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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Static Caravan as a home?

132 replies

ladybird0718 · 24/09/2018 15:57

Hi All, I'm a long time lurker but first time posting and just wanted some advice. Me and my DH live with my husbands parents, have done for 6 years, its been great, they are lovely people. We decided to move in as I wasn't happy where we were living, it was rented house and not only was it helping us when we moved in it also helped them. We are in a debt plan so a mortgage is off the cards. Anyway, it has been lovely being here. This year we purchased our own Static Caravan on a holiday park, we talked about it for a long time and decided to just do it...Best thing we ever did, we go every weekend and spend as much of the school holidays as we can there, our DS loves it. We are now thinking of moving into this permanently (well almost as it closes for 8 weeks during winter), this is the nearest we will get to owning our own home without paying huge rent bills and when we are there we just feel so less stressed, relaxed, calm and happier in general. It has everything on site for us and DS. Its not a far commute from where we work (around 50 minutes), however, we appreciate there could be traffic in the mornings/evenings but we will get through this somehow. I just wondered if anyone else has lived in a static caravan or knows people who do. I suppose my only issue is how cold it could get in the colder months but we've been looking at insulation. We have double glazing and oil heaters. Our caravan is only 2 years old. During the closure of the park we would come back to DH's parents house which is not a problem.

OP posts:
mummymeister · 24/09/2018 17:52

Don't underestimate what a PITA it is to move out for 8 weeks. when they say the site is shut they mean that you wont be able to pop back in and pick up things. So it means moving out lock stock and barrel for those 8 weeks. are you happy to spend every Christmas not in your own home? also there could be a change of ownership at any point and this arrangement might not then be kept to. On paper it sounds like a great idea but honestly I know a lot of people - retired and those with kids who have done this only to find that the arrangements are changed after a few years or that the burden of moving out becomes just too much. I really do sympathise with the situation that you are in. as your current house is probably now overcrowded with your sil moving in, cant you approach the council or a HA to see if they will re-house you?

BabySharkAteMyHamster · 24/09/2018 18:00

Caravans arent like.they were when we were kids, the one i've just booked has a full sky package, 3 double bedrooms (( with normal beds )) a washing machine, dryer (( washing machine and dryer in small shed outside ))dishwasher and full sized fridge freezer. Central heating AND air conditioning, even has patio doors onto a veranda outside.........it's better than my house Hmm Id go for it op, I would buy a dehumidifier tho to prevent damp issues and factor in costs such as resealing the van etc. I do think you need longer term plans tho as lovely as they are caravans arent really a permanent base and you can be moved on at any time.

blue25 · 24/09/2018 18:01

It's not really a settled home though, if you have to move out for 2 months every year. That would drive me mad. Also, do you not think you feel more relaxed there because you're on holiday? Living there full time probably won't be relaxing at all!

user1457017537 · 24/09/2018 18:07

I don’t know how schools could possibly refuse to accept DC at schools considering they have to keep places open for traveller children. I know travellers who live in houses so living in a caravan and then moving you should well qualify!

CurlyhairedAssassin · 24/09/2018 18:08

I’m another one who is surprised at you buying a newish caravan along with site fees while you were living with in-laws because you have debts. What funds did you use to purchase the caravan? I wonder if your in-laws also raised an eyebrow? You said you bought it because you just liked going there weekends and holidays. So it was a holiday home at the time you bought it. A luxury purchase. You did not have your own home at the time. This is Not something that most people woukd do who are in so much debt they have a debt management plan. I don’t want to on piss on your chips, OP, but that decision doesn’t suggest that you will be clearing your debts very soon. Or will you?

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 24/09/2018 18:09

user that really isn’t the same at all

user1457017537 · 24/09/2018 18:10

Why isn’t it! New Age traveller qualify why can’t this family

Doubletrouble99 · 24/09/2018 18:16

Nearly new statics cost an arm and a leg. I am with the others wondering how you have managed it considering you debt management plan.

oldgimmer78 · 24/09/2018 18:21

I think you are mad to buy a nearly new static van as a home when you could have put it towards a mortgage. I am a renter with no hope of ever getting a mortgage and I looked into a static. The new ones were £30-60k and sounded like a no brainer u too the rep said that the life expectancy of the fans would be 20-30 years, or less if lived in full time.

user1457017537 · 24/09/2018 18:26

Don’t buy a new static caravan buy one from a private owner that is a year or two old. You can sometimes negotiate a fee with the site to do this. New caravans are subject to 20% VAT

AnoukSpirit · 24/09/2018 18:31

There is a reason the residential park homes are aimed at retired people: the structures do not last anywhere near as long as a normal home. Unless it's your final home, or you have money to burn it seems a bit of an odd choice. Although I do understand your reasoning, I'm not sure how this helps you out longer term.

safariboot · 24/09/2018 18:32

I'm surprised it was allowed, I thought holiday parks usually have much stricter rules. Keep in mind a verbal assurance from a manager isn't going to override whatever your legal contract says. I've only holidayed in static caravans, they get cold when it's cold and hot when it's hot, and I bet heating costs will be more than a house considering it's bottled gas and poor insulation.

