Real Estate Rookie

102: $10M Profit On Her First Deal?! It's Possible with Campground Investing

Aug 7, 2021

Entrepreneur Heather Blankenship shares how she turned a $3 million campground into a $13 million success. Topics include financing big deals, different streams of income in campgrounds, benefits of long-term vs short-term parks, and developing systems for success.

55:35

Episode guests

Heather Blankenship

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Starting with minimal experience can lead to massive financial success in commercial real estate like campground investing.

Efficient communication with a team through group texts can streamline updates and task assignments for real estate projects.

Deep dives

Starting in Real Estate with Limited Knowledge

Heather made a significant mindset shift from believing she needed to know everything before starting in real estate to realizing that taking the first step is crucial, even without all the details and ingredients.

Introduction

2min

Competition Over Campground Deal and Innovative Financing Options

4min

Heather's Journey into Real Estate Investing

5min

Managing and Investing in RV Parks

19min

Navigating Campground Association Benefits and Indeed Hiring Platform

6min

Diversifying Investments for Stability and Team Management in Real Estate

18min

Information on Guest's Online Presence, Podcast's Social Media, and Rookie Bootcamp

3min

Heather Blankenship was on a road trip from Florida to California, stopping at RV parks and campsites in between driving. She saw how busy these parks were and thought it would be interesting to own one. On her way back to the east coast, she ended up buying a campground in Tennessee for over three million dollars. She had no experience, no team, and no money. Now, that campground is worth over thirteen million dollars!

Although Heather was just 26 at the time, she was able to quickly adapt to the learning curve that the campground presented her. She grew her knowledge and skill set and now oversees around thirty million dollars in RV parks and campgrounds.

We talk about the many different streams of income that a campground or RV park owner can cash in on, how to score financing when buying commercial properties, what to look for in your due diligence phase, and how to underwrite these massive deals. For beginner investors, this can seem like a huge task, but Heather proves that even with no experience, you can put in the work to make massive financial leaps like she did.

In This Episode We Cover

The benefits of owning a campground or RV park

How commercial real estate differs from residential real estate

Financing big deals through bank loans and seller financing

Looking for commercial BRRRRs and value-add opportunities

Long-term parks vs. short-term parks and the benefits of both

Developing systems that leave you less reliant on third-party businesses

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

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