What Due Diligence Documents Should You Request From an RV Park Seller?
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Request everything in five buckets: financials, leases and contracts, utility and infrastructure records, legal and title documents, and permits or licenses. If a seller can't produce most of this within a week or two, that's information too. Most RV parks are run by small operators who don't keep clean books, so the diligence period is where you find out what you're actually buying, not just what you're being told you're buying.
The short version
| What sellers usually hand over | What you have to ask for by name | |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | Often a summary P&L or a broker-built pro forma | Bank statements, tax returns, rent rolls |
| Effort required | Low, it's already assembled | Higher, you have to request specific line items and follow up |
| Risk if you stop here | You buy based on someone else's story | Low, you've verified the numbers yourself |
Where the seller's packet wins
Every seller or broker will give you something to start with. Usually it's a one or two page profit and loss summary, a site map, and maybe a rate sheet. This is useful for a first pass. It tells you the story the seller wants you to believe: occupancy, average daily rate, and a rough expense number. If the story doesn't work even in the seller's own version, you can pass quickly and save yourself time.
The packet also usually includes photos, a general description of utilities (well and septic vs city water and sewer, for example), and sometimes a list of long-term tenants or seasonal guests. This gives you a fast way to screen deals before committing real diligence hours to them.
The limitation is obvious. A summary P&L has no backup. Anyone can write a number on a page. The seller's packet is a starting point for a letter of intent, not a basis for a purchase decision.
Where the request-it-yourself list wins
The documents that actually protect you are the ones you have to ask for specifically, often more than once. These fall into a few groups.
Financial records
- Profit and loss statements for the trailing 3 years, monthly if possible, not just annual
- Federal tax returns for the business, same period
- Bank statements for the same period, to cross check deposits against reported revenue
- A current rent roll showing every occupied site, the tenant name, monthly or annual rate, move-in date, and whether they're on a written lease, a verbal agreement, or month to month
- A trailing 12 month occupancy report by site type (long-term, monthly, weekly, nightly/transient) if the park tracks this separately
- Accounts receivable aging, so you know if tenants are behind on rent
Leases and contracts
- Copies of any written leases, including long-term tenant leases, storage agreements, or land leases if the park sits on leased ground
- Any management agreements, whether with an on-site manager, a third-party management company, or a booking platform
- Service contracts: trash hauling, landscaping, pest control, laundry machine leases, propane supply, septic pumping
- Any equipment leases (golf carts, mowers, laundry equipment)
Utility and infrastructure records
- Utility bills for the trailing 12 months (electric, water, sewer, gas, trash)
- Well and septic permits and inspection records, if the park is not on city services
- Any engineering reports, capacity studies, or documentation of past system failures or upgrades
- Electrical service records, especially amperage per site and any panel or pedestal upgrades
Legal and title documents
- Title commitment and survey
- Any existing loan documents if you're considering an assumption
- Litigation history, including any pending or past lawsuits, liens, or code violations
- Easements or encroachments that affect the property
Permits and licenses
- Business license and any required lodging or campground permits
- Health department permits if the park has a pool, store, or food service
- Fire marshal inspection records
- Zoning verification, confirming the property is legally allowed to operate as an RV park under current code
None of this is exotic. It's the same diligence you'd expect for any small commercial property. The difference with RV parks is that a large share of sellers are mom and pop operators who never assembled this material in the first place, which means some of these documents may not exist in clean form. That's not automatically a deal killer, but it changes how you verify things. You may end up rebuilding a rent roll from bank deposits and a physical site walk instead of receiving one ready-made.
What this looks like in practice
In real diligence, you rarely get everything on the first request. Expect to ask two or three times, and expect some categories to come back thin. Tax returns and bank statements are usually available because sellers keep those for their own accountant. Written leases are often missing entirely for long-term tenants who've been there for years on a handshake. Well and septic records are hit or miss depending on the county and how long the current owner has held the property.
When something is missing, don't just accept "we don't have that." Ask how the seller would answer the underlying question another way. No rent roll? Pull 12 months of bank statements and reconcile deposits against the number of occupied sites. No septic permit? Call the county health department directly and ask what's on file for that parcel. No lease for a long-term tenant? Talk to the tenant directly during your site visit, if the seller allows it, and confirm the rate and how long they've been there.
The goal of the diligence period isn't to collect a folder of paper. It's to answer a short list of real questions: does the income match what's being represented, is the infrastructure sound enough to avoid a surprise capital call in year one, and is there anything legal or regulatory that could shut down or shrink the operation. If a document category is missing, that's fine as long as you find another way to answer the underlying question. If you can't, that's a real gap, and it should show up in your price or your walk-away decision.
FAQ
What if the seller refuses to provide tax returns?
This is a common sticking point, especially with smaller operators who are uncomfortable sharing tax filings. A reasonable middle ground is a signed authorization letting your accountant or attorney review returns without you personally holding copies, or accepting bank statements as a substitute for revenue verification. Outright refusal to provide any income verification at all is a red flag worth taking seriously.
How long should a diligence period be for an RV park?
Ranges vary by deal size and financing, but 30 to 60 days is common for a small to mid-size park, with extensions if wells, septic, or environmental issues need further testing. Larger or more complex properties, or ones with owner financing or seller carry, sometimes get 60 to 90 days. Build in enough time to actually chase down slow-to-respond document requests, since that's usually the bottleneck, not the physical inspection itself.
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