Saturday - mid afternoon
Goodness, I've not attended to my blog in the last several days. Just busy.
Allen came back yesterday so I went over today and we had a discussion about his kids, their lack of motivation and the fact that stuff isn't getting done in a timely manner, if at all. Not my deal, my deal was with you. If you can get them to do the stuff, great, if not then we're going to have to do something else - like you paying rent.
Allen was barking out orders to them this morning, especially the dude. Fix this, fix that, btw you ARE going to fix the boat (I told him I was going to pull it out of there, he said no, he's going to fix it. The discussion went on: I'm willing to pay him, this isn't a park related thing), mow the grass once a week, etc. I'm guessing he'll move on, but that's just a guess. He hasn't been brought up in a home where they don't teach a work ethic, I do know in life you can become overwhelmed by everything, shut down and just do nothing.
Been there, done that. Something has to kick your @$$, basically, to get you back in gear. I don't think Allen barking orders at him will do that, but it will get him to either working or he can leave, either or. They certainly got busy right away as soon as he showed up tho. He's only staying until tomorrow so I have no idea if that effect will continue on, but I do know that I will be letting Allen know whether they are doing as agreed - or not.
Now that I seemingly and finally have something going there, let's discuss the upgrades.
No, I haven't heard anything back from the contractor but he did ask for the legal name of the park yesterday so I'm hoping that means he's working on it. They are busy people, I do know that, but to stay busy, you have to make bids and quotes.
I have decided against an in ground pool. It's way too expensive and the upside to it isn't that much, I don't think. Some people like pools, a lot don't use them. A hot tub, however, is a completely different story. 1st off, it's much cheaper, especially if you get a used one that is still in good shape. There is relatively little to install. A water line and 220 volt for the pumps and the heat. I will very likely install a pool, but it will be an above ground version with a deck built around it, much cheaper. And I won't do it until next year, no point in it now, we're going into cooler season very soon.
No, what I have determined that is an upsell that people really want is covered RV parking. These are park fillers. People will pay more for a lot with a cover over it and they will be happy to do so. Of all the things I have been studying and watching, the covered parking is the best upsell there is available, over pools, spas, club houses, etc. Another upsell is having park wide BBQ's. That takes a lot of time tho and it's also not particularly cheap to feed that many people. Once in a while is ok, Allen was doing it frequently but with people bringing food to help out.
Anyway, I've been looking at pricing on these covers and they aren't cheap. I'd like to find some that are maybe DIY kits, haven't gotten that far yet. This stuff would have to be baked into the loan, I don't have that much money laying around and even if I did, I wouldn't want to put it all on one thing and just not have any cash available. I can say I've put a lot of thought into how to get people in there. If I add lots and can't keep the place full, there is no point in it.
I also have a major competitor now who is doing a lot of advertising and also is offering $200 off first month's rent. So, countered with $100 off and did a Facebook boost ad. I have had no responses to it yet, but it hasn't been 24 hours yet either. I feel like if I could just write an ad with "Covered RV parking!" and hype that up, I could actually steal people, so to speak, from other nearby parks. So that's where I'm at in my thinking about all of this. The contractor gave me a look the other day and said - "don't get into too deep". He was obviously talking about spending too much money. I agree and it further confirmed that an expensive in ground pool is not necessarily that great idea.
I won't even do a mortgage if the monthly payment is too high. I am not going to jeopardize losing the property over mega-high payments. But, presuming I can get a decent monthly payment on a 30 year loan, I'm definitely going to go for it now that I have a clearer path forward. I can see going $2,000 or thereabouts per month, maybe a bit higher since the income will hopefully be there. But I would base it on being partially full, not completely full all the time. You just can't do it that way, people leave and sometimes it takes time to fill the spots back up. I think right now I'm going to have trouble because of this new player in town, tho I feel like I have made a decent counter to his ads. Besides boost I'm also going to post it in all the local selling groups.
I dunno, but I am doing the best I can with the circumstances I am facing. I'm not going to reduce my monthly rent prices beyond giving a first month discount. The new guy's rates aren't any better than mine and my 50 amp price is $25 cheaper per month. I just need the necessary amenities that will draw people in. So, I'm also looking for hot tubs. If one is popular and not enough? I can put 2 in. I don't really care except I think it's going to have to be have a cover over it and that may be a bit pricey. I feel like, at least at this point, that I don't have to go all out with super nice stuff. I can go all out with cheaper stuff that does the same thing. Won't look "resort style", I never claimed to be operating a resort. If people don't like it, go somewhere else. I can't and won't be able to please everyone, I knew this going into this deal. But I do need more than what I have right now.
What I am really relieved about is getting the adult kids of Allen dealt with. I didn't deal with them, Allen did as he should have to begin with. They had no accountability until I got tired of it and texted Allen who then started cranking on them - they are living for free there, this deal between him and them was they did a certain amount of work around the property. Now, I'm just going to text Allen - this and that needs done, please contact your kids, thank you.
That pretty much covers the last several days. I was out there today on the tractor plowing down small trees and brush with the bucket and then mulching them with the bush hogger. I got quite a bit done. I'm trying to get the front completely tidied up so I can just have some grass in there. It's already looking much better but there is more to do. It got way too hot and I just ended up quitting for the day. It's 92 degrees out right now, which with all the humidity, is ridiculous. It was the first day I had an opportunity to use the tractor since the kid brought it back. I guess I could go over there this evening for a couple hours before the sun goes down? Maybe.
The kid did not, however, bring the box blade he said he had and that was a bummer. The driveway is getting messed up again and I need to blade it. The driveway is a constant PITA and if I get the loan, the cost of fixing it will be baked into the cost of adding lots, the contractor already agreed to that. It needs a dozer to get it smooth, a trench on the hill side of it and then add some gravel. He wanted me to do it like he did the RV park driveway - but that's way too expensive. You're talking 20k at least just worth of rocks. I think that if I get a drainage ditch put in and have a crossover for the whatever to drain into, this problem will be eliminated.
I don't remember what I've posted about trucking, but the situation with another driver turned into an argument several days ago. That problem has allegedly been fixed, I dunno, I'm off this weekend and driving trucks is the furthest thing from my mind right now. I need to print out a couple of applications for the SBA loan and get started on that.
In fact, I'm going to do that right now.
