Does anyone own a mobile home ?

[gunnersgold]

Can you please share the pros and cons of having one ? I like the idea of a holiday home as I have a disabled son who loves the beach and swimming but there aren't many facilities where I live . We can afford it and would sub let it but is there anything I don't know that I need to.

I have a static caravan which I love, its old, on a very small private site and decorated like a wonderful hippy trail silk road new agers van.

HOWEVER. think very hard before you jump, some site, particuarly the large ones where owners sub-let have very strict rules, such as a van has to be replaced after a certain age, the new van can only be bought from the site owners, you can be charged a great deal of money for ground rent (this is not regulated and they can put up charges at any time, for how ever much they want. Any caravan is a money pit, it is not an investment, you will never recoup your spending. If you can afford it dont sub-let, enjoy your own space, make it your 'home from home' and keep to smaller sites with less expensive ground rents.

Check out the annual charges. They can be very high, usually the first year is included if you buy your MH on-site.
Che k the contract carefully. The site owners can ask you to remove/ renew your unit when it is X years old ( sometimes as young as 8 years, more often 10)
Subletting, holiday letting - check you can manage this yourself if you want to. Most sites will manage your Lettings by doing the changeover cleaning, handing out keys, checking gusts in and out but you could pay a hefty percentage.

Pros are you always have somewhere to go on a long holiday or just a weekend away. Possibly helps children who don’t do well with change, have same bed, bathroom, pool to visit.
Try before you buy. Lots of holiday parks let you stay at low or no cost for a night or two. Others have a buyers day, you get lunch, use of pool etc…
Check out if they’re predominantly family sites or attract stag/hen parties.Some sites can be quite noisy.

It’s a money pit. Read the sensible responses here carefully. Go into it with your eyes wide open.

You really need to do some research before buying. As a pp said most large sites have an age limit on caravans and at the one we are you are only allowed a sea view pitch along the front if it's under 5 years old.

Another annoying problem was having to use their contractors for things, we wanted decking and my friends husband could have done it but we had to use the company the park had a contract with and it was very expensive compared to what it could have been if we'd been able to do it ourselves.

Factor in travel as well, ours is 40 minutes away so we can just jump in and go and I even commute to work from there in the summer. You'll want to get your use out of it and I think you will if it's not too far away.

Thanks , it's about 30 mins away so perfect for timing . Fees are £6000 a year and I can sub let to who I want which should cover a lot of this but actually I might not .
It's right on a private beach too .

£6000 a year! fucking hell! Are the grounds paved in gold? Is the sea maintained at a constant 23 degrees? Thats a bloody shed load for a caravan, PER YEAR!

@thebabessavedme is it ?
It's a mobile home on a very nice site with amazing facilities .. what is the normal rate ?

I live on the suffolk coast although my van is in norfolk - you will always pay a premium for a site very close to a beach, I have a friend with a van on a 'nice site' near Southwold ( which is a pretty expensive area), near the beach and golf course who pays £4000 a year, she also has to replace the van every 8 years.

The site I am on, although not near a beach, has a pool, a playpark, a small bar with food and loads of space next to each van allowing us all to have a private garden. I pay £1500 a year and there is no limit to the age of the van, mine is 20 years old and I will replace it in the next year or so, as I say, a caravan is no investment, they wear out! The owners of the site I am on will be quite happy for me to shop around for a second hand caravan, I plan to spend approx £10-15K.
On the bigger sites most of them insist you buy a caravan through them, they will start about £45-50K and then the sky is the limit. There is no way, as much as I love my van that I would spend that sort of money for what is essentially a tin can with a loo!

When you say replace the van every 8 years , I might not want one that long so presumably I can just give the pitch back to the site?
I've never even had a caravan holiday but it looks fun .. will do more research obviously but I think it could be the answer to helping me amuse my son!
I've booked a weekend there to see if I like it ✅

no, you generally cannot just 'give the site back' Most site owners will expect you (proberably contractually) to pay to remove a caravan from your pitch if it is too old to sell on - as I have said, be very careful about what you sign and what you commit yourself to. Owning a static caravan can be wonderful, great for young families, we love taking our dgs, he is still young enough to enjoy everything. I think there will come a time that dh and I will change lifestyle and holiday longer term abroad. Just do your homework and make sure that it suits your expectations as a family and that the expense is sustainable.

Don't forget utilities & insurance are on top of ground rent.

A private beach? In the UK?

Be aware the utilities cost loads, some sites are really strict on appearance of vans so you can’t have plants/ bikes visible etc. If you can afford the cost of the van plus the annual fees then go for it. My IL’s recently got rid of theirs after about 7 years as it was costing them too much money despite renting it out. Unless you’re prepared to do the changeover you’ll need to either offer strange arrival days or try to outbid the few cleaners who cover the 10-3 shift on Saturday and Sunday when the whole site will be doing the same thing.

You might have more flexibility with a normal caravan stored on a site if that would work for your son. My ILs used to keep their caravan on a Camping and Caravan site in Norfolk and it would be stored then brought out and put in place for them when they wanted to use it. It was a few years ago but a lot cheaper than a static unit if you can find somewhere suitable. They made a lot of friends there who did the same.

@JustBloodyListen yep!

@gunnersgold there aren’t any private beaches in the UK and haven’t been for over 15 years

Well , I haven't been there get . They call it a private beach but essentially a beach that you can't access unless you are at the park so people can walk off the street or around the cliffs if they felt the need . But I guess there is no point as there are beaches all along the coast .

I know of a nice holiday park with a "private beach". The cliffs make it inaccessible to walkers so only on site holiday makers head down there.