Florida RV park bridge files bind wind mitigation and flood quotes on coastal and river-corridor parks before the loan closes. Inland I-75 and I-10 travel-stop parks at $1.2M–$3.5M carry a lower insurance load than Gulf snowbird destinations. Trailing 12-month occupancy captures summer trough on northern Florida assets versus year-round South Florida demand. Hub: RV park financing guide · Compare MHC Florida.
Bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO at 65%–80% LTV; SBA 7(a) path on stabilized NOI above 1.25x DSCR. Rates: RV park loan rates 2026 · how to buy an RV park.
Florida remains the largest US outdoor hospitality market by pad count — snowbird full-hookup resorts, Orlando corridor tourist parks, and glamping hybrids on inland acreage. Insurance premium inflation since 2022 is the dominant underwriting variable — use binding quotes, not expiring seller policies. Acquisition: how to buy an RV park · Valuation: RV park cap rates · Insurance: Florida DSCR insurance guide
Florida RV park segments and basis bands
| Type | Example markets | Basis band | Seasonality | Lender note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snowbird full-hookup | Lee, Collier, Charlotte | $1.8M–$3.5M | High winter / lower summer | Model T-12, not January × 12 |
| Theme-park corridor | Orlando / Kissimmee | $1.4M–$2.8M | Event + tourist | Strong ADR, higher opex |
| Inland travel corridor | Polk, Marion, Sumter | $900K–$1.6M | Moderate year-round | Lower insurance load |
| Panhandle beach | Walton, Bay, Okaloosa | $1.2M–$2.4M | Hurricane exposure | Conservative LTV |
| Glamping hybrid | Keys inland, Everglades edge | $1.1M–$2.2M | Operator-dependent | Glamping financing |
Charlotte County snowbird parks trade $1.9M–$2.6M on 75–110 pads — wind premiums $55K–$95K/yr on Gulf-adjacent files. Polk County inland travel stops at $980K–$1.45M with 40%–50% lower insurance than Lee County on identical hookup mix.
Compare program paths: SBA vs bridge campground acquisitions
Worked example — Polk County inland 88-pad turnaround
$1.52M purchase · 69% T-12 occupancy · full hookup, inland Polk (not coastal)
| Phase | Detail |
|---|---|
| Bridge acquisition | 68% LTV ($1.034M) + $245K bathhouse/pool/WiFi holdback at 11.5% IO |
| Insurance verified | +$52K/yr vs seller expiring policy — in bridge memo |
| PIP timeline | 10 months — 50-amp pad electric upgrade, bathhouse refresh |
| Post-PIP | 79% occupancy, ADR +11% ($58 → $64 avg nightly) |
| Stabilized NOI | ~$13,850/mo after opex |
| Refi target | Illustration: $1.18M at 7.25%, 25-year payment $8,529, coverage 1.62x, month 17 |
Worst-month DSCR stress-tested at August occupancy — not February snowbird peak.
Cap rates: RV park cap rates and valuation
Florida RV park diligence checklist
- Wind / flood insurance — binding quote in pro forma; FEMA zone and elevation certificate
- Phase I environmental — prior gas station or marina adjacency
- Pad permits — unpermitted expansion kills refi
- Business interruption coverage — lender may require on coastal files
- Citizens / surplus lines carrier — verify AM Best rating
- Trailing 12 P&L — not peak-month annualized
Regulatory: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Seasonality and DSCR modeling
Lenders require trailing 12-month P&L, not peak-month annualization:
| Month type | Gulf/Atlantic snowbird | Inland Polk/Marion |
|---|---|---|
| Peak | Jan–Mar snowbird | Nov–Apr snowbird + winter |
| Trough | Aug–Sep hurricane season | Jun–Aug summer |
| Reserve | 6-month PITIA on bridge | 3–6 months PITIA |
| Insurance | Wind + flood in pro forma | Moderate wind only |
Gulf and Atlantic parks often show 40%–55% occupancy spread between January and March peak — permanent lenders underwrite trailing twelve, not your best weekend in February. Size bridge for 18 months when acquiring December–March so you capture a full snowbird cycle before refi application.
Exit and refinance path
Florida RV park sponsors choose submarket before LOI — snowbird Gulf Coast, Orlando tourist corridor, and inland travel stops produce different bridge and refi clocks.
Community bank refi (inland Polk): Illustration: $1.18M at 7.25% on a 25-year payment is $8,529 a month. Coverage on $13,850 NOI is 1.62x. The old 1.26x tag does not match that payment. The $1.18M loan can replace the $1.034M bridge. It cannot also repay a fully drawn $245K holdback. Banks credit a higher nightly rate only after several trailing months of the new pads. Finish the electric work before you apply.
SBA 7(a) path (stabilized snowbird): After two peak seasons and clean T-12, SBA refi at 65%–75% LTV with 1.25x+ DSCR. Compare timeline: SBA vs bridge campground acquisitions.
Gulf Coast caution: Lee and Collier parks require current wind/flood carrier quote before bridge approval — insurance $55K–$95K/yr compresses NOI 10%–15%, dropping refi LTV 5–8 points. Model August–September hurricane-season vacancy explicitly in T-12.
Orlando corridor: Theme-park adjacent parks command premium ADR but higher opex — refi viable at 75%+ occupancy when T-12 shows event-driven shoulder months, not just peak weekends.
Glamping hybrid: Segment pod revenue on rent roll from traditional pad rent — banks underwrite hybrid streams separately per glamping outdoor hospitality financing.
