I've come to the determination that I'm definitely going to the next tax lien auction - if there's anything there worth buying.  My town has shut down a couple of the places where local truckers - those that also live here - used to park, one of them there were always a bunch of trucks parked there. Whoever owns it - probably the shopping mall - shut it down and put tape all over the place. 

There is only one truck stop in town and it's a s***hole.  It's horrible. The parking lot is huge, yes, but it's full of huge craters the sizes of small swimming pools.  I have therefore determined - tho I have given thought about this before anyway - that I need to open up a couple acres worth of truck parking - paid of course - but cheap.  

If I had a place that was cheap enough - $100 per month parking fee or maybe less, just depends on what the market will bear - I could make some dough off of it with little investment and without a lot of labor expenses.  But beyond that?  Drivers looking for a place to park overnight. 

See, vast majority of truckers won't pay to park - but that's because of outrageous pricing.  TA's charge $18 per night.  I think Petros charge the same. Another place I have stayed at charges $12.  You get 100 trucks in there - which is easily doable if you're right off the freeway - that adds up quickly.  It even can make prime property near the Interstate worth whatever outrageous price they want for it for the fact that you will easily make your money back quickly.

But I don't want to pay prime rates, that just isn't my style lol.  When you start talking about giving $5, $6 may $7 per night that will attract people who ordinarily wouldn't pay anything.  

I've been thinking about this for a while now.  I may should have started out with this before the RV park the more I think about it.  2 to 4 acres would work, it just has to have enough to park at least 100 trucks.  You can get 40-50 trucks in an acre of land if you go to the trouble of actually marking out the spaces. They cram them in at truck stops, I can tell ya.  The land needs no trees, it needs to be barren land.  Truckers don't care about trees and if there are any, they'd all have to come down.

I am admittedly a tree lover - tree hugger? I don't care what the labels are, it is exceedingly hard for me to think about cutting down those beautiful, majestic, 75 plus foot tall trees on the property I am buying. But alas, some of them are going to have to come down. They won't go to waste tho, I'll split them and sell them as firewood at $150 per cord.  

Anyway, I am going to be looking for property near the Interstate and near Highway 59. I might even see if there is property for rent that can be easily converted.  That's not a bad idea, actually, I don't have to own the property to make money off of it even with a monthly rental payment.  Hmmm and I have a couple of places in mind that would work. This would be a much less capital invested project and could easily make several thousand or more per month.

I know this because I am a truck driver and I know how hard it is to find parking.  When you find a place that works for you, that is the top of your list for stopping when you are on the route that takes you by there.  You figure there is going to be parking available. Get the parking location on Trucker Path and you are on the map.  You don't even have to do any advertising, Trucker's Path is a free app, most truckers use it and once you're on there, they will consider using your services. It will tell truckers that it is a paid parking place and it will list the price it costs to park there.  

When it comes to paid parking, greed is not the name of the game.  There is a glaring niche for parking now after the Elog requirement from the feds and everyone all of the sudden started cramming truck stop parking lots full at early hours.  

That is why I am thinking about trying this.  A simple ticket system would work.  Pay the fee at the entrance, get a ticket with the gate code on it and you just eliminated having to pay someone to attend the lot.  Put in surveillance cameras all over, it's a done deal.  A rental lot would actually be better.  I have attempted to get my mind off the RV adventure since I am told it probably won't close until the end of May.  

Well, excepting my banker friend next door. He encouraged me to look into an SBA loan.  I had thought about that but I didn't know if I wanted to go into extreme debt to get this thing started. It means having to get it up and running quickly, meaning paying more money to have others do the work for you. He said I don't have to have business experience, they have money and practically no one to lend it to - and at low interest rates.  A 200k loan would get the park up, running and filled with amenities such as a bath house/bathroom, a laundry facility, the office and a gathering place.  It would provide for 80 lots right up front and the office facility would be large enough to have a convenience store in it.  A propane refill station, highly popular even if you charge a little extra over wholesale - obviously anything you are doing has profit in mind.  

Of course, a 200k loan would also have a fairly good monthly payment, the park would have to be a success pretty quickly to afford that.  The only thing I really thought about for getting loans up to this point is for getting the land, the rest of it I figured to do as I could afford it. Get at least 20 spots up and going with a few amenities - mostly the full hook ups are the biggest attraction for getting anyone and everyone to come there along with the beauty of the tall pines and walking trails in the portion of the property that will remain undeveloped.  

Anyway, when I get back from this trip - I am in Brownsville, got down here an hour ago, there was an empty trailer and this time I don't mind not having detention pay - I am going to go looking around for suitable property to start a parking venture.  I just sold myself on the idea of just leasing property if there is anything available that is suitable and I know where to  look, a couple of properties for lease just south of I-20.  

