Sell your RV park
Sell your RV park to the buyer who closes.
Direct to a principal cash buyer. Written offer in under 7 days from complete financials. No bank, no appraisal, no commission to us. Contract to funded in under 45 days.
Before you call
Should you sell to us at all?
Straight answer first. A direct sale is not right for every owner.
Sell to us if
- You want certainty more than a bidding war: a cash number, no lender, no appraisal, and a closing date you can plan around.
- The park has problems you are tired of fixing — septic, electrical, roads, half the sites closed.
- The books are thin or messy and you don’t want to spend a year cleaning them up for a listing.
- It is an estate, a partnership split, or you are simply done.
Don’t sell to us if
- Your park shows well, the books are clean, and you have time. A good broker exposing it to the whole market may get you a higher number than any single buyer. Sunbelt, a national business brokerage, tells campground owners to start preparing at least a year before they sell. If you have that year, use it.
- It is over 100 sites or over $3 million. That is outside what we buy.
- It is a membership campground or a fractional-interest deal.
- You are not ready to sell but want the park worth more when you are. That is what our advisory side, The RV Park Advisors, does.
How it works
Seven steps, start to funded.
This is the sequence on every deal. Time is counted from the point that matters: the 7 days start when we have complete financials, the 45 days start at a signed contract.
- Day one
Send the park
Address, approximate site count, and whatever financials exist. Use the form below or call. If it is close to the buy box, send it anyway — we will tell you in a day whether it is worth a closer look.
- Your pace
Send what you have
Two or three years of P&Ls or tax returns if they exist, the rent roll or a reservation export, utility bills, and anything you have on the septic and well. The list is below.
- Under 7 days
Written offer
From complete financials to a written offer in under 7 days. Ask how we got to the number and we will walk you through it.
- Before the walk
Proof of funds, then the site walk
Ask for proof of funds and you get it before anyone sets foot on the property. We walk the park so that what we can see gets priced now, not later.
- Contract
Sign, with terms locked
No financing contingency, because there is no lender. A short, defined due diligence window written into the contract.
- Diligence
Books, septic and well, electrical, survey, title
We do our own diligence. We do not use the window to renegotiate. Disclosed condition is already in the price.
- Under 45 days
Funded
Executed contract to funded in under 45 days. Every park we have closed so far.
What we need from you
The paperwork, and what to do if you don’t have it.
None of this is required to start a conversation. All of it speeds up the offer.
| Item | Why we ask | If you don’t have it |
|---|---|---|
| P&L or tax returns, 2–3 years | The income is the value. We need to see what the park actually earns. | Bank deposits plus a reservation or rent-roll export. We rebuild it. |
| Rent roll / reservation export | Nightly vs. monthly vs. seasonal mix, and who is paying what. | A handwritten list of who is in which site and what they pay. |
| Utility bills, 12 months | Electric, water and sewer are usually the biggest swing costs. Seasonality shows up here too. | We request history from the utility with your authorization. |
| Septic and well permits, pump records | Wastewater is the most expensive surprise in this business. Permitted capacity limits the site count. | Your county health department keeps permit files. We can pull them. |
| Survey, deed, any leases | Title and boundaries. Long-term tenants and leases transfer with the park. | Title work orders a survey if needed. Tell us about any handshake deals. |
| Equipment list | What conveys: mowers, golf carts, the store inventory, rental units. | We walk it together and write it down. |
How we price a park
The income approach, in plain English.
This is how most RV parks are valued, by brokers, lenders and buyers like us. No black box.
Start with what the park earns in a normal year. Subtract what it really costs to run — including the costs the next owner will have that you may not. What is left is net operating income, or NOI. Divide NOI by a capitalization rate (the return a buyer needs for the risk) and you get a value. Then subtract what it costs to fix what is broken.
The two adjustments that surprise owners most:
- Your labor. If the park only works because you put in 60 or 70 hours a week for free, that labor is a cost to the next owner. We add a market cost for management and maintenance even if you never paid yourself.
- Deferred maintenance. A septic field near failure or undersized electrical is a real check someone has to write. We subtract our estimate from the price up front, and if it was disclosed or visible on the walk, that is the last time it comes up.
Example only — made-up round numbers, not a quote and not a market cap rate
| Gross revenue, normal year | $300,000 |
| Operating expenses on the books | −$150,000 |
| Management cost the owner never paid himself | −$45,000 |
| Net operating income | $105,000 |
| Value at an assumed 10% cap rate ($105,000 ÷ 0.10) | $1,050,000 |
| Septic replacement estimate | −$120,000 |
| Offer in this example | $930,000 |
Two more things, said plainly. First, we don’t pay full price for upside nobody has built yet — the empty acre that could be 20 more sites is our risk, not yours, once you sell. Second, the cap rate is where honest buyers disagree. Ask any buyer, us included, what rate they used and why.
