THE MOST BEAUTIFUL RV RESORT IN AMERICA!

It's one of the places where you drive in the first time and you say this is it, this is what we've been looking for, this is what we have traveled all these miles to find. This is the the best RV resort that that we have seen. I would come up here and stay for as long as you can. There are a number of very lovely motor coach resorts in the country and we've been to pretty much every one of them and you know they're all fabulous, but I have to say that this one really is the most gorgeous. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a beautiful day today here at Hearthside Grove in Petoskey, Michigan. You guys have a special resort here, what is going on here sir? It's a special resort in the middle of a special place in the country. We're nestled inside of beautiful northwest Michigan. We've got great lakes, forests, farms, it's just a beautiful area to be in and we're privileged to have the area to show you. Absolutely, now I hear you can rent lots here, purchase lots here, you think you can show us around the resort and show us what you guys have going on? I would love to show you around the resort. Everything starts really at the welcome center which is at our gatehouse. Every motor home that comes in, everybody who comes in will get escorted to their site. It's really part of the hospitality piece that we would like to introduce to this industry. Now is every lot here owned by a private owner or does the park own some of the lots? So how does the rental pool work? The lots are owned by individuals and then they trust us to put it into our rental program. What rates do the rentals start at? What's an entry-level lot here go for? So our rates start at about $79 a night for a standard lot and work all the way up to $259 for a lot that's fully developed with an outdoor kitchen and pergola and brick paver. This is quite a site and quite a coach. What's going on here, sir? Well, this is one of our premium plus lots and this one is a gorgeous, gorgeous water feature that flows down to a larger collecting pond. It also has a pergola with an outdoor kitchen. The landscape here is unlike anything I've ever seen at any RV resort. Is there an inspiration for the landscape or how did all this come about? Well, it's definitely been a passion project of Kirk's and he's basically the brains behind the outfit here. How long have you been here at Horseside Grove? We've been here 15 years since we started in 2007 and it's come a long way. This was a dream of ours to provide a wonderful place for people to come visit northern Michigan, the surrounding area, and it's been that way for 150 years. We're just adding the motorcoach lifestyle that's not been around that long to northern Michigan. Now, the landscape here is just over the top. What inspired you to create a resort that's just on another level? Our family had a local campground that we started with and we saw that people wanted more. They wanted to create their own and we kind of give them the palette of a vacant lot and then they create what they have in their mind and dream about. I want to ask more about pricing. We got a little bit into rental pricing. I want to ask more about purchasing lots, but you want to show us around the park a little more what's going on? You bet. We'll show you around. This lot right here, this beautiful property just got listed for $579,000. Yeah, beautiful waterfall over here and the flowers. This is just incredible. This Dean Lauch's paint job on this Liberty coach does not hurt either. It's a beautiful blue. Yeah, this is incredible with the little paver walkways and like a running stream down here. I mean, this RV lot is, this is on another level here. A lot of neat areas that you can enjoy different times of the day. The pergola has roll down streams, grill, you know, high output burners for cooking your favorite dishes, the water feature running right through the middle. Yeah. And I'm noticing like a little, is that like a coach house or what would you, a bungalow? What would you refer to this? This is called a bungalow is what we call them here at Heartside Grove. This one's fairly unique as they created, they basically wanted to use it as a really big closet. It has a beautiful bathroom inside and it has a nice dressing area on the left-hand side. That's the way the previous owner wanted to use that. We let them do what they want here at Heartside Grove. As things have evolved here at Heartside, we used to just be shade structures. Now we have a rubber roof that has tongue and groove ceiling, heaters, can lights, all kinds of outdoor entertainment, speakers, everything that allows people just to enjoy their outdoor living when they're camping. Yeah. And this is a huge lot. Do you know about how many square feet or how big these lots are? This particular lot's about 7,000 square feet. We go up to any, up to about 17,000 square feet at Heartside. And then we have one acre and two acre lots as well. One thing I want