Underwriting an Automated 160-Stall RV & Boat Storage Facility on a MO Lake Transit

Kansas City Metro
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Underwriting an Automated 160-Stall RV & Boat Storage Facility on a MO Lake Transit

Joshua C. Banks
Real Estate Consultant · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 3 votes

Hey Bigger Pockets community,

For the past few months, I have been designing a site layout, as well as a financial pro forma, for a new, state-of-the-art outdoor RV and boat storage facility along the Highway 7/13 corridor in Missouri that runs between the Kansas City metropolitan area and Truman Lake/Lake of the Ozarks.

Below is a quick high level preview of how it works and our underwriting:

The Problem:

Rigs over 20 ft. Are prohibited by strict suburban HOA bylaws. In urban yards, tight 25-ft turn radiuses mean 120-180+ monthly parking fees and hours of jackknifing pain.

The Site Design & Architecture:

Footprint: 5.0 flat commercial acres.

Capacity: 160 Stalls (100 back-in @ 12'x35' 60 pull-through @ 12'x45').

Turn Radiuses: 35-ft extra wide drive aisles designed for 45-ft Class A motorhomes and fifth wheels.

Civil/Base: 6" crushed limestone capped with a heavy woven geotextile fabric.

Operational Mode (Uncrewed):

Weatherproof commercial gate operators powered by solar energy integrated with cloudself-storage PMS (automated lease, payment & keypad credentialing).

4K solar AI optical camera towers with automated perimeter tripwires.

No onsite personnel reducing stabilized OPEX to ~27k/yr versus stabilized gross revenue of ~190k/yr (~85.6% NOI margin).

Break-even hurdle: 18.1% occupancy (29 occupied stalls).

Next Milestones:

Currently working on initial civil estimates as well as engaged with local commercial operators, debt providers, and equity partners with experience in outdoor storage and Missouri recreational transit routes.

Would love feedback from seasoned storage operators here: For uncrewed gravel/crushed-stone yards, which software stack (Storable, Easy Storage Solutions, Tenant Inc) are you most comfortable with in a remote gate sync?

Open to networking and conversations with other Midwest commercial sponsors and investors.

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Max Comperatore
Technology · New York, NY · Member since 2026 · 71 posts · 19 votes
4d

Joshua, Marcus is right on year one, and Don is right on sponsor cash. Your pro forma is the weak link. 190k gross on 160 stalls is $99 per stall/mo. 27k OPEX is $14 per stall/mo. That does not cover taxes, insurance, mow, snow, gate and camera repairs, bad debt, card fees, and ads. Underwrite $35-$45 per stall/mo, or 67k-86k. At 77k OPEX, NOI is 113k, a 59% margin, not 85.6%. Budget a part-time site mgr for 12-18 months; remote gate sync does not solve late pays, tenant fights, or site checks. Solar cameras are capex plus upkeep, not OPEX removal.

Now size debt. A 7.5% loan, 25-yr amort has an 8.9% constant. At a 1.25 DSCR, 113k NOI supports 90k debt service, or ~$1.02M. That is 65% of a 1.56M stable value at a 7.25% cap. LTC is moot if it exceeds LTARV. Horizontal infra at 5 acres is likely $2,500-$4,000 per pad before gate, solar, cameras, and civil. Do not let cost-based LTC mask a value-based loan.

Your 18.1% break-even is before debt. Add 90k debt service to 77k OPEX and break-even is 167k of 190k gross, or 88% occ. Lease-up is an S-curve, not a straight line: 30% year one, 60% year two, 85% year three. Carry 18-24 months with an interest reserve. What signed demand, deposits, or LOIs support 88% occ at $99 per month?

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  • Marcus Auerbach
    Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    4d

    cool project; I would plan on more hands on in year 1 and then ramping up the automation once you have a good handle on the business.

    What evidence do you have that you actually have demand? Have you run ads yet?

    1Reply
  • Don KonipolBusiness Member
    Investor · The Woodlands TX / Avon, CT · Member since 2009 · 6k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    4d

    I don’t know anything about this real estate sector, nor the subject location. However, it sounds like an exciting project.

    The first question I ask about any real estate deal where I’m asked to invest in but as a passive investor is “how much of their own capital are the sponsors/general partners/operators investing in the project? Unless the answer is is satisfactory, I need to no further.

    Private Mortgage Financing Partners, LLC
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
    • Joshua C. Banks
      OP
      Real Estate Consultant · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 3 votes
      4d

      Hi Don,

      Appreciate you raising the "skin in the game" question on my thread—it's the exact question every serious LP should ask. We’ve structured this offering specifically so sponsor economics are fully subordinate to investor capital recovery. Let's connect so I can share how the waterfall aligns our interests.