QueenOfMyWorld · 24/09/2018 18:32

Our friends live on a residential mobile home park and they love it,it's a lovely little enclosed community.They've even converted their garage to a bar room complete with gloss tiled floor,settees and a bar with optics GrinGin

whoseboots · 24/09/2018 18:44

Residential park homes are built to a different BS standard to holiday caravans. Park homes are designed for permanent living. Holiday caravans are not. A holiday park is, by definition, for holiday purposes and holiday park owners are not licensed to allow the residential misuse of caravans on their parks.

Pimmsypimms · 24/09/2018 19:06

I know someone who lives in a static on a site. The van is 18 months old. They were spending £300 a month on utilities to heat the van in winter as it was so bitterly cold, they also had to pour hot water on the water pipes several times a day as they kept freezing. In summer, the average temp in the van was 28 degrees and was just too hot in there. I’d say think carefully about it. Would you be able to cope living there in the bitter cold or the blazing hot because we’ve had both this year.

Laiste · 24/09/2018 20:07

I just want to reiterate that you might be under an obligation to replace the van once it gets to a certain age if this is a holiday park. Park owners usually like modern smart vans on all pitches. When i was a kid our caravan site had vans on it from the 50s/60s/70s and it was great - all the different shapes and sizes and styles and colours. It's not like that any more sadly ...

Womaningreen · 25/09/2018 09:02

I just looked up modern static caravans, I had no idea they were so...cool! That could be a plan for my retirement and I could retire early.

I am wondering what the insulation is like, and also how noisy they can be. Noisier than flats, I wonder? Or maybe about the same.

CaptainKirkssparetupee · 25/09/2018 09:06

About the same as flats noise wise, but are freezing as the walls are thin.

Original poster
ladybird0718 · 25/09/2018 09:37

Thanks all for your replies.

You've been really helpful.

We still have a few months to decide what we want to do so we will see.

OP posts:
TryItAndDieFatLass · 25/09/2018 09:54

A static caravan is my plan for when Ive left H as a mortgage is not on the cards. My kids are all grown up though so it really is only me and my dog. Good luck!

Ignoramusgiganticus · 25/09/2018 09:56

It's relaxing because it's a break from your normal routine. Probably won't be quite so relaxing when it's your norm.
But go for it. You are used to restricted space and it will be your own little space of tranquility.

VickyEadie · 25/09/2018 10:11

Just to say that the "worst thing" that can happen if anyone does break the law and make a false declaration of their permanent address when applying for a school place is being taken to court and prosecuted for it.

sycamore54321 · 25/09/2018 10:21

Honestly, there is a reason everyone else isn’t doing it too. Raising a child in a caravan, an hour away from his school, is not a smart idea for anyone. Winters in a caravan are dark, cold and grim. Laundry, post, sound-proofing, damp, mud, high utility costs are all specific problems in a way that you won have in a permanent dwelling. And while it’s not pleasant to acknowledge, there is a stigma involved too, which your son will likely have to bear. Are staying with in-laws or the caravan nearly an hour away really the only two options you have now or some time in the future? Can you not make a more focused plan for getting your own place? I would prioritise savings while staying at the in-laws and investigate how to find your own flat/house to rent or buy even if it takes some more time. This plan would likely also involve selling the caravan - a holiday home is simply a luxury that you can’t afford while you don’t have a place to live. Or undergo some serious talks with your in-laws about perhaps investing in their home in a way to expand or re-model it to give your family its own private area/Granny flat type situation. You’d obviously need good legal advice before doing that. But moving your school-age child a long distance away from their school to a caravan is not a good idea. In winter, he will leave a cold muddy field in the dark, and it will be dark by the time he returns home. His friends won’t be nearby. You will be paying high bills and have a rapidly-depreciating asset to live somewhere much less convenient and much less suitable for a family. Make a realistic plan instead.

overagain · 25/09/2018 11:07

We did. It was miserable. In winter our toilet froze, so we had to use a bucket, I lost loads of clothes to mould and damp and it got small quickly. Thankfully it was only for 6 months. I'd never do it again.

There's also practical considerations of voting rights and postal addresses, school catchments, GPs.

Also, statics lose value. They last maybe 15 years, then you'll have to buy another, which on top of park fees is just money down the strain. You'd be better staying put and saving for a deposit.

whoseboots · 25/09/2018 18:49

Just to say that the "worst thing" that can happen if anyone does break the law and make a false declaration of their permanent address when applying for a school place is being taken to court and prosecuted for it.
No. The worst thing that can happen if the local council find you living permanently on a holiday park is that they could serve an enforcement notice on you, telling you to remove your caravan from the park. They may also prosecute the park owner for breach of site licence / planning conditions, which may have implications for other caravan owners on the park.