to point out is, is you really are not seeing a lot of other motor coaches. The way this resort is designed, the landscape kind of, kind of hides the motor coaches. They get kind of tucked back. Was that by design? That was by design. In fact, we, our roads all curve. You never will see more than five or 10 coaches in one spot, wherever you are. It really lends itself well. People really enjoy the fact that they, they have that separation. The lots are so wide and so big that you just enjoy your property all to yourself, really. This is a beautiful lot over here. What's the story with this lot? So this lot was conceived on a napkin over a hamburger at our clubhouse. And this was owned by Liberty Coach. They created a beautiful lot that the water feature that they have reflects the image of the coach as it's sitting here on the pad. And they love to entertain, of course, and have lots of people over to see their products. I think they just headed out to Sturgis, but I'm sure they'll have display coaches here throughout the season. They did. They just had a great party, I think it was a week and a half ago, just on their way to Sturgis. It looks like the pickleball courts are staying busy over here. That's a pretty popular activity here. That is a very popular activity. People love pickleball. And is it organized or? It is. They have a whole group of people and other, they come from all over the country and they organize their time daily to play pickleball. Nice. And it looks like a basketball court and a tennis court as well, but probably pickleball is the primarily used? Pickleball is it. Yeah. It looks like a brand new court. How long ago was this court built? Well, they just actually resurfaced it. So they keep up on the maintenance of everything, but just resurfaced it recently. What's going on with these lots up front here? These look like display coaches. Yeah, these three lots on the corner are owned by Marathon Coach. And they bring coaches here to display all summer. And Randy and Don, they're here all summer coming and going for Marathon Coach. And it's a great place to stop and see some inventory of used Prevos. Yes, sir. And then Liberty Coach also has lots on site here as well? Liberty has two lots. Millennium has one lot. We currently have Newell that's here on site as well. And the motor coach store as well. Yes, sir. They're like, everyone's here. This is the place to come in the summertime. Absolutely. Yes, sir. This was, again, someone's dream of what motor coach living means to them. Water features, fire pits, bungalow, steam shower, you name it. They have it here. Just what they wanted. Are there any lots available that are undeveloped that can still be developed and execute someone's dream? We do. We do. We have lots of vacant lots. And we're actually working on building 30 new lots here at Hartside this year. How many lots are there total here at Hartside? We have 182 right now working our way to 263 total. You know when those 30 lots that you just mentioned are going to be coming available? They will be available next June. June 1st. We'll be breaking ground here in the next week and a half and constructing the 30 of the future 81 that we have to go to finish the project. Noticing some very large lots in this section of the resort. What is this section and what's all going on here? So this section we call the woodlands at Hartside Grove. It is one acre to two and a half acre lots. And again, we're giving people the palette to live the lifestyle they want. Whether it's a large building to put their motorhome in, their big boat, park their RV, have a buddy pad on their lot for people to come visit. That's what they get here at Hartside Grove. And do you know, and are any of these one acre lots available? We do. We have some lots available from $420,000 up to $640,000. And that's a blank canvas? What does that include? The one for $640,000 has a really nice brick paver pad, has your electrical. We do a 400 amp service on the site. Has water and sewer, everything on the lot ready to go. And how many lots total are going to be this size and in this area of the plot? We have 17 of these lots at Hartside. This is very rare. This lot is totally still a blank canvas. It looks like when we look around here, there's a lot of development. But what's the story on this lot? This is the blank canvas that they start with. And then they create up to 2,400 square feet in a building in this area, Hartside. And again, it's just, we allow them to dream and they do it. You were telling me there's another lot that's listed for 1.5, just under $1.5 million? Correct. And let's go over there and take a look. Sounds good. Now, this is a beautiful site here. You said this one is available? It is available. 