Bridge file package (Florida RV park)
Submit with LOI when possible:
- Trailing 12-month P&L (not peak month annualized)
- Occupancy by month — 12-month grid
- Insurance binder or quote — wind/flood if applicable
- Utility bills — per-pad electric and water
- Phase I environmental on river/coastal parcels
- Sponsor outdoor hospitality resume — first park vs portfolio
Florida vs. Georgia RV comparison
Snowbird Southwest Florida parks command premium ADR but insurance load compresses NOI vs Central Georgia travel stops. Underwrite each T-12 — do not apply state-wide cap rates. Georgia guide: outdoor hospitality Georgia.
Florida RV park insurance workbook (post-2022)
Binding wind/flood quote on the exact parcel before LOI — seller expiring policy is not underwriting input. Gulf snowbird parks: model August–September hurricane-season vacancy in T-12; inland Polk/Marion travel stops carry 40%–50% lower insurance load.
Regulatory reference: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation · Business interruption coverage often required on coastal bridge files.
Related
- Mobile home park loans Florida — lot-rent sibling asset
- Georgia outdoor hospitality
- Hard money lenders Florida
- Orlando STR vs LTR DSCR — residential comparison
Attach wind/flood bind and travel-corridor vs destination mix — Florida RV park file · Florida campground hub · (833) 264-7776
Florida prices, the Miami index, jobs, and permits
The all-transactions index was 825.70 in the second quarter of 2026, up 1.4% from 814.30 a year earlier. It is not seasonally adjusted. The first quarter of 1980 equals 100. See FRED FLSTHPI.
Miami’s Case-Shiller index, seasonally adjusted, was 449.814 in July 2026, up 3.5% from 434.486 in July 2025. January 2000 equals 100. See FRED MIXRSA. A Miami house index is not a Polk County campground. It does show South Florida housing rising faster than the statewide all-transactions index over these periods. Do not paste the Miami percent onto an inland park. Do not ignore it when winter guests are weighing a coastal house against a monthly site.
Unemployment was 4.6% in August 2026 and 4.3% in August 2025. The rate is not seasonally adjusted. See FRED FLURN. August is also hurricane season. Keep the jobs print and the storm month as separate lines. Do not average them away.
Permits were 13,980 new private housing units in August 2026, from 13,590 in August 2025. Not seasonally adjusted. See FRED FLBPPRIV. Starts on that scale compete with monthly RV stays along I-75. They are not a reason to annualize February.
Court foreclosure, not a trustee auction
Florida mortgages are foreclosed in court. Florida Statutes § 702.01 says all mortgages shall be foreclosed in equity. The foreclosure claim is tried to the court without a jury. The court severs counterclaims against the foreclosing mortgagee for a separate trial.
The statute does not give a month count. A distressed park can sit in a court case while interest runs. Fit that risk inside a 12- to 24-month bridge. Do not underwrite a Florida file as if a trustee could auction it next month.
Bridge, bank, and SBA paths
Florida bridge loans from Jaken Finance Group are 8.99% to 13.5% for 12 to 24 months. A qualified purchase can reach 90% of price. Close is 7 to 10 business days.
Many park files here land at 65% to 80% because wind, flood, and seasonality consume leverage. The 90% figure is the bridge cap. It is not what a Gulf park with a stale insurance policy will clear.
A 1.25x test on a stabilized park is income divided by the loan payment. It is not a residential DSCR loan. That loan is 5.75% to 10.5% and closes in about 14 business days. It is the wrong instrument for an 88-pad campground.
SBA 7(a) loans can acquire, refinance, or improve real estate and buildings, up to $5 million. See SBA 7(a) loans. The Polk illustration’s $1.18 million target is a community bank loan in the example, not an SBA approval. If you later use 7(a), the amount is under the published maximum. The maximum is not a yes. Timing differences are sketched in commercial bridge loans versus SBA loans.
Polk County illustration, payment check
The price stays $1.52 million. The bridge is $1.034 million, 68% of price, at 11.5% interest-only. That interest is $9,909 a month. Add the $245,000 holdback and the balance is $1.279 million. Interest on both is $12,257 a month.
NOI of $13,850 covers $9,909 at about 1.40x. It covers $12,257 at about 1.13x. The second figure is tight for a seasonal park. Do not quote 1.40x if the holdback is still outstanding.
A $1.18 million loan at 7.25% on a 25-year schedule costs $8,529 a month. Coverage is $13,850 divided by $8,529, or 1.62x. The $1.18 million does not repay $1.279 million of bridge plus holdback. The gap is about $99,000 before costs. You need cash, a larger permanent loan, or a holdback that was not fully drawn.
Month 17 fits 12 to 24 months. It does not fit a plan that waits for two full winters unless the bridge runs toward month 24. Gulf parks in Lee and Collier should not copy this inland coverage. Their insurance bill is a different NOI.
A court case does not delay the insurance bind. Order the wind and flood quote on the exact parcel before you ask for the bridge to close, even when title is clean and no foreclosure is pending. The 7- to 10-business-day close assumes that quote is already in the folder. A Gulf file that arrives with only the seller’s expiring policy will not see the fast end of that range. Inland Polk files still need a current wind quote. They usually do not need the same flood binder as a coastal lot.
Florida park / niche segment gates — Tampa Bay (2026)
- RV park underwriting on Tampa Bay — pad count, utility infrastructure, and ~0.86% tax on operating entity.
- Wind mitigation and Citizens depopulation — bind coastal quote on exact parcel, not inland county average — segment comps do not cross into vanilla SFR Orlando pricing.
- Bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO with documented operating history or value-add scope before agency take-out.
Tampa Bay RV park bridge 8.99%–13.5% IO · Florida hard money · (833) 264-7776.