Updated
RV park and campground financing should match the operating business, property condition and seasonal cash cycle. Jaken Finance Group arranges conventional bank and SBA reviews through a bank relationship for eligible requests. Qualified bank-arranged financing can reach $12 million, with program limits, geography and individual eligibility reviewed separately.
A stabilized operating park, a partly occupied turnaround and a raw-land development need different reviews. Explain what is open today, what revenue is actually collected and what work remains. A strong summer does not establish that the business can carry winter debt payments.
Request a bank or SBA review for the park or compare the commercial property financing options if a transition bridge is the relevant product. The RV park document checklist helps organize the file.
Choose a financing path for the actual transaction
| Path | Situation to discuss | Conditions to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional bank | Acquisition, refinance or another eligible use supported by the park and borrower | Accepted cash flow, value, leverage, equity, guarantees, reserves and maturity |
| SBA | An eligible operating-business transaction under the selected program | Borrower, business, use, structure and separate SBA loan limits |
| Commercial bridge | Qualified acquisition or repositioning requiring a defined exit | Initial advance, improvement holdback, carry, completion conditions and payoff |
| Seller financing | A proposed portion of the purchase price | Bank acceptance, payments, lien position, standby terms and balloon |
The SBA 7(a) overview describes eligible uses and its loan maximum. The 504 overview describes fixed-asset financing and exclusions. Park operations and the proposed transaction must actually meet the selected program’s requirements.
Published bridge pricing is 8.99%–13.5% interest-only, with 12–24 months terms on qualified files. That is a separate product from the bank-arranged offering. Do not carry its rate or closing target into a conventional or SBA request.
Identify the business and property being financed
Describe the owned land, approved sites, utility systems, buildings, amenities and any equipment or accommodations included in the price. Separate land ownership from leased sites or operating rights. Explain the legal use and any unresolved permit or title issue.
Also describe the revenue model. Transient travelers, seasonal guests, longer-stay occupants and rental cabins can create different collection patterns and operating costs. A booked reservation, a prepaid stay and a recurring monthly receipt are different cash events.
For a purchase, identify which contracts, deposits, liabilities, equipment and operating assets transfer. Reconcile the business and property prices before deciding how much of the project is real estate financing.
Reconcile occupancy with actual income
Provide occupancy and site-rate reports alongside collections and financial statements. Separate physical occupied sites from the cash they generate. Free stays, discounts, unpaid balances and blocked sites can make occupied-site counts overstate economic performance.
Show other revenue separately, including laundry, store sales, fees or rentals. Include the associated costs rather than adding gross ancillary revenue directly to net operating income. Explain refunds and deferred revenue so receipts are understood in the correct period.
Ask the lender what history and adjustments it needs. Underwriting may differ from the seller’s pro forma, especially where the business recently changed rates, added sites or had an unusual season.
Build a commercial operating budget
Budget payroll, management, utilities, maintenance, insurance, property taxes, marketing, administration and other recurring costs. Include a realistic cost for duties performed by the current owner. A buyer who must hire a manager cannot treat the seller’s unpaid labor as permanent savings.
Net operating income is effective property or business income less the relevant operating expenses under the selected analysis. A lender may then deduct reserves or other adjustments to reach cash flow available for debt service. Confirm its method.
Keep taxes and insurance in the correct place. In an NOI-based commercial analysis, do not subtract them from operating income and then add them again to the mortgage payment denominator. Residential gross-rent DSCR rules do not define this operating-property review.
Illustration: annual coverage and a slow-season cash gap
The following assumptions describe an invented park and are not loan terms or an approval.
| Annual calculation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Effective collected revenue | $360,000 |
| Operating expenses | $210,000 |
| Net operating income | $150,000 |
| Separate replacement-reserve deduction | $10,000 |
| Cash flow used for this debt test | $140,000 |
| Assumed annual debt service | $110,000 |
| Illustrated coverage | 1.27× |
Annual cash flow after the reserve and debt service is $30,000. That does not mean every month produces a surplus. Suppose each of two slow months collects $12,000 while operating expenses are $15,000. Monthly debt service is about $9,166.67.
Each slow month then uses about $12,166.67 of cash before additional capital work. Two such months need about $24,333.34 of funding. Model reserve deposits and other spending on the actual monthly schedule; do not assume the annual surplus arrives before the bills.
The seasonal RV park cash-flow guide provides a fuller monthly illustration and stress test. Replace its assumptions with the park’s actual seasonal records.
Review utilities and capital needs before sizing debt
Inspect water, wastewater, power capacity, roads, drainage, buildings and amenities with qualified professionals. Identify who owns and maintains each system, the applicable approvals and whether proposed expansion needs new capacity.
A fully booked park can still need a major utility replacement. Separate immediate work, recurring maintenance and longer-term replacement reserves. Include engineering, permits, contingency and the effect of construction on available sites.
For a bridge or improvement facility, obtain the initial advance, funded scope, inspection conditions, retainage and reimbursement sequence. An approved holdback can still require temporary sponsor cash before a draw is released.
Stress the operating and financing assumptions
Run lower occupied nights, lower realized site rates, higher utilities, higher insurance and delayed expansion separately. Then test a reasonable combined downside. Record the effect on annual coverage and the lowest monthly cash balance.
For a refinance, compare the supported new loan with the existing payoff and closing costs. A larger appraised value does not establish sufficient income-based proceeds. Identify any equity contribution before the original loan matures.
If seller financing is proposed, include its payments and maturity in the test. Ask the bank how it treats any standby or contingent terms. Do not assume a seller note replaces required buyer equity.
Prepare the park’s financing package
Bring the transaction or payoff information, ownership and buyer experience, financial records requested by underwriting, monthly collections, site mix, occupancy reports and expense detail. Add the capital plan, utility information, property records and available-funds evidence.
Use how to buy an RV park, RV park valuation and cap-rate questions and SBA versus bridge campground financing for related diligence. Glamping financing introduces additional operating and collateral questions where those accommodations are included.
Our Georgia, Florida, Illinois and Colorado guides are regional resources. Qualified private bridge review is available in all 50 states; the bank channel’s geographic and program acceptance is confirmed for the request.
Submit the bank and SBA inquiry with the park’s location, operating history, amount and purpose, or call (833) 264-7776. Conventional bank and SBA options are arranged through a bank relationship. Program, industry, use, geography and borrower eligibility are reviewed for each request. SBA program limits apply separately.