1.5 million has everything you want. Let's show you around. I love the flowers and the landscaping, very modern styling as well. Do you know when this was built? We started this area at Hartside in 2014 and then have developed the 24 lots in this particular section of the park over the last few years. Okay, so it's got a one car garage here. What else is going on? So this bungalow started out as 22 feet wide and 46 feet long. And then as we progressed, they added a whole other area out in front and just turned out to be a great property. People can now do two car garages here and give them that flexibility in the space that they want and how they want to use it. You think we could take a look inside of this bungalow? You bet. Come on in. Sounds good. And that's a beautiful Prevo Millennium coach there. I really like that paint job. But you'll notice the inside of the coach or inside of the bungalow here matches the decor of the coach as well. Nice. This is like a full-on house. It feels like in here. Yes. And how many square feet did you say this house is? This is around 2,000 square feet. So what's all going on? So they have, in the back, they have a beautiful master suite leading into a master bath, half bath. Everything very well appointed in here. Large walk-in closet. Wow. Huge bathroom, master bathroom. Everything, you know, the moldings around the doors, the shutters on the windows. How tall are the ceilings in here? The overall height is about 10 feet. The overall height of the buildings, we actually kept to about 13'5", which is the height of the coach. We wanted it to feel not that we were overpowering with the buildings. We still wanted it to be a motor coach environment. More of an outdoor area out here? This is more of an outdoor area. This is actually how they expanded this unit. It started out as an outdoor living space. Then they created more indoor space as well, just to close it all in with the sliding glass doors. Still open up, so you can get a lot of air movement here. But a great entertaining space to have people over. The grill is out in the back corner, where you can just step right outside and tend to your cooking. Oh, this is just incredible. Now, what does this lot back up to? Is that preserve? This is preserve area. And then beyond the trees is our future development area that we're creating of the 81 future lots. 30 that we're starting fairly soon. And then that will be future 51 lots that we create beyond those trees. Do these awnings retract? They do. They retract. They also have some screens that come down in front of the glass out front as well. And when did this lot come on the market? About 10 hours ago. Oh, nice. And is this probably one of the more expensive lots in the resort? This is, yep. The most expensive? This will be one of the most expensive we've ever sold here. Yes, at the moment. Do you have a sales team on staff or real estate agents on staff? How does that all work? We do. Myself, I do sales as well as Lance Bailey. Hey, Lance. How you doing, sir? Doing awesome today. It's beautiful. So what is your role here at Hartside? I help people's dreams become a reality. I really love taking people who are interested in Hartside Grove and then showing them a lot, helping them dream and plan. And it is so fun to actually see that lot purchased, and then they add their own touch, and then they become part of the Hartside family. Hey, guys. This is Mark and Marsha. This is a beautiful lot here. How are you guys doing today? Good. How are you, Andrew? Excellent. Thank you. So how long have you been owners here at Hartside Grove? Well, that's kind of a long story. Only because we had a lot that was next to the pool parking lot. That was our first lot, lot 38. And we had that for about two years? About two years. And he was still working full time. So I kind of didn't like being here by myself. So we sold. We missed it so much. We kept coming back and renting lots. And then we discovered this. So this we bought in... Last year, about. About last year. So we've been owners since 15. But there was a piece of time that we weren't here. Nice, nice. And what do you like about Hartside Grove? And why do you choose to hang out here at Hartside? Well, this is one reason. I'm still doing part-time work. And here's my office. OK, so you can imagine. But it's usually in the mid-70s. It's sunny every day. And you got just really friendly people in this. It's a neighborhood. Not to mention the staff. Yes, and the staff. We love the roses. We love the staff that works here. And it's just very enjoyable for us. This is, in my opinion, the best. And we haven't been all over. But this is the best RV resort that we have seen. Because we like the outside. We like the atmosphere, the weather, the trees, the water. It's just... This place sucks you in. I hate to say that. But when you drive in here, it just... You want to come back. So it's just a magic thing, so. Absolutely. Magical. Do you have any advice for someone that's thinking about coming up here to rent a lot or purchasing a lot here at Harside? Well, first of all, they shouldn't come. Because they're going to want to buy. $328. This lot is for sale. You can see lovely landscaping. Beautiful little bungalow. Fire pit