Aibu to consider buying a static caravan?

[allotmentgardener]

Children are 1 and 3, and we like to get away in the UK 2 or 3 times a year. I suggested buying a static caravan. DH scoffed and exclaimed what a ridiculous idea. Investigation reveals that letting it can offset the site costs. Mumsnet people regale me with your knowledge!

following as it is something i am also considering!

Funnily enough we bought one today. It will give us additional accommodation for visitors when we are at our cottage.
Looking at the costs, of we relit for letting 12 weeks a year, including 6 peak weeks, it should cover costs and give us a tiny profit which will pay for it in 10 years.

We have one that we share with our family, in total there are 11 of us who use it almost every week throughout the season March to Oct. It's been such a great investment. So lovely to just say let's go, and be there the same day for a break.

we'd like to but we've had holidays on sites where there have been rowdy holiday makers in owner owned, it would annoy me if we had travelled a fair distance only to have to put up with tossers in the next /nearby van for the duration of the stay.

@CherryPavlova

Do you have to do all the lettings stuff yourself or do the caravan site arrange bookings?

I am currently selling a static caravan if you are interested OP 😂

You may need to check your agreement as some sites won’t allow you to let it out. The site my parents’ one did not allow this, you could let people stay (relations, etc) but you weren’t allowed to charge them for it. Otherwise I think a static caravan would be a fantastic idea. Your kids will have a lot of fun, no long flights abroad with them, etc.

Lots of caravans are pretty decent now compared to the ones I holidayed on when I was a child. Back then there was no toilet in them never mind double glazing/central heating! 😃

I thought about getting one when my DC were young but found the site fees very expensive.

I was looking last night. My father offered to buy one for us. But would like to let it to cover the fees.

Any owners, give us the run down? Can you just rock up and use it? do you book the weeks you want?

[quote Lockdownlumpy]@CherryPavlova

Do you have to do all the lettings stuff yourself or do the caravan site arrange bookings?[/quote]
The site will arrange all the lettings. We say how many weeks we want them to let and they do the rest. It means we can’t personalise it, but that’s not an issue. We can add in a lockable small shed for items we don’t want to bring back and forth. They do cleaning, maintenance, all admin.
We just use it whenever we want we’ve not agreed to let. We are unlikely to want school holidays, so it’s perfect as an add on and gives family/ friends their own space. Our cottage isn’t huge and with anyone other than immediate family, it feels a bit squashed. Nice to have an option that should almost pay for itself.
It means the children can use it for weekends etc if the cottage is in use.
Not grand but comfortable enough with a couple of en-suite bedrooms.

Aren’t they basically a money pit?

With site fees and running costs, plus don’t lots of sites dictate when you need to replace the caravan itself because they don’t like having older models on property.

My aunt and uncle had one and ended up buying an apartment in the nearest sea side town beside the beach because it was actually cheaper.

We say in advance which weeks we want to have it rented out. They want a minimum of eight including four peak weeks.
Monies are settled annually with rental income used to offset site costs, utilities and repairs/maintenance. The more you sub let, the less costs you have as an owner.
If we want some of the weeks back, we can with six weeks notice - but we’re not likely to. We have free use the rest of the year and our guests can just turn up.
If we want sell them extra weeks, we can ask them to try and let but they won’t guarantee. We determine the number of weeks we want it let balancing income against wear and tear. I think we’re going to go with fourteen weeks with eight being peak weeks.

They’re a money pit. If you go away 2/3 times a year it’s 1000% not worth the time and money.

Money pit? Possibly but on a forty year lease we’ll not be around to worry too much. The van itself is said to last about 25 years in rental condition.
There won’t be much in way of site fees or costs over the rental income. We expect to be in profit. Half fees this year and next year because of restrictions due to a Covid.
I’m sure there will be some costs but the cottage has numerous expenses that are far more than the caravan will be. Then again nothing is free. Our specific van has no rental availability until into 2022, so we know that most costs will be covered.

Amanduh How so? Certainly not much effort. Money we shave to wait and see for any certainty but given it’s not much more expensive than a decent car, it feels like a risk worth taking given scarcity of U.K. accommodation and limitations on international travel.

What’s your own experience that may have made it an unwise decision?

Damp, smelly , noisy, dirty , muddy, weather is terrible, maintenance costs, high winds , theft, expensive camp fees, boredom of being in the same place, high winds, terrible reception in tv, phones, broadband etc
Can't get rid of them for love nor money and having to buy a new van after 10 years. The toilet /shower facilities are not very nice. Cold & worrying about the weather in the winter.

Really useful comments thank-you! I was thinking about finding one an hour ish away then we can go more often, so driving time isn't prohibitive.

@CherryPavlova have you had one before or is this your first attempt?

Just check tbeynwont ask you to upgrade in a few years. Some sites do. Also they depreciate in value massively.

what are site fees like? i imagine it differs around the country but?

@Mrsmadevans

Damp, smelly , noisy, dirty , muddy, weather is terrible, maintenance costs, high winds , theft, expensive camp fees, boredom of being in the same place, high winds, terrible reception in tv, phones, broadband etc Can't get rid of them for love nor money and having to buy a new van after 10 years. The toilet /shower facilities are not very nice. Cold & worrying about the weather in the winter.

Have you owned one? The ones we looked at weren’t smelly. There were very few available for purchase so maybe site specific? Ours has a wood burner and heating so my concern would be more about summer heat. We’re not expecting to use it for all our holidays, so boredom isn’t an issue. I imagine people go out and do things during the day.

Two en-suites, one with a bath. They seemed ok. What is the problem with lavatory and wet room?

Personally I would just pay to go to different places every holiday, cheaper and somewhere can get boring surprisingly quickly. We used to have one in the family, and I agree that it's a money pit. We rented it out, but it took away from the spontaneous nature of it, and also it was a pain moving a load of our stuff back and forth. If I could afford to/had money to burn I'd buy one but not ever rent it out. It's also worth looking at sites you would consider going, as some don't allow renters, and some are renowned for being noisy etc; also some sites close for a few months a year. Ours was October to march, yet the site fees were extortionate. We did buy a cheap caravan for a few hundred, did out the inside and have it in a nearby garage. Not as big or grand as a static, but okay for a night or 2 away.

So it's great if you don't mind going to the same place over and over again

First attempt. Always been a bit scathing but they seem to have improved a lot since our youth.

You need to check how much of the letting fees come back to you, and how much goes to the site owners. It can work out that you have to let it out a lot to cover your fees. And you are more likely to let it out during the summer period.
Is it somewhere you could go to as a family for long weekends and if the site Is open over the winter months would you enjoy visiting then .
It can cost more on an ongoing basis than you initially realise - with site fees , gas bills and checks, electricity and maintenance . So you have to work all this out carefully against how much you will realistically use it.

I wouldn't bother paying for a site only an hour away. Many of the things you'd do from the van are things within a reasonably easy drive anyway as the children get bigger and you're tied to all the expenses.

I wanted to do this but figured it would actually be cheaper to block book one for most of the holidays. Whitsun £500 quid, 3 weeks of summer hols say 2400 so that's less than ground rent for a start. No worries about depreciation and buying another when your van becomes too old.