For the 2cd week from now pay period, even just an Oklahoma run would ramp up the pay period to a nice, sizeable check and that wouldn't bother me.  It's highly unlikely I'm going to get a 3rd Brownsville in a row - tho I certainly wouldn't turn it down.  I won't have enough hours for a long trip, thankfully, I don't want a long trip right now.  Actually I don't want any long trips. I don't complain about them when they give them to me, I'd just prefer not to be out for 3,4 or more days at a time.  

I mean, the lender said closing probably not until the end of May - this month now. That's a long time.  I don't even know if I want to go back to the property now until it closes.  Dogs can go to hunting property and have just as much fun wandering around there - and much less underbrush to deal with as well.  I'm still looking at information about RV parks - it's seemingly endless, but this property? Just need to chill on that for a while.  I'll turn my attention to another business venture that will cost nothing near as much as an RV park but still make some decent profit.  I've waited a bit long in life to do any of this - but I never had the money or the credit to do this kind of thing until I got this job I am now working. 

Money - it takes money to make money.  I'm also much more patiently waiting for these other properties to "mature" - the 6 month waiting period - and then I can find a title company to take care of that business and then put them up for sale.  I am still seriously considering petitioning the city council for an over-ride on the planning and development manager's decision. It's ridiculous at it's face, considering that particular street.  The council is full of liberals, if I appeal to them emotionally, I can at least hope to see them vote against this planning manager's ridiculousness. What's the emotional appeal? I just went through a listing of houses for rent in my town, not that many and pretty pricey for what you are getting.  

See, I'm not this 'get rich quick' mindset. I'm more like - give the person who can't find a break anyway - a break.  Of course there would have to be down money, that's only responsible for a seller in a rent to own scenario. If they trash the property, break/ruin stuff, you have their money to fix it with.  My realtor is all over it, she'll gladly put her real estate sign in front of these properties and I will gladly pay her fee- tacked on to the asking price of the land.  Yea, I'm not paying for that.  

I've been getting shafted all of my adult life with outrageous interest rates and fees because I didn't have good credit. Screw those companies and yes, people that have a solid income should get a break as long as their existing credit history doesn't show a lot of delinquents.  

If you've read this page for any length of time, you know the unbelievable amount of stuff I had to go through to get approved for a land loan.  I literally had no idea. Even with excellent credit, I was grilled on every single little thing.  Then they told me I had too much debt - which I don't but it's whatever - I had to pay off 2 credit cards and a personal loan. I jumped through their hoops.  I get there is risk involved, but my goodness, how does anyone get anything without making a lot of money? You don't.  You get s*** and you get screwed.  "Your credit 'sucks' you will have to pay MORE to get a loan!".  Convenient way to tell you they are about to screw you up the ying and yang and tough if you don't like it.

Sorry for the rant, but I could be a millionaire by now if I had only been given a chance to make something of myself at an earlier age. I'd like to be able to take some of my earnings from potential profits and give it back to the Kingdom of Heaven. Missionaries, churches actually doing God's work,  people that are in need. I've done that throughout my life anyway, but I could do it on a broader scale. I wouldn't mind my own soup kitchen - my town is listed as having 25% poverty rate.  That's a big percentage of people in the poverty cycle.  People get into that rut and they can't find a way out.  You have to have an address and a phone number to be considered for employment. I'm a working man, no one gets a free pass without commitment to finding a job and getting themselves back on their feet - with help.

I have all kinds of ideas for all kinds of things.  Just never had the wherewithal to do much of it.  

And after mulling the idea of just doing Oklahoma runs when I start getting some decent income from business, I have really embraced that idea.  But I have also read that the fuel tanker industry is in great demand now and they are desperately looking for people to fill positions.  I dunno about our company, it's one of the largest fuel tanker divisions in the country.  I can learn fuel lol, that's a daily thing in a daycab, home every night/day.  

My plans however are to get out of the trucking industry much sooner than I originally anticipated.  That may or may not happen, we'll see, but that is a new goal that I would like to meet early on.  There's a lot of decisions to make after that property closes, that's all I can say for now. Well, quitting my job isn't on that list, but decisions about loans, pads, expenses, etc.  The SBA loan is appealing to some degree.  I'm giving it some thought.  

Anyway, I'm hooked up to empty trailer and will be leaving around 7:30 am.  I'd leave hours earlier but I can't, the 10 hour required break isn't over until after 7 am and then a required pre trip inspection.  Otherwise?  I'd just get up in 6 hours and get home early afternoon lol. 

With that, I'm going to bed.  

G'nite.