Because the person running your park day to day can make or break your investment
When investors analyze an RV park acquisition they spend a lot of time on the financials. They verify the T12, they stress test the NOI, they model the debt service coverage, and they walk the physical property looking for deferred maintenance and capital needs.
All of that is absolutely right and necessary.
But there’s one due diligence item that often gets less attention than it deserves and in my experience it’s one of the most important factors in whether a stabilized RV park stays stabilized after you close.
The manager.
The person or people running your park day to day are not just employees. They are the face of your business to every guest who checks in. They are the reason your long term guests come back year after year. They are the operational backbone that keeps things running while you’re not on site. And in a remotely operated park they are essentially the business.
Getting this evaluation right before you close can save you enormous headaches, expense, and lost revenue after you close. Here’s how I think about it.
Why the manager evaluation matters so much
Let me paint two pictures for you.
In the first picture you close on a stabilized park, the manager stays on, guests love them, operations continue smoothly, and your financial results in year one track closely to the T12 you underwrote. Your transition is seamless.
In the second picture you close on the same park, the manager leaves or turns out to be underperforming, guests notice the change in service quality, your online reviews take a hit, your repeat guest rate drops, and six months into ownership you’re scrambling to hire and train a replacement while trying to figure out why your revenue is running 15% below pro forma.
The difference between those two scenarios is often the manager. And you have a much better chance of landing in the first picture if you do a thorough manager evaluation before you close rather than just hoping for the best.
Step 1, understand the current manager’s relationship with the owner
The first thing to understand is how the current manager relates to the outgoing owner. Are they a professional property manager with a formal contract? A longtime employee who has been there for years? A family member of the seller? Someone who was recently hired and has no deep roots in the property?
Each of those situations has very different implications for your transition.
A professional manager with a formal contract gives you clarity on terms, compensation, and expectations. A longtime employee with deep guest relationships is a huge asset worth protecting but may also have loyalty to the previous owner that takes time to transfer. A family member of the seller may not be interested in staying under new ownership at all. A recently hired manager may have less institutional knowledge than you’d hope.
Understanding this dynamic tells you a lot about the stability of your management situation going into close.
Step 2, review their track record objectively
Look at the operational results on their watch. Occupancy trends, online review scores and volume, repeat guest rates if you can get them, maintenance response times, and any guest complaints or incidents that are documented.
A manager who has been running a park at 85% occupancy with 4.7 stars on Google for three years is a very different asset than one who recently took over a declining property that happens to look stabilized on a trailing 12 month basis.
Ask the seller directly how long the current manager has been in the role and what the occupancy and review trends looked like before and after they took over. The answer tells you a lot about whether the financial performance you’re underwriting is because of the manager or in spite of them.
Step 3, have a direct conversation with them
This is the step many buyers skip and it’s a mistake. Before you close ask the seller for permission to have a direct conversation with the manager. Most sellers will agree especially if they want a smooth transition.
In that conversation you’re not just gathering information. You’re also building a relationship. Here’s what to cover:
How long have they been in the role and what did they do before. What they love about the property and what they find challenging. How they handle guest complaints and difficult situations. What systems and processes they have in place for operations. What they think the property needs most. Whether they’re interested in continuing under new ownership and what their expectations are around compensation and their role going forward.
Pay attention not just to what they say but how they say it. Do they talk about guests with genuine care? Do they have a clear and organized approach to operations? Do they seem proud of the property? Do they ask thoughtful questions about your plans as the new owner?
A manager who is engaged, knowledgeable, and genuinely invested in the property is an asset worth paying for. A manager who seems checked out, vague about operations, or primarily concerned about their own situation is a risk worth understanding before you close.
Step 4, verify their compensation and understand the full cost
Make sure you understand exactly what the current manager is being paid, including salary or hourly rate, any housing provided on site, utilities covered, bonuses, and any other benefits or perks.
This matters for two reasons. First, you need to make sure the full cost of management is accurately reflected in your underwriting. Second you need to know what it will take to retain them if you want to.
A manager who is being paid below market is a flight risk. If they leave shortly after your acquisition because a competitor offers them more money, you’re left scrambling at exactly the wrong time. If retaining them requires a compensation adjustment factor that into your numbers before you close not after.
Step 5, have a retention plan ready
If your evaluation tells you this is a strong manager worth keeping have a retention conversation before or immediately after closing. Not a vague “we hope you’ll stay” conversation but a specific discussion about their role, their compensation, their responsibilities, and your expectations going forward.
Strong managers have options. They know good parks want them. If you want to keep yours, give them a reason to stay early and make it concrete.
A simple retention bonus tied to staying through the first 12 months of your ownership, a modest compensation increase that reflects their value, and a clear conversation about your plans for the property and their role in those plans goes a long way toward securing the continuity that protects your investment.
What to do if the manager is a risk
Sometimes your evaluation tells you the current manager is not someone you want to retain. Maybe their track record doesn’t support the financial results. Maybe they’re clearly not interested in staying. Maybe the seller confirms they’re planning to leave regardless.
In that case your job before closing is to have a replacement plan ready. Not a theoretical plan but an actual plan. Who will manage the property on day one if the current manager walks? Do you have a candidate identified? Do you have a relationship with a professional property management company that specializes in RV parks?
Walking into close without a management succession plan when you know the current manager is a risk is one of the most preventable mistakes in RV park acquisition. Don’t let it happen to you.
The bottom line
The financial analysis you do before closing tells you what the property has been. The manager evaluation tells you a big part of what it will be under your ownership.
A great manager is one of the most valuable assets you can inherit in an acquisition. A problematic management situation is one of the most expensive problems to fix after the fact.
Do the work before you close. Have the conversation. Understand what you have. And walk in on closing day with a clear plan for the person who is going to run your investment every single day.
If you want help reviewing the deal or thinking through your management transition plan, I would love to work with you.
Visit me at https://www.pvifinancial.com and let’s make sure you’re set up for success from day one.
~Wendi | PVI Financial | Fractional CFO & Bookkeeping Services for Small Business & Outdoor Hospitality
Click here to read “How to Structure Your First 90 Days as a New RV Park Owner”
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