Can you get REP status from owning an RV park?

Yes. RV parks are generally treated as businesses involving active real estate operations, which means time spent managing the property can count toward Real Estate Professional status hours under IRS guidelines. This is one of the structural advantages of the asset class compared to traditional multifamily, where passive income classification limits your ability to use losses against active income. Always confirm the specifics with your CPA.

What is the bonus depreciation deadline and why does it matter for RV parks?

Under current tax law, 100% bonus depreciation is available for qualifying short-lived assets placed in service through the end of 2026. RV parks, because they are classified as businesses rather than standard residential real estate, allow for a higher allocation to shorter-lived depreciable components through cost segregation. That means a larger first-year deduction relative to the purchase price. If you have a meaningful tax liability and are planning an acquisition, doing it before December 31, 2026 is worth serious attention.

Why is seller financing more common with RV parks than with multifamily?

Most RV parks in the small-to-mid-size range are owned by long-term operators, often individuals or families who have held the property for decades. These sellers frequently prefer installment sales for tax reasons, or simply do not need a lump sum at closing. Additionally, traditional lenders are less enthusiastic about RV parks as collateral, which makes the buyer's ask for creative deal structuring feel more normal in this asset class than in conventional residential or commercial transactions.

What is a realistic buy box for a first RV park acquisition?

My personal buy box is $500,000 to $2.5 million purchase price, 40 to 150 sites, at least 55 percent occupancy, $60,000 or more in stabilized net operating income, and a strong preference for seller financing or assumable debt. I am targeting mom-and-pop operated properties in the Southeast primarily, with secondary targets in Texas, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Missouri, and Ohio. Light value-add properties where operations have not been optimized are the most interesting.

Are RV parks considered affordable housing?

Some RV parks, particularly those with a significant long-term resident base, function as de facto affordable housing. Residents who use RV parks as primary residences are often doing so because traditional rental options have become unaffordable. This positions certain RV parks within the broader affordable housing ecosystem, with some policy frameworks beginning to acknowledge manufactured housing communities and long-term RV parks as part of the affordable housing supply. The investment case for this category has strengthened as housing cost burden data has worsened nationally.

How does RV park investing compare to short-term rental investing?

Both asset classes are treated as businesses rather than traditional real estate for tax purposes, which creates similar bonus depreciation and REP status opportunities. STRs typically involve higher per-unit revenue but also more intensive guest management. RV parks involve lower per-site revenue but significantly lower infrastructure and maintenance costs, and a more stable long-term tenant base in parks with a residential component. The deal sourcing environment is also different: STRs compete in public MLS markets, while RV parks are frequently off-market and accessible through direct owner outreach.

Why I Am Buying RV Parks in 2026 Instead of Apartments

I get asked this question a lot, usually from people who assume I should be buying more multifamily.

The honest answer is: multifamily is a reasonable asset class. I have it in my portfolio. But when I look at where I want to allocate capital specifically before November 30, 2026, RV parks make more sense than apartments on almost every dimension that matters to me.

Here is the full case.

The Bonus Depreciation Window Closes This Year

This is the most time-sensitive piece of the argument, and the one most investors are not thinking about clearly.

Under current tax law, 100% bonus depreciation is available for qualifying short-lived assets through the end of 2026. RV parks, like short-term rentals, are classified as businesses rather than traditional real estate. That business classification means a higher percentage of the purchase price can be allocated to shorter-lived depreciable assets. When combined with a cost segregation study, the first-year tax benefit on a qualifying acquisition can be substantial.

My minimum target for this acquisition is $150,000 in first-year tax benefits from a single deal. That number is achievable on the right RV park. It is significantly harder to hit on a comparable apartment building, where the depreciation schedule is slower and the business treatment does not apply.

If you have a meaningful income tax liability and you are not thinking about this before December 31, you are leaving money on the table.

Cash Flow Is Structurally Stronger Than Multifamily

RV parks generate revenue the way short-term rentals do: nightly and weekly rates, paid in advance, with low per-unit infrastructure costs.

