CNBC’s ‘Make It’ Looks at Story of Michigan KOA Owners
Mark and Karla Lemoine sold their house, car and more to buy a campground in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Credit: Devin Lieberman
In 2016, Mark Lemoine came home from work and told his wife Karla Lemoine he wanted to quit his job and buy a campground, according to CNBC.
There was a lot on the line: Mark made $200,000 per year working for the Michigan state government, and Karla was a stay-at-home mom. Two of their four children were in college. Both were lifelong campers, but they’d never owned a business.
Swayed by the promise of adventure, Karla agreed. Within six months, they found a franchised Kampgrounds of America (KOA) site — the Coloma/St. Joseph KOA Holiday — for sale in Benton Harbor, Mich., a rural lake town nestled between Grand Rapids and Chicago.
The Lemoines put their house on the market, withdrew all their savings and “sold everything we owned to buy the campground” for $1.6 million, Mark says.
That wasn’t their only expense: Since buying the campground, they’ve spent another $1.5 million on renovations, and annual upkeep costs of up to $700,000 a year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
All those investments are paying off. The campground is now worth $6 million, a recent KOA valuation found. It brought in $1.2 million in revenue last year, enough for the Lemoines to pay themselves a combined $150,000 in salary.
They’re still $50,000 shy of their previous annual household income, but say they plan to keep running the campground for a simple reason: They’re happier.
Source: https://rvbusiness.com/cnbcs-make-it-looks-at-story-of-michigan-koa-owners/
