Anyone have a static caravan / year round pitch (ie cheap 2nd home)? Please chat

[LoveBuckets]

Wondering how financially viable this is, if one found a site one liked and got on the waiting list for a space etc. What sort of rents do you pay? What were the logistics of getting the caravan to the pitch? How many weeks a year do you hire it out to friends? How often do you use it?

Would be v grateful for any advice or well info at all really, thanks. Would be nice to have a bolthole but one with fewer ethical issues than an empty cottage in picturesque countryside LOL.
Thanks

[jellyshoeswithdiamonds]

We got our static a few years ago, idea being that the kids would have freedom to do their own thing and DH was adement that camping was not an option.

The caravan we bought was already on site, the owner of the site was upgrading his holidaylet caravans and was selling off the old ones, we were lucky to phone at the end of the season (october). We had a choice of two pitches. We pay groundrent just over 2K and gas and elec, there is no charge for water.

Best thing is, the site owner maintains the outside of the pitch, grass cutting and plants, trees etc. We arrive on weekend and its all done just unpack and chill out.

We don't rent out the van but my friend (who is on a different site) rents his out to the site owner when they need more capacity, I think it all depends on the individual site.

I would suggest getting a solicitor to check over the contract, our site owners have changed since purchasing the van originally but DH insisted on our solicitor checking everything over so we knew when all the handover happened that our contract was sound.

[LoveBuckets]

Thanks that's really helpful. As a kid my family never went to the same place twice and I think my kids would love the feeling that it's their own special campsite.

[anniebear]

We had to sell ours last year

we loved it, but the fees just went up and up

It was really lovely going to it each weekend but do be very careful

Look at lots of different sites and go around and chat to other owners there, ask them what the site is like, the owners, how much do the fee's go up each year (dont believe what the manager tells you)

If they wanted they could put them up hundreds

Our fees ended up going up to £2500
then we had electric and also we had to pay for gas bottles

also if you needed to sell ever, they will give you pennies for it, you can lose 1000's and 1000's

and if you sell it yourself you have to give the site commission from it

Sorry for sounding negative, we did really enjoy ours and would have loved to have kept it

we let friends and family use it , they paid £25 a night towards our fee's but we still didnt get enough

Our site was open 10 and a half months a year, some are open just 6/7

If you can afford it, get one with central heating, means you can go through the year

maybe google and read up about it

[AnyFucker]

look here too

[LoveBuckets]

All good questions to ask that i never would have thought of, thanks so much.