Global Courant
In 2016, Mark Lemoine came home from work and told his wife Karla Lemoine that he wanted to quit his job and buy a campground.
The stakes were high: Mark was making $200,000 a year working for the state of Michigan, and Karla was a stay-at-home mom. Two of their four children were in college. Both were lifelong campers, but they had never owned a business.
Guided by the promise of adventure, Karla agreed. Within six months, they found a Kampgrounds of America franchise for sale in Benton Harbor, Michigan, a rural lakeside town between Grand Rapids and Chicago.
The Lemoines put their home on the market, withdrew all of their savings and “sold everything we owned to buy the campground” for $1.6 million, says Mark.
Mark and Karla Lemoine sold their house, car and more to buy a campground in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Devin Liberman
That wasn’t their only expense: Since buying the campground, they’ve spent another $1.5 million on renovations and annual maintenance costs 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, according to a recent valuation from Kampgrounds of America. It brought in $1.2 million in revenue last year, enough for the Lemoines to pay themselves a combined salary of $150,000.
They’re still $50,000 shy of their previous annual household income, but 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 on Mark and on our family dynamics,” says Karla. “Now that we own our business, we’re in charge. We create and manage stress. For us, it’s a healthier lifestyle.”
Here’s how they manage their finances now, and that of the campsite.
Using all their resources
When Mark and Karla first decided to buy the campground — officially Coloma/St. Joseph KOA Holiday site – they were five years away from paying off their home in Rockford, Michigan. That meant they had to get creative to find their $1.6 million.
They sold their car and made $1,500 selling their stuff in a garage sale. They took $20,000 from their personal savings and Roth IRAs, and $200,000 from their 401(k)s. They sold their house for another $180,000 and covered the rest with a bank loan, they say.
The Lemoines had to get creative to afford their $1.6 million dream campground.
CNBC makes it
After selling their home, the Lemoines and two of their children moved into a four-bedroom apartment above one of the campground’s shops. It took their kids time to adjust, Karla says, but the couple knew the decision would ultimately ease the strain on their family.
“People think that a permanent job, a fixed salary and a good employer is security,” says Karla. “Mark had gone through some downsizing in his career, and I think we just realized you can’t always count on (those things). We decided to take control of our own future, our own destiny.”
Add non-traditional revenue streams
When the Lemoines bought the campground, it had been in existence for 48 years. It was equipped with cabins and designated areas for tents and RV parking, but most everything needed updating.
They immediately renovated the bathrooms and completely redesigned the store. They built a “robust cafe,” says Mark, and added another revenue source that doubled as a place for campers to grab a snack or coffee.
The payout was not instant. In their first camping season – April through October – the park raised $390,000. They put almost every penny back into the campground.
The Lemoines have added several upgrades to the campground, including glamping tents, to generate revenue.
Devin Liberman
The strategy worked: the campsite’s annual turnover grew. So in 2021 they tried again and took out a $300,000 mortgage to add five luxury cabins.
The renovations brought more business to the campground, along with an effort to get people outside that summer during the pandemic, Mark says. The site brought in nearly $1 million in revenue in 2021, about $150,000 more than in 2020.
Change how they think about money
In 2021, after all four Lemoine children had officially moved in, Mark and Karla bought a 34-foot camper and moved into it. They travel the country every low season, from November to March.
They have not exactly made the income of the campsite rich. They consider the property their retirement fund, since they cashed in their 401(k)s to buy it in the first place. But one day they plan to sell the site – and even at its current valuation, $6 million would represent a significant return on their investment.
“It’s not like we just went on vacation or bought a house that we can’t really afford,” says Mark. “We bought something that generates income so that debt doesn’t scare us so much.”
For now, the Lemoines say they will continue to operate and expand the campground, traveling whenever they can. Even without factoring in a potential sale, the lifestyle change has been worth every penny, they say.
“We describe it as a midlife reset where we just hit the button and did everything very differently,” says Mark. “And when everything you own is literally under your feet, you have to figure out how to make it work.”
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