Compare that to a small apartment building. Each unit has plumbing, appliances, HVAC, and a tenant with legal protections that slow your ability to address non-payment or property damage. The expense structure is heavier. The collections process is longer. The legal exposure is higher.

An RV park is closer to selling access to land and utilities than it is to traditional property management. That simplicity compresses expenses. Margins at well-run parks in the $500,000 to $2.5 million range, which is my buy box, can be meaningfully stronger than equivalent-price multifamily on a net operating income basis.

I want to be clear that this is not yet based on a closed acquisition. It is based on research, underwriting practice, and operator conversations. When I close on one, I will share the real numbers. For now, the structure of the economics is what draws me in.

Seller Financing Is the Norm, Not the Exception

Most RV parks in my target size range are owned by operators who have held the same property for twenty or thirty years. They are often not optimized, which creates value-add potential. More importantly, they frequently prefer seller financing.

Mom and pop operators understand installment sales from a tax perspective. They often do not need a lump sum. Investors who already own multiple properties are also generally open to creative structures because they know how the math works.

Traditional lenders are not enthusiastic about RV parks as collateral. That dynamic works in a buyer's favor. It opens the door to seller carryback arrangements, assumable debt, and creative deal structures that are much harder to negotiate on a conventional apartment building where every seller expects a clean cash close.

The SubTo and Gator communities I operate in are built around exactly this kind of deal sourcing. This asset class maps directly onto that skill set.

REP Status Carries Forward Into Future Years

I already have Real Estate Professional status through the Fig House. But REP status is not permanent. You earn it each tax year by meeting the IRS hour requirements in qualifying real estate activities.

If I ever reduce my involvement in the Fig House, sell it, or it no longer qualifies as my primary REP vehicle, I need another qualifying asset to maintain the designation. RV parks qualify because they are treated as businesses involving active real estate operations.

Holding an RV park future-proofs my tax strategy without requiring me to hold the STR indefinitely. That optionality has real value.

This Is an Affordable Housing Bet, and the Data Is Strong

Here is the piece of the argument most investors are not discussing yet.

A meaningful portion of the RV park market functions as de facto affordable housing. Long-term residents, retirees on fixed incomes, workers between leases, and families who have been priced out of traditional rentals are increasingly relying on RV parks and manufactured housing communities as primary residences.

The macro backdrop supports this. Nearly half of U.S. renters are currently paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition has documented a shortage of roughly 7.1 million affordable and available homes for the country's lowest-income renter households. Meanwhile, NOI growth at income-restricted properties averaged 8.7 percent in 2025, compared to just 2.2 percent across market-rate multifamily, according to Yardi Matrix data. The affordable housing shortage is rooted in decades of restrictive zoning, slow permitting, and escalating construction costs, and analysts do not expect it to be resolved within this decade.

My portfolio right now skews toward Class A assets in high-cost urban markets. Adding an affordable housing component is not charity. It is deliberate portfolio construction. The demand is structural, the supply is constrained, and the operators who establish positions in this space early will benefit from both tailwinds over the long term.

There is also a macro argument that I find compelling. Blue-collar work is going to persist longer than white-collar work under AI displacement scenarios. Income compression among lower-earning households drives increased demand for affordable housing options. That is a long-duration trend, and RV parks sit directly in its path.

What I Am Still Working Through

I want to be transparent about where I have conviction and where I am still doing work.

The management intensity of an RV park varies significantly by property. Some parks can be operated lean with the right systems and on-site staff structure. Others require full-time on-site management that changes the economics substantially. Before I close on anything, I need to underwrite the operational model with the same rigor I applied to the Fig House.

The thesis is strong. The execution details matter.

The Short Version

If someone asked me at a dinner party why RV parks instead of apartments, here is what I would actually say: better first-year tax treatment, stronger cash flow potential, seller-friendly deal structures that fit my creative finance skill set, and a long-duration affordable housing tailwind that most investors are not paying attention to yet. All before a bonus depreciation deadline that expires in eight months.

That is a reasonably good reason to move quickly.