SBA 7(a) RV Park Feasibility Study in Florida

Resort-scale campground loans

In Florida the RV park and campground midpoint of $2.3 million stands at 2.76x the national 7(a) figure, far above what such parks borrow elsewhere, and the quartiles run from $972,625 to $3.4 million. The 28 loans total $66.2 million. Florida ranks 4 among states by count, but the class is only 29 of 39 at home. Franchised loans are 3.6%, so these are mostly independent parks.

A thin map and a ragged calendar

Citrus County has 3 loans, Columbia 2, and Alachua, Charlotte, Dixie and Duval 1 each, a spread that favors the Nature Coast and the northern counties over the Keys or the Gulf beaches. No loans were approved in FY2017 or FY2018 (the table shows $0 for both), then FY2020 brought 4 loans carrying $13.7 million, and FY2023 brought 6 carrying $18.7 million, the largest dollar year. SBA's holder table names no lender here.

One code for very different properties

One industry code spans parks, resorts and campgrounds, so a basic tent field and a high-end resort with cabins and a clubhouse are counted together, which matters when the loans run into the millions. The cancellation and charge-off rates for Florida are not published; both cohorts are smaller than SBA's minimum. Do not read the blanks as favorable.

What a Florida RV park study has to test

A multi-million-dollar park loan is a real estate and resort operating decision. The study should lay out the sites by type, the amenities and the utility design, and give the nightly, monthly and seasonal rates of comparable parks. Florida's winter season brings long-stay guests from northern states, while summer is slow and hot, so monthly occupancy and the cash held through summer must be shown. Hurricane and flood exposure is the leading physical risk: the study should give the elevation, the flood zone, the insurance quote and the closure period after a storm. Cost the roads, water, septic, electric service and permitting with an engineer's basis. Test coverage with a weak winter and a storm closure. Because the loan is large, the appraisal has to separate land and improvements from the business, and say what the property brings to another campground operator or a different use.