So You Want to Buy an Rv Park, Huh. Are Ye Daft?

Nora-Gaye and I lived this story, beginning when we thought about buying an RV park and living in it. We ended up in our own RV park for for more than nine years. What we relate here is how she got started,what we decided, saw, felt, learned, tried, "kicked tires", tested, and finally bought an RV Park in Apopka FL in 2002. It was a fixer-upper---Oh, how it was a fixer-upper! The first thing we did was to device a testing system for every RV park we thought was interesting. Checking on the internet, we narrowed down the search to the Southeast US. Even then, we narrowed it down further to about a dozen RV parks that were fixer-uppers. It did not take long---after we started traveling in our own RV---to see what these parks were about. Of parks in Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, only the one in Georgia was a great park. Unfortunately, it was also one off the beaten path. Finally, we dropped into Florida and inspected a few. One was absolutely the greatest we had seen. However, the owner insisted on a cash only basis without telling us his income. Eventually, we came to an Over 55 park in Apopka, Florida. It was rundown. The only people coming there were old folks from the northland, Snowbirds, who came for the winter. Driving around the ten acre park, we were not impressed, even as a fixer-upper. However, nothing else was available and we came back in January to stay. In April, we made an offer, accepted right away, and we began planning. Literally everything had to be rebuilt to 2002 standards! The burgeoning RV industry that was changing all the previous rules. We have included our personal interests as well as the agonizing methods of rebuilding to park. Ours, renamed Orange Blossom RV Resort, would be a Family Park. That would include swings, monkey bars, and other children's delights, as well as adult delights. The swimming pool had to be rebuilt before it was acceptable by the FL Dept of Health, for use. The rebuilding process included the bathrooms, the streets, the RV sites for back-in and pull-thru; realigning all the sites for ease of pull in and out. The streets were repave to a smooth texture. Meanwhile, we learned about financial responsibility with a variety of online applications. Once we established our new park, we encouraged trips to many historical sites around middle Florida. This was in addition to the many great delights, such as Disney World ands Universal Studios, not to mention several others. Included herein are many tips for anyone who desires to build or buy an existing RV Park. Several Warnings are spelled out for the unwary. But, listen, there are many humorous stories that you, too, would fall into. Read on, learn, and enjoy.