      0Reply
  • Max Comperatore
    Technology · New York, NY · Member since 2026 · 71 posts · 19 votes
    4d

    Joshua, Marcus is right on year one, and Don is right on sponsor cash. Your pro forma is the weak link. 190k gross on 160 stalls is $99 per stall/mo. 27k OPEX is $14 per stall/mo. That does not cover taxes, insurance, mow, snow, gate and camera repairs, bad debt, card fees, and ads. Underwrite $35-$45 per stall/mo, or 67k-86k. At 77k OPEX, NOI is 113k, a 59% margin, not 85.6%. Budget a part-time site mgr for 12-18 months; remote gate sync does not solve late pays, tenant fights, or site checks. Solar cameras are capex plus upkeep, not OPEX removal.

    Now size debt. A 7.5% loan, 25-yr amort has an 8.9% constant. At a 1.25 DSCR, 113k NOI supports 90k debt service, or ~$1.02M. That is 65% of a 1.56M stable value at a 7.25% cap. LTC is moot if it exceeds LTARV. Horizontal infra at 5 acres is likely $2,500-$4,000 per pad before gate, solar, cameras, and civil. Do not let cost-based LTC mask a value-based loan.

    Your 18.1% break-even is before debt. Add 90k debt service to 77k OPEX and break-even is 167k of 190k gross, or 88% occ. Lease-up is an S-curve, not a straight line: 30% year one, 60% year two, 85% year three. Carry 18-24 months with an interest reserve. What signed demand, deposits, or LOIs support 88% occ at $99 per month?

    2Reply
    • Joshua C. Banks
      OP
      Real Estate Consultant · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 3 votes
      4d

      Thanks for the feed back!

      0Reply
  • David Sheets
    Lender · Cartersville, GA · Member since 2026 · 19 posts · 5 votes
    4d

    Joshua, nice work on the pro forma. Storage like this is something we finance, the land acquisition and the build-out both.

    The lender's going to push hardest on two things. How you back up your rents and lease-up timeline with local comps, and how much of your own cash and experience is in the deal. If you have those buttoned up, you're ahead of most people who walk in with a storage project.

    If you want another set of eyes on the debt side, connect with me here.

    1Reply
    • Joshua C. Banks
      OP
      Real Estate Consultant · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 3 votes
      4d

      Thanks for the insight, David.

      You're spot on regarding rent comps and sponsor execution. We're underwriting $75/mo (back-in) and $110/mo (pull-through), which sits at a substantial discount compared to suburban KC yards ($120–$180+) while capturing the weekend recreation traffic heading down to Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks. On the execution side, our trade and infrastructure team is directly overseeing the civil earthwork, perimeter security, and solar gate installation.

      Just sent you a connection request—would love to get your eyes on our debt sizing and LTC parameters.

      0Reply
  • Noah WrightBusiness Member
    USA, Nationwide · Member since 2024 · 475 posts · 150 votes
    4d

    Settling the software before the civil work is finished is the right order, because on an uncrewed site the PMS is going to be your operating history. When you move off construction or bridge money into permanent debt, most of the lenders I shop want a seasoning period of collected rent first, often a full 12 months, and they want to see it month by month: rent roll, occupancy by stall type, delinquency, move-ins and move-outs. So whichever platform you land on, check that it exports those reports cleanly by month before you commit. That history carries even more weight when the sponsor hasn't run storage before. Has anyone on your team operated a storage site, since that decides how hard the lender leans on those reports?

    [email protected]737-773-3717
    0Reply
  • Lee Futcher
    Technology · Vancouver, BC · Member since 2026 · 240 posts · 63 votes
    4d

    Hey @Joshua C. Banks,

    An uncrewed site is a great fit for this kind of storage, and I like that you designed the drive aisles around the biggest rigs rather than treating them as an afterthought.

    One thing I'd plan for alongside the gate and camera stack is who reads everything it produces. Even with no one on site, the system will send a steady stream of signals: gate errors, tripwire alerts, failed payments, a keypad code that keeps getting rejected. If those land in three different inboxes, an uncrewed facility can quietly turn into a full-time job for whoever is watching them.

    I'd suggest setting up one daily exception summary from day one, pulling from the PMS, the gate logs and the cameras, so the only things that reach a person are the handful that actually need a decision. That's where AI really earns its keep on a site like this.

    Best of luck with the civil estimates,

    Lee

    1Reply
    • Joshua C. Banks
      OP
      Real Estate Consultant · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2026 · 7 posts · 3 votes
      4d

      Hey Lee,

      Huge thanks for the feedback on alert fragmentation and the daily exception summary concept. You hit on the exact operational pitfall of uncrewed facilities. Would love to connect and follow your work here on BP.

