Static caravan purchase is it worth buying

Rubydooby My worry though is will we use it enough, can we afford it in the long term really ?

Different, however similar. We've owned a holiday home at the sea since the children were small. We love going there and make plans for every 2-3 weeks. We stay on schedule as best we can around his work.

Now our children and grandchildren go when they can (when empty if we're not there). We feel with all of us it's a well used asset.

Grannytomany

One of the things to bear in mind is that spontaneity and enthusiasm for visits might reduce because after ‘the first flush’ you might find yourselves wanting to go to other places for breaks and holidays as well so start to use the caravan less. Or become frustrated about not feeling able to go elsewhere. The cost/value of maintaining any kind of holiday home depends on how much use you get out of it.

It’s also easy to forget about or disregard the ongoing chore of keeping a place in good order. In our experience (with a holiday house used only by us and family) there was always something which needed doing.

Yes. I find this. It isn’t my holiday home but my partners. Even so, on top of worrying about maintaining my own house I find myself worrying about his house and, when I’m there, especially if the weathers bad, I find myself cleaning. And I’d love to go somewhere else but feel obliged to go there and it doesn’t feel like a holiday.

I could tell you quite a lot about the owners of a lot of these parks. Often from the same background and very wealthy and self made.

I’d steer well clear unless you really do your research into the owners of the parks you’re interested in. It can be quite a racket.

We have a touring caravan which can live on our drive at home. I like that as I can pack it ready to go during the week. We have an electric hook-up point so we can keep the heating on low through the winter to prevent any damp.

At the moment we use it to visit our family and grandchildren who live an hour and a half away. They love coming for the day or a sleepover when we're there.

When we retire we'll use it to go to different places as well.
If and when we get to the point where my husband no longer wishes to tow we'll find a site with a seasonal pitch.

He's worked in the caravan and leisure field for many years. The consensus of opinion is that you are best to find a park no more than two hours from home. Any more and you will find it harder to get the use out of your van or lodge.

Look out for site fees which I believe can be increased arbitrarily by the site owners. They can also make you replace your van if they consider it too old (which could be as little as 5 years) and make you pay for its removal. In other words, site owners are a law unto themselves. The site could also be bought out by more unscrupulous owners or those that wish to take it in a different direction, for example it might become more rowdy or vans might be let out to contractors.

I know this sounds very negative but it is well worth considering as caravans are not cheap.

Doodledog’s response sums it up, I’d say, don’t do it. You could end up losing a lot of money. Do look up Holiday Park Action Group on FB. If you do decide to go ahead, do lots of research, don’t be lured in by no fed for the first year. Be very careful

Elless

I think a lot has to do with the site you chose. Like Smileless we are on an owners only site with no amenities which is perfect. Just nature and beautiful views. The owners of our site (again a long run family business) have agreements to buy your caravan back or part exchange should you wish to change. Fees are £2400 which for the service they provide is exceptional.

This is how I feel. I love having my place to escape to. I really look forward to summer.

Yes, there are good sites, but the OP needs to be aware that they are often sold to chains and things change overnight. Your contract changes too.

Whatever you decide, OP, please check out the Holiday Park Action Group before buying.

No, no, no and thousand times NO! You are at the mercy of the site owner and the value of the static will drop like a stone, so they persuade you to take out a loan to buy a new one and so it goes on! Did it once, never again!

If it's going to be a financial burden forget it. Do you really want to go to the same place, hail rain it shine for every holiday?

Forgot to add do consider rent and maintenance charges, also you might want to check if you are obliged to renew the caravan every 10 years or so and also be obliged to buy one recommended by the site owners. There is a site near to me where the charges are £6,000.00 annually.

Don't do it if you have any doubts and only after your have read all the small print regarding siting terms and conditions particularly if the annual site licence fee review clause is linked to inflation plus a percentage on top. The licence fee and site regulations often make it very difficult to transfer ownership for it's ' market value' if you change your mind afterwards. I know someone who bought one on a site from the site owner but then couldn't sell it for anything like she paid for it when she realised it was not for her. She ended up selling it back to the site owner for a pittance, who then sold it one again to another unsuspecting impulse buyer.

The site owners normally ake a commission out of any proceeds when ownership transfers. There's usually an option to remove the Mobile home and sell it off site, but buyers of off site mobile homes are limited, usually only people building own houses and who want cheap alternative temporary accommodation not necessarily top of range .

Rent one first and go to the same site for several trips at different times of the year to see it it's for you. You may get fed up going to the same site quite quickly particularly in the damper colder weather..

