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Message From The Editor

MARINA SUCCESSION PLANNING AND FUEL SALES

In the last few additions of News Week, we've been talking about fuel sales and marinas; this continues to attract comment.

I recently heard from Dwain Bodkin at Sutton Group Preferred Realty Inc., who has made something of a personal specialty of selling marinas. The comments about fuel sales prompted him to phone me because both the availability of fuel and the price of fuel represent a significant, and possibly underestimated factor in the overall viability of a marina business.

How many marinas are for sale? More than you might think.

Perhaps it's the time of year, but Dwain told me he had seen four marinas last week alone. All of those owners were looking to retire and want to sell, but they don't want to make it public.

There are a lot of issues to deal with when selling a marina property and one of the most important is to keep the business going strong to attract the best possible price. Understandably, putting a big "For Sale" sign on the property could be interpreted as a warning to customers, especially those thinking of making a major purchase.

I enjoyed my conversation with Dwain because he brings an unusual perspective to the marina business.

He points out that running a marina is genuinely hard work and in the case of owner-operator situations, it's very hard to get your money out if you're leaving the business to a child or relative. They have to either have the money to buy it from you if you want to cash out, or you have to trust them to run it well if they're going to buy it out over time.

He pointed out that a Marina is a bit like a golf course; a big initial investment with a very long payback and it gets even longer if you don't have the benefit of fuel sales.

The most urgent reason for Dwain to call me about this is that he anticipates that we will have a wave of marina owners hoping to retire in the next year and a half (or longer) and his advice is to be aware of this and start planning right now.

From his considerable personal experience, Dwain left us with a couple of important ideas.

First, he suggests cooperating locally with other marinas to ensure that fuel (and other important services) are available and convenient enough that people will not be discouraged about boat ownership.

He also suggests that in his experience, delivering the best service is the most expensive but also the most profitable. While some big corporate marinas have done well, many boaters are looking for a cottage home away from home, amenities like swimming pools and recreational areas, and they want the attention and personal touch that they get from an owner operator.

If you want to call Dwain Bodkin, he's at Sutton Group Preferred Realty Inc., 519.438.2222 or visit www.bodkinrealty.com and click on marinas.

Andy Adams, Editor aadams@kerrwil.com

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