Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Sanville.
Hi Sarah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In 2018, Jim and I purchased our first travel trailer for weekend camping trips in Texas with the kids. We made some great memories but quickly decided we needed a big upgrade for the next phase of life! We then purchased a 2014 KZ Spree Bunkhouse that we lived in for 5 months while we finished construction on our new home. Because Jim was the contractor and we did most of the labor ourselves on the house, it was important for us to have the kids close by while we were working long hours on the house. Having our camper on site allowed us to do this. When we finished construction on the house, I began showing Jim photos on Instagram of gorgeous, renovated RVs. I knew we could do it to ours as well! We had the construction and design experience as we both have been involved with construction and renovation for many years. Jim finally agreed to it and we quickly turned the KZ Spree into a beautiful, updated space. We listed it locally for sale and it sold incredibly fast for a lot more money than we had expected to make on it. That began the addicting process of RV renovation!
In early 2020, we formed Sanville Investments, LLC. We had initially planned to do home construction and renovation as a side business but with the pandemic hitting us and all of the real estate, supply chain issues occuring, we hit “pause” on that plan. We went back to the drawing board and realized that it made the most sense for us to stay in the luxury RV renovation space as a business for the time being. I was still working as a respiratory therapist at the time and was logging extra hours in the COVID units. Jim was also working as an engineering manager. We needed a side business that would allow us flexible working hours. The RV remodel process definitely fit the bill! We have since renovated several RVs that have quickly sold and have been delivered to customers around the country!
We now have a waitlist for clients who want to purchase one of our renovated rigs and another waitlist for those who want us to renovate their rig. We have been guest speakers and panelists at an RV renovation conference and were recently featured in the RV Today magazine. As our name gets out, we are enjoying meeting new likeminded people and other renovators who are doing the same work! We are also currently building a guesthouse for my parents and a double RV garage to give us more room for our tools and an indoor space to work on our rigs. We are hopeful to finish those projects in the next couple of months along with the 2016 Keystone Bullet Bunkhouse that we are renovating. We have also expanded our business to get back into short term rentals. We are currently working on setting those up in the DFW area.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
No, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Starting the business during a global pandemic has been challenging. Everything from supply shortages, constant inflation on goods, rental market shortage, skyrocketing home prices, etc., has left us constantly re-assessing and adjusting our business model. We are often over commited on projects, it feels like! We struggle to have a healthy balance on our home and work life as we grow our business. We try to include our four children in the work projects whenever we can. We want them to understand the business and be able to be more involved as they get older. Each RV renovation and home building project takes more time than we originally thought. We always run into unexpected issues (for instance, windows are on order for 12 weeks, or the slideout floor on an RV needs to be replaced). But we are learning that flexibility is key and being able to quickly move on to Plan B or C on a project is necessary. The end results are still amazing and we learned how to problem-solve together!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a husband/wife team specializing in luxury RV renovations, home construction/renovation and short-term rentals.
Our luxury RV renovations is what sets us apart from other construction companies. There are not many people who are professionally renovating RVs and making them for sale to the public. With Jim’s incredible engineering and construction experience, we know that we are offering not only beautiful RVs for sale, but also ones that have been thoroughly inspected and repaired (if necessary). We have a high level of integrity in our work and will never sell something to a client that we would not purchase ourselves.
We offer completely renovated rigs for sale 1-2x a year. They are sold on a first come, first serve basis. We have a subscribers list on our website and clients can receive updates from us and our work there. We send out notices on our current projects and notify subscribers first when a rig is available for purchase. We hope to start taking on client-owned renovations in 2023.
We also frequently update our Instagram with our current projects and offer tips on renovation and links to our favorite RV renovation items. We will be posting more about our new short term rentals there too!
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
We previously renovated two of our homes and rebuilt our beach home in Port Aransas (after Hurricane Harvey heavily damaged it) before we built our own home and got into RV renovations.
Pricing:
- Our renovated rigs typically sell for $40,000-55,000
Contact Info:
- Website: sanvilleinvestments.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanvilleinvestments/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sanvilleinvestmentsllc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjMIRgY8sMiiX6EOQKVMjag
Image Credits
Sarah Sanville
