RV Park Feasibility Study in Michigan

A top-ten state, a mid-sized loan

Michigan ranks 7 of 47 for RV parks and campgrounds, but within Michigan the class is a minor line, 22 of 39 among asset types. With a 1.08x location quotient the class sits close to its national weight, and the median loan of $510,000 is 0.72x the national median. The file holds 37 approvals totaling $28.5 million across FY2017 to FY2026, with half of the loans between $267,000 and $1.1 million. The picture is a tourism state with many small, seasonal campgrounds that borrow less than the large resorts that lift the national figure.

Programs and places

Michigan counts 31 loans under 7(a) and 6 under 504, with franchising at 8.1%. The Huntington National Bank is the one lender named, with 9 loans and $4.5 million. The county list reads like a map of the outdoors, not of the cities: Cheboygan County holds 5 loans, Gratiot and Roscommon counties 3 each, and Clare, Dickinson, Mason, Ottawa, Saginaw, Schoolcraft and Van Buren counties 2 each. Annual counts were steady, from 1 loan in FY2019 to 6 in FY2025, though FY2017 produced $6.6 million from only 3 loans.

Michigan RV parks come without a cancellation or charge-off percentage, as each early cohort is under 30 loans. Neither blank means a perfect record.

RV parks and campgrounds share one code, including RV resorts, so a cabin-rich lakeside resort and a basic tent site look alike. A study must name its product.

What the Michigan study has to test

Michigan seasons run short, so the plan must rest on a realistic count of paid nights between the spring opening and fall closing, with weekday and weekend rates and a holiday premium. Competing public campgrounds, often cheaper, set the price ceiling. Development cost covers sites, utilities, septic or sewer, roads and amenities, and it should be tested against a loan near $510,000. Wetland, shoreline and septic permits can delay a build, so the study should show each one settled. Coverage of the loan payment has to be shown on a weak summer, and because the appraiser will value land plus an unproven seasonal business, the study should supply occupancy evidence from comparable parks in the same region.