Buying a caravan on a Parkdean site - good or bad idea?!

[OrangeSunset]

A family member is thinking of buying a caravan on a Parkdean site - St Minver in Cornwall. Site looks nice and caravans are pretty news. Read a few reviews on TripAdvisor about some specific caravans being less than clean for rentals.

Anyone has any experience of buying a caravan on one of Parkdean's sites? There are lots of benefits to it, but looking out for any drawbacks too.

Thanks

[mummymeister]

you need to look into the site fees, how much time you get in them, what you get if they are let out by them and how often you are expected to buy a new one. lots of places expect you to buy a new van every 5 years and unless you are down there a lot then its not worth owning your own.

[Creamycoolerwithcream]

Not Parkdean but when we looked into buying one but was put of by the 4k a year site fees and the fact on the site we looked at you could only have a caravan that was under ten years old.

[PoshPaula]

I stayed at a Park dean site once. Never again. The caravan was disgusting, any available food was inedible, the whole site (Bournemouth area) was horrible.

[OrangeSunset]

Thanks. The site we're looking at (St Minver) is open March til November, and vans can only be up to 15 years old. Worked out that would mean 10 weeks of school holidays when we could use it, plus weekends. £4k would probably buy you about only 4 weeks in a cottage in a similar area in school holidays.

Are there any other hidden ownership drawbacks?

[Creamycoolerwithcream]

How old are your DC, do you think they would want to go for 10 weeks a year in 5 years time or be at home with their friends?

[Creamycoolerwithcream]

I guess depreciation of the value of the caravan needs to be factored in to the annual costs.

[SillyBlueHat]

Would it work out cheaper to buy a caravan that you can move about?

[PinkandPoo]

I've been to St Minver. It's one of the nicer, quieter Parkdean sites in a really lovely part of Cornwall.

I've no idea whether you should buy a caravan there though, personally I'd get bored of going on holiday to the same place all the time, but I guess there are advantages too.

[OrangeSunset]

Thanks, it's for a wider family group to use, so wouldn't be the same 4 people using it for 10 weeks. Its just one way of working out the economics. DC are 5 and 3, and the idea of spontaneous weekends outside the school holidays is very appealing too.

What happens to the caravan at the end of 15 years is one of the questions we need to resolve i.e. are we buying it at the outset, or just leasing it for 15 years.

Pinkandpoo I'd love a camper in truth, but maintenance and fuel costs are putting us off. Also, not very practical with littler DC but maybe once they are older...

[DracoMalfoysHairGel]

I can't comment on that exact site but we bought a static 4 years ago in Wales . It is an expensive outlay . There is the initial cost , siting fees, annual maintenance charge, insurance , council tax and utility bills. Then you need to factor in kitting your van out. We double up on many items now. Our van is on a 15 year lease and after that we can sell it on. We think of it as the equivalent of buying a car. It will depreciate and it's needs maintaining . It is no way a financial investment more an investment in lifestyle.

the site we are on doesn't allow us to rent so we can't recoup any of the costs but to be honest we prefer that.
Yes it's very expensive but it has also been the best thing we have ever done. We use it most weekends in summer and have weeks there too. We have friends there all time and in 4 years we made some amazing memories for our family.

my biggest piece of advice to you is really think About the site you are on. Do you want to be able to rent it out ? or is having the same people around you more important ? there is a really great website called 'go static ' which is full of great advice. Go visit other nearby sites , talk to other owners . owning a static is not for everyone, some of our friends thought we were mad, but then they are the first who want to visit ! As I said before we love our van and we never regret the purchase. Roll on March to when we can go back

Happy to help if you need any further advice

[skyeskyeskye]

I have stayed at St Minver 6 times now, usually in a chalet, but last year we stayed in a caravan that was privately owned and it was lovely. You can tell the private caravans as they have the little touches that the others don't, like little gardens and storage and better equipment sometimes.

St Minver is a lovely site, quiet, but with a lovely pool and kids play area. The beaches nearby are lovely too, Rock and Polzeath are just a few miles away. The entertainment is always good and the food is good too.

The standards of cleanliness are high and the staff are very helpful and they actively encourage recyclying.

I don't know anything about ownership, but can recommend the site.

I did read about ownership when I was there and they do only allow caravans up to a certain age, and then you would have to buy another one after the lease expires. But Parkdean are very helpful and should be able to answer all of your questions.