In 2016, Mark Lemoine came home from get off work and told his wife, Karla Lemoine, that he wanted to quit his job and buy a campground.
There are many things going on in this line: Mark works for the Michigan state government and makes $200,000 a year, and Kara is a stay-at-home mom. Two of their four children are in college. Both were lifelong campers, but they never owned their own businesses.
Spurred on by the promise of adventure, Kara agrees. Within six months, they discovered an American Campgrounds franchise for sale in Benton Harbor, Michigan, a rural lakeside town nestled between Grand Rapids and Chicago.
The Lemoynes put their house up for sale, took all their savings and “sold everything we had to buy a campsite” for $1.6 million, Mark said.
Mark and Kara Lemoyne sold their house, car and other belongings to buy a campsite in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Devin Lieberman
That’s not their only expense: Since purchasing the campsite, they’ve spent an additional $1.5 million on renovations and up to $700,000 a year in maintenance, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
All of these investments have paid off. A recent valuation from Kampgrounds of America puts the campground currently worth $6 million. It brought in $1.2 million last year, enough to pay the Lemoines a total of $150,000 in wages.
Their annual household income is still $50,000 less than before, but they say they plan to keep running the campground for one simple reason: They’re happier.
“We saw the wear and tear of working for corporate America in Mark and our family dynamic,” Kara said. “Now, owning our business, we’re the bosses. We create and manage stress. For us, it’s a healthier way of life.”
Here’s how they’re managing their own and the camp’s finances now.
use all their resources
When Mark and Kara first decided to purchase a campground – officially known as Coloma/St. Louis. Joseph KOA Resorts – They are five years away from paying off their Rockford, Michigan house. That meant they had to get creative to find $1.6 million.
They sold the car and made $1,500 at a junk auction. They withdraw $20,000 from personal savings and Roth IRAs and $200,000 from their 401(k) accounts. They said they sold the house for another $180,000 and paid the rest with a bank loan.
The Lemoines had to get creative, paying $1.6 million to build their dream campground.
CNBC success
After selling the house, the Lemoir family and their two children moved into a four-bedroom apartment above a general store at the camp. Kara said their children will take time to adjust, but the couple know the decision will ultimately take some stress off the family.
“People think that a stable job, a stable salary and a good employer is a sense of security,” Kara said. “Mark has gone through a couple of layoffs in his career and I think we just realized you can’t always count on (these things). We decided to take control of our own future, our own destiny.”
Add non-traditional sources of income
When the Lemoines bought the campsite, it had been there for 48 years. It comes with cabins and designated areas for tent and RV parking, but just about everything needs updating.
They immediately renovated the bathroom and completely remodeled the grocery store. Mark says they’ve built a “robust cafe” that adds another source of income, as well as a place for campers to grab a snack or coffee.
The payoff was not immediate. In their first camping season — April through October — the park brought in $390,000. They pour almost every penny into camping.
The Lemois made several upgrades to the campsite, including glamping, to boost their income.
Devin Lieberman
The strategy worked: The campground’s annual revenue grew. So in 2021, they tried again, taking out a $300,000 mortgage and adding five luxury cabins.
Mark said the renovations brought more business to the campground, while the pandemic also pushed people out that summer. The site has nearly $1 million in revenue in 2021, about $150,000 more than in 2020.
change the way they think about money
In 2021, after all four of Lemoine’s children officially move out, Mark and Kara purchased and moved into a 34-foot RV. Every offseason from November to March, they travel across the country.
The income from the campsite didn’t make them rich. They treat the property as a retirement fund because they first cashed out their 401(k) plan to purchase the property. But one day, they plan to sell the site, and even at today’s valuation, $6 million would be a solid return on their investment.
“It’s not like we just went on a big vacation or bought a house that we couldn’t really afford,” Mark said. “We bought something that generated income so that debt didn’t scare us so much.”
For now, the Lemoynes say they will continue to operate and grow the campground and travel as much as possible. The lifestyle change is worth it, they say, even without considering the potential sale.
“We describe it as a midlife reset, where we just push a button and everything we do is very different,” Mark said. “When everything you have is under your feet, you have to figure out how to make it Play a role.”
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