area. The actual price of this would be $220. $220, OK. $220. And that $220 includes the bungalow? Correct. So it looks like they're storing some e-bikes in here right now. But what a cool little bungalow here. Is that a loft up there for sleeping or just storage? Yeah, so our bungalows are designed, many of them, with a loft. And kids love it. Yeah. So they have a ladder up. And then these lots of times are used for guests at the lot. So this particular one has been set up, it looks like, for a family. And then they actually have larger actual bathroom area with a big shower. Because some people showering in here versus their coach, they enjoy that. And then full area to have breakfast in the morning or coffee. And families just love these. The other thing that people set up is some set up a full queen-size bed in their bungalow. So when guests arrive, they're ready to stay. Some people call this their little Manhattan apartments. Yeah, absolutely. That's probably a height of bed, I would assume, in that couch. And this is a lot of value for $220,000. Now, what would this site rent for if it was in the rental pool? So this site would rent for around $130,000 because it has a couple extra amenities. And would that include use of this coach house? So we don't rent the bungalows when we do the rental. You are allowed to use any of the outside features. Still a lot of value in this lot, even without the bungalow at $220,000. Now, what is the split? How much does the owner keep and how much does the park keep? Yeah, so when we rent a lot, the owner keeps $65,000, we keep $35,000. And then the great thing about renting is our lots have an occupancy rate of, especially prime time, nearly 96% to 97%. And when is prime time? So prime time is June 15th, our Memorial Day to Labor Day. So if you don't call ahead of time, it's hard. You have a hard time staying at our site. And is there a minimum of how many nights someone can stay on a lot here? Yeah, we have a two-day minimum. And then most people stay a week. Multiple people rent for a month. Some people two months. This is such a nice area and there's a lot going on here. I can see why people would want to hang out here. Now, talking about the area here, this is a special area. You want to tell us a little bit about just the area here? Yeah, we always say what makes our site special, it's the people, but it's also the place that it's located. You have three quaint towns within 15 to 20 minutes of here. Harbor Springs is just magical. It's like a postcard. Boating, restaurants, a drive through the trees. Then you have Petoskey, which is right on the waterfront. And shopping and restaurants and just a quaint gaslight district. And then you drive to Charlevoix. And Charlevoix has right on Lake Michigan. And it's got a marina right in the downtown. And so people just love the location. It's called the Golden Coast. I would say this town reminds me of something you would see on the Hallmark Channel. So a lot of you can appreciate that if you watch the Hallmark Channel. One of the things that we love about Hearthside Grove is the individuality that people put into their lots. This is a gorgeous lot. And the other thing that we really love about Hearthside Grove is our people. Let's introduce you to Judy. Hi, Judy. Hi. Hi, Dean. Nice to see you. So this is a beautiful lot you have here. How long have you been here at Hearthside Grove? Two years. And what made you choose Hearthside Grove? Well, it's the people and the beautiful area, the beautiful park. And the towns surrounding the area. It's really a wonderful place to be. Yeah. And your lot here is really incredible. Was there some inspiration for your lot? I think our inspiration, it sounds kind of funny. The lot was more heavily treed and it had a granite slab table. So we took that slab and put it into the pond. And that's how the design of the lot started. So do you have any advice for someone that's thinking about renting a lot or purchasing a lot here? I do. I would come up here and stay for as long as you can. And meet as many people as you can. And we have a lot of gatherings. I would come to those. And anytime you see a fire pit at night, please stop in and introduce yourself. Because that's what Hearthside is known for, is to stop in anytime you see a fire pit. Awesome. I really appreciate that and a beautiful lot you have here. Thank you. So is this lot available? No. But if it would, look out. Yeah. So this is just to me like what somebody took nature and just made it just about perfect. And this is probably one of our most requested rental lots. And people hop out of their coach here and are just blown away. What does this lot rent for per night? This one is one of our premier lots from $180 to about $250 based on the time of season. And those rates can always go up or change depending on... Correct. Yeah. Correct. It does not feel like we're at an RV resort at all. I love that tongue and groove ceiling. So this is another fun lot at Hearthside