Further reading: How to sell an RV park, the longer owner’s guide from our advisory side.
Your options
Broker listing vs. direct sale vs. auction.
Honest comparison. Where a number depends on who you hire, we say ask them — fees vary and we won’t guess at someone else’s price.
| List with a broker | Sell direct to us | Auction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you deal with | Your broker, then whatever buyers the listing attracts. | The principal who signs the check. | The auction house, then the high bidder. |
| What it costs you | A commission. Ask your broker for the rate in writing before you sign a listing agreement. | No commission or fee to us. Your own attorney and closing costs. | Auction fees and any buyer premium. Ask the auction house for the full schedule. |
| Financing risk | Depends on the buyer. A financed buyer’s lender, appraisal and loan approval can delay or kill the deal. | None. All cash, no financing contingency. | Depends on the auction terms. Read them. |
| Time | Sunbelt advises preparing at least a year ahead, then marketing time on top. | Written offer under 7 days from complete financials. Close under 45 days from contract. | A set sale date. Ask the auction house how long from sale to closing. |
| Price | Market exposure. Best shot at the top number if the park shows well. | One offer. Ask how we got there. You are free to shop it. | Competitive only if enough qualified bidders show up. |
| Condition and books | Problems get found by buyers in diligence, often late. | Priced once, up front. No re-trade on disclosed condition. | Usually as-is. |
| Best for | Clean, stabilized parks with time to sell. | Owners who want certainty, or parks that need work. | Owners who need a hard date and accept the price risk. |
Where we buy
Five states. Here’s what’s different in each.
Each state page covers who permits RV parks and campgrounds there, what happens to the permit when the park sells, and the transfer tax on the deed — all sourced to the state.
Transfer tax at closing, by state (from each state’s revenue department or statute): North Carolina charges $1 per $500 of consideration and its statute puts it on the transferor — the seller. South Carolina’s deed recording fee is $1.30 state plus $0.55 county per $500. Georgia charges $1 for the first $1,000 and 10¢ per additional $100. Tennessee charges 37¢ per $100 on the greater of the price or the property’s value. Florida’s documentary stamp tax on deeds is 70¢ per $100. Outside North Carolina, the state pages we read don’t say who pays — settle it in the purchase agreement.
Questions owners ask
FAQ.
Do you charge a fee or commission?
No. We are the buyer, not a broker. You will still have your own costs to close — your attorney, your share of closing costs, and the state transfer tax or deed fee if your contract puts it on you.
Is the 45 days real?
Every park we have bought or sold so far closed in under 45 days from executed contract to funded. The clock starts when the contract is signed, not when you first call. The part you control is how fast the books and documents show up.
I don’t have clean books. Is that a problem?
No. It is common and it is not disqualifying. We will work from bank statements, reservation exports, utility bills and tax returns. Expect a more conservative number when the income can’t be verified — that is honest math, not a penalty.
My septic is failing. Will you still buy it?
Yes. We have fixed failing septic, undersized electrical and tired roads on our own dime. Tell us up front. Disclosed problems get priced once, in the offer, and the price does not move when the inspector confirms what you told us.
What does “no re-trade” mean?
A re-trade is when a buyer signs at one price and then uses due diligence to grind it down. If a problem was in your disclosure or visible on the walk, our price stands. What can change a deal is something material that was not disclosed and could not be seen.
Will you do seller financing?
We will consider it if you want to spread out the gain. We don’t need it to close. Talk to your CPA before you pick a structure.
Do you buy campgrounds without hookups?
Yes, if it fits the size and price range. Campgrounds have their own wrinkles — bathhouses, seasonality, cabins. Here is how we look at them.
Do you buy outside those five states?
Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida are where we buy. If you are just over a line, call and ask.
Sources
Every outside fact on this page comes from these pages, opened on November 14, 2026. Rules change; your closing attorney has the final word.
- Sunbelt Business Brokers, “How to Sell a Campground For Top-Dollar”
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-228.30, Imposition of excise tax (N.C. General Assembly)
- S.C. Department of Revenue, Deed Recording Fee
- Georgia Department of Revenue, Real Estate Transfer Tax
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, REC-1 Recordation Tax Overview
- Florida Statutes (2025), § 201.02, Tax on deeds (Florida Senate)
Contact
Send us a park.
Address, approximate site count, and whatever financials exist is enough to start. If there are no books, say so — that is common and it is not disqualifying.
Calls are answered by the principal. There is no analyst to get past.
- Direct (828) 367-6711
- Email Brian@waterfallparks.com
- Based in Hendersonville, North Carolina