develop.

Additionally, if you buy an existing business, most are owner financed as opposed to having to borrow from a bank.

30wedge: Where are you located?

I'm stuck with a couple of dozen portable storage units. I could contribute those and invest some cash to any storage facilities that have some land available.

Info@maroonspiderllc.com

jaggiemaggie said:

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30wedge: Where are you located?

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We have properties in both Liberty County and Chambers County

30wedge said:

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jayelbee said:

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This is something that I've been looking into myself, so I'd be curious on experiences from others. Unlike some of the other posts, however, I have been looking at developing my own rather than buying.

I would rather have a partner than go it alone, but in a prior career I worked in development, so I'm certainly not starting with a blank slate and no contacts.

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Couple of things about your preference for developing your own. That is what I wanted to do with an RV park, but wound up buying an existing one. If you develop your own, find out all the permitting requirements in the area(s) in which you want to develop before you get too far along. Sometimes they are deal killers. What you are allowed as far as your roads, issues with drainage, etc. can be outright deal killers as they can be very costly, and they can add significant time to your construction. I bought an existing park for a little more than the road costs alone in one I wanted to develop.

Additionally, if you buy an existing business, most are owner financed as opposed to having to borrow from a bank.

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To add on to what you said, I know of a guy in Whitewright who bought some land and wanted to put an RV Park on it. The city council has gone crazy with their requirements for zoning etc. I think after 18 months of adding everything they asked for, he finally gave up.

Bocephus said:

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30wedge said:

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jayelbee said:

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This is something that I've been looking into myself, so I'd be curious on experiences from others. Unlike some of the other posts, however, I have been looking at developing my own rather than buying.

I would rather have a partner than go it alone, but in a prior career I worked in development, so I'm certainly not starting with a blank slate and no contacts.

---

Couple of things about your preference for developing your own. That is what I wanted to do with an RV park, but wound up buying an existing one. If you develop your own, find out all the permitting requirements in the area(s) in which you want to develop before you get too far along. Sometimes they are deal killers. What you are allowed as far as your roads, issues with drainage, etc. can be outright deal killers as they can be very costly, and they can add significant time to your construction. I bought an existing park for a little more than the road costs alone in one I wanted to develop.

Additionally, if you buy an existing business, most are owner financed as opposed to having to borrow from a bank.

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To add on to what you said, I know of a guy in Whitewright who bought some land and wanted to put an RV Park on it. The city council has gone crazy with their requirements for zoning etc. I think after 18 months of adding everything they asked for, he finally gave up.

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I can understand that. I was looking at 19 acres on I-10 on which to build an RV park and before I signed the contract, I met with the county engineer and some others. That county had a pretty good procedure. You get put on the agenda for the meeting, and at your meeting will be the county engineer, the fire marshal, your county commissioner, the water and sewer folks have someone there, and others. It amazed me at all the requirements for a new facility, from a topo survey, to an engineer-designed drainage study, to running a water line so that a fire hydrant could be installed, and then the specs for the roads within the park. It became apparent to me that I just couldn't make it work. Wound up buying a park about 2/3rds the size of what I was wanting to develop at a cost just slightly above the cost of the roads in the one I wanted to build.

When the windstorm engineer came out regarding a building I wanted to put up on the property, he and I got to talking about the drainage permit issues in that county. He told me some of the nightmares he had seen. In one case, someone had been waiting for nearly a year and a half to get a permit for a metal building due to drainage.

And in smaller communities, the powers that be will place any and all hurdles they can in front of you if they have a friend or relative in the same business you want to be in.