Grove. What they've done is they've taken kind of the indoor concept and just pushed it right outdoors with a really handsome pergola. This is Susan. Hi, Dean. They were a renter out here before they were owners. And then we enjoyed having them so much that we invited them to stay. Awesome. This is a beautiful lot you have here, Susan. What made you choose to stay here at Hearthside Grove? Well, we have rented at Hearthside Grove, I think every year for maybe the last eight years. We came for three days. Then we came for a week. Then we came for two weeks. Then we spent a month. And we knew that someday we wanted to be here permanently. But we also said, you know, we bought this coach because it's got wheels and we want to use those wheels. Well, we did. We did a lot of traveling and every year we'd come back to Hearthside and said, is this the year we're going to buy? And last year was. Nice. We're very, very happy here. And this is unlike anything we've seen here with your outdoor kitchen area. And I heard that this lot had a bungalow on it before, but you had to remove to make this masterpiece outdoor kitchen. Well, we did. The community was looking at changing some of the requirements or the minimum maximum requirements for the bungalows. And in anticipation of being able to build just a slightly larger bungalow, we decided to put this pergola in. And hopefully this fall we will start building our little larger bungalow. Well, this this really turned out nice. Now, do you have any advice for someone that's thinking about renting a site here at Hearthside or purchasing a lot here? You know, there are a number of very lovely motor coach resorts in the country, and we've been to pretty much every one of them. And, you know, they're all fabulous. But I have to say that this one really is the most gorgeous. It's one of the places where you drive in the first time and you say, this is it. This is what we've been looking for. This is what we have traveled all these miles to find. I would absolutely encourage anyone who has a motor coach who's interested in thinking about a resort to come here and just rent just to see it. That's certainly an important first step. Although we do know of people who have bought without even coming. Frankly, I think that's a little risky. I'm saying that to the sales guys, but not really because it is such a fabulous place. One of the big advantages that Hearthside Grove has is that the resort is embedded in the area of three absolutely wonderful resort communities. There's Harbor Springs, which is a hundred plus year resort, fabulous restaurants, great shops. There's Petoskey, which has the big box stores, wonderful small restaurants, wonderful shops. And then not too far away, 15 miles is Charlevoix. We're also only about 35 miles south of Mackinac Island. So look what we've got right adjacent to Hearthside Grove. Kirk, you've got some really enticing properties around here, but we got to get down to the hard numbers here. So I want to know property tax, HOA fees. What are all of the expenses that someone can expect to incur when they purchase a lot here at Hearthside? The HOA covers a lot of expenses that have to do with the common elements like the streets and mowing the grass is done once a week, looks beautiful every week. That's all included in $330 a month fee. Property taxes, about $2,100 per $100,000 of value. You have your own electric meter and gas meter for your amenities that is billed right to the owner. What other expenses? So the owner, like this property here, the tree trimming and flowers that they may plant or weeding is all done by a homeowner or provider for the homeowner. Is there financing available on these lots? There is financing available. We work with a great bank out of Paris, Texas called People's Bank. And we have our potential customers that need or want financing, reach out to them at People's Bank. Hey, I really appreciate you guys showing us around the resort today. It's an amazing resort. Now, if someone is a serious buyer and they want to purchase one of these lots or rent one of these lots, who should they get a hold of? Thank you, Andrew, for coming by to see us and visit our wonderful community here. For rental, I would say we start with Dean and sales over here with Lance. Okay. And Dean, do you have any advice for someone that's thinking about renting a site here? Oh, call early, of course. Go online to our website. Take a look around the different varieties of lots that we have available. And then be flexible. Awesome. And Lance, any advice for someone that wants to purchase a lot like this $1.5 million lot we're standing on? Yeah, my advice would be come see Harside Grove because people who come here stay here. Guys, I greatly appreciate you guys showing us around. I also greatly appreciate all of you out there on YouTube, subscribing to the channel and liking these videos. I hope you're all having a great day. Thanks again. Thank you. Thanks, everybody. Come see us soon.