      1Reply
    • Lee Futcher
      Technology · Vancouver, BC · Member since 2026 · 240 posts · 63 votes
      3d

      Hey @Joshua C. Banks,

      Thank you, Joshua. I'm really glad it was useful. With 160 stalls and nobody on site, I think that one daily summary ends up being the thing that lets you trust the facility is running well, without feeling like you have to watch every gate alert and camera ping as it comes in.

      I'd be happy to connect, and I'll be following along as the civil estimates and the debt side come together on this one. It's a pretty interesting build.

      Best of luck with it,

      Lee

      0Reply
  • G. Brian DavisPro Member
    Investor · Hatboro, PA · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 904 votes
    4d
    0Reply
  • Henry ClarkPro Member
    Developer · Member since 2020 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    1d

    OP read my post on your other post on site layout.

    I will use Clinton, Missouri as your location point. Hwy 7/13 Missouri.

    Great place to catch the KC market.

    Don't compare KC suburban city rates to your location. Yours should be lower.

    There is lots of surface parking in that Lake market area. Prices $20 to $50 per spot. Although yours would be Better. Just Google and look for RV parking. We are near the Omaha, NE market. 14 x 40 for $50 per month. 13 x 30 for $40. 12 x 20 for $30 per month. Your market should be better than ours, with your Lake Rec area.

    Don't Trust me. Recommend you pay $2,000 and have an Appraisal done on the property "As Designed". Give them the number of parking spots and your rental rates, property tax, insurance, etc so they can do a valuation. They will also do a competitive market rate study.

    We do Self Storage but also have about 120 parking spots for 20/30/40-foot spots. Remote control whether we are in Belize, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Malta, Greece or France. So, you can do remote.

    Read my post on Self Storage Parking. Also the post on "Will They Come?".

    Keep working the project. What costs are you using?

    You should have more than 160 stalls on 5 acres, as long as the property is a Rectangle or Square shape. Check layout.

    Put flags in the ground for your driveways and lots. Practice parking with both Mobile RV and with 5th wheel. This will test your site layout.

    Change to boots on the ground:

    Land- 5 acres at $50,000 $250,000

    Fence- 5 acres, $40,000

    Two automated gates- $25,000 each; $50,000 total. Recommend you use infrared sensor beam at the gate, metal sensor 5 foot from the gate, plus maybe gate bumper sensor.

    Rock for 5 acres- $60,000 laid, spread, compacted.

    Dirt work- level ground? I would have a Sheepsfoot roller go over to compact. If just grass, I would not clean off the top since just rock pads and rock driveways. $5,000. Or rent yourself and run for a day $1,000.

    Tensar TX 160 geogrid- $40,000 just do the driveways, not the parking. Use the 15 foot wide rolls and not the 12 foot.

    Concrete entrances- 2?? $30,000

    Security system- NVR, 40 cameras, plus the poles, plus motion sensors, $50,000 installed

    Alarm system- $20,000

    Electric/Lighting- traditional $60,000 including poles, trenching, lights, boxes; try some of the Solar parking lights instead.

    Office- Need something, plus computer, etc $20,000

    Signage- $10,000

    Website- $10,000

    Construction interest ask for interest only, at say 7% for average $600k for 6 months.

    Ask for Interest only during Rent up for 18 months or say 40% occupancy. $?????

    SEO monthly- ???? operating expense.

    Let's say $625,000 total.

    See if you can do an SBA loan at 10% down- $62,000.

    Traditional Commercial at 25% down- $150,000

    Based on the above I wouldn't do a syndication. Do an LLC or partnership. If you get many LP's or GP's there won't be enough meat on the bone.

    The above are all easy quotes to get.

    Your NOI of $190- $27= $163k at say 7% cap rate, which would maybe your interest rate also. So, valuation of $1,942,000. Your $27k of operating Expense, will be low since Property Tax, Insurance, maintenance, management will all be low.

    What I would challenge is your rental rates and Occupancy percentage. Again, I would recommend an Appraisal which would also show competitive rental rates to firm that up. To firm your Occupancy rates faster, I would offer both Monthly and Annual rate contracts.

    I would also add Premier spots. Most will want trickle electricity and also pump out facilities. Charge higher rates for access. If you have someone local. I would offer advance plug in service. Build those into your Premier rental spots. But you might need access to water, water well, septic system or sewer hookup and or pump out costs. To offer those services. Plus, extra Electrician costs.

    Keep working your numbers and your plan.

    1Reply
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