Just bear in mind the cost of travelling back and forth. We had a caravan/park home in Wales and the cost of travelling from Yorkshire shot up and only added to the financial pressure of ownership. Then we had to sell through the site owner at a considerable loss.
Just be certain to consider ALL the costs.

I'd support the idea of a motor caravan/motorhome. You can visit all sorts of places or return to favourite ones. You don't have to buy anything huge, either.

We bought a small motorcaravan just before Covid. It's only 4.8m long, so fits in a car space in car parks and is within limits for ferries (often there's an additional charge for vehicles over 6m long), although the height can be restrictive. It's a bit fiddly making the seats into a bed but it has a small bathroom (loo, shower and basin), fridge, oven and hob, and sink. What's more, because it's small, it's dead easy to drive.

I would never do it. Too many risks, downsides, extra costs, etc.

My son bought one for me last year it is as new… I am in my 70’s now and unfortunately cannot use it so it is for sale… it is on a reputable well-managed site, the site owners own many sites around the country and the people are lovely, be they owners of holiday homes, management or the maintenance workers who keep the site clean and tidy. It is in Whitstable a very popular area, with many other beach spots close by… as well as Canterbury… it is listed with a Whitstable estate agent.
It has a decked verandah and a ‘skirt’ so looks not unlike a bungalow (in my eyes), gas central heating and as new gas cooker… am sad that I cannot use it but such is life…
As a camper vanner for several years I have found folk on sites really friendly and helpful as is the case on this holiday home site.
Maybe this may help… best wishes Lili

Marmin, what is the name of the site please?
I have been looking for. While. I don’t want a clubhouse or a fanfare or anything like that. A pool would be nice but mainly a quiet place for me and my dog! At 72 I am still working but as I’m a teacher I get the holidays off and would love to have a bolt hole somewhere that doesn’t cost the earth and supply lots of things that I don’t want.
Otherwise any other suggestions g=from other gransnetters would be gratefully received.

Be very, very careful. Personally I wouldn’t ever consider having a static caravan on a site. I have witnessed too much misery from people who have. The maintenance can rise dramatically, up to £8,000 pa on some sites and with depreciation too that’s a lot to lose each year. Decking purchases , electricity supply and gas bottles need to be purchased through the owner who takes a cut. If you decide to sell the owner can block the sale if he chooses then buy cheaper himself. It’s completely unregulated and there are some very sad stories, not just a few, of people losing their life savings. A lovely reasonable site can change overnight with new owners. Do your research very thoroughly and think if you could afford to lose thousands each year then the owners tell you after a few years that your caravan is too old to be on site, only worth £4,000 blocks you selling elsewhere then puts it up for sale a week later for £28,000. It happens and destroys families. Please, please think twice and then again. Another thing is holiday sites which owners tell you that you can live in year round, you can’t. You can only live year round on a residential site. On a holiday site even though the owners say you can live on it permanently he can , at any time give you 28 days notice to leave as you are not allowed to live on a holiday site permanently. The owner won’t care that he lied to you and he probably gets the caravan very cheaply to sell for a huge profit.

some people say there are 2 good days when buying a caravan or similar, the day you bought it and the day you sold it!

Research who owns the site before all else and if they are likely to sell. There are some very nasty characters that own some of them and make the residents' lives hell.

Why not look at a folding caravan? easy to tow, go anywhere,if you have a drive ,no fees etc.My cousin used to run a caravan business repairing selling etc, did he have a sited caravan? not a chance, he had a small tourer which he sometimes booked at a siting maybe for a few months a time.

Hi we had a caravan for over 2o years different vans over the years, on a family run site, beautiful local. And then we just thought let's buy a new lodge on a different site, it's was expensive plus upto 5k site fees. We are enjoying our retirement in a beautiful local near the sea with a few amenities and we are really enjoying it, if you have the money go for it, the lodge is not an investment. It's our second home where family members come to visit etc. For us it's the best decision yet.

No to a motor home - yes to a static - but not a new one, an ex rental and look for a site where the fees aren’t extortionate

When we lived in London we bought a static on the Sussex coast. We used it regularly for weekends and the occasional week. The site was owners only and open March until end of October. There were no facilities but it suited us as was fairly quiet. Great location. We only gave it up when we moved to the area. The main downside is we had to sell back to site, which offered us very little and it was probably worth an extra £5k if could have sold privately. Would I do it again? Definitely if I was still working or had a pot of money but as others have said site fees can be expensive.

I wouldn't want to go to the same location time after time so no static caravan for me. Considered motor home, but at my age would prefer to find a nice friendly B&B or hotel with a big comfy bed, hot showers and breakfast prepared for me for a good start to my day. Each to his/her own though.