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!

@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.

You've clearly never been to mine For, starters, it has more bathrooms than my house, with a bath in the master en suite. The kids and I spend as much free time as we can there and we don't get bored. It's also not damp, or smelly, or hard to heat. That said, it's residential grade, it was the best part of sixty grand and it's in a really nice, quiet site with nice facilities.

I don't let mine out, so it is personalised and we keep the cupboards etc stocked during the open season so we can just rock up. So I can't help with lettings advice. But we absolutely love ours, it's our happy place. Safe and quiet site so the children have plenty of freedom to play and explore, and it's in a beautiful part of the world ❤️

In my 20's I kept a caravan on a site and the owners would put in into storage when not in use and bring it out when needed. It was obviously smaller than a static and took more work (having to hook up and empty water and waste carriers) but was considerably cheaper (to buy caravan and rent pitch) and quieter than a static site.

Buy a large touring caravan then you aren't tied to one site, you can put it on a seasonal pitch if you want but aren't tied to the site. If you have an awning you can more than double your living space, the new inflatable ones don't take much putting up. Most static sites have rules that you can only sell back to them & they will only give you peanuts, touring caravans don't lose much money, best thing is to look for one a couple of years old, when I had tourers I hardly lost anything when I sold to upgrade. A modern tourer will have everything you want, they aren't like the primitive metal boxes on wheels they used to be, now they are lovely homes, the awning can be used for extra space to spread out or for your children to play in if the weather isn't good. Caravanners are friendly & will help you until you find your feet, you will make new friends, the social life is good, children love it, my ds went from being 8 weeks old & loved it.

Would you consider a touring caravan instead? I camped (tent not caravan) all around Ireland, I live here, with my son from when he was 18minths old,I was a single 21 year old when I had him and lived with my parents so camping was a wonderful way to spend alone time with him, I worked ft so it was mostly weekends but we loved it and it was important to me that he got to know his country and its history which we did by visiting places not just reading about them. When I met my husband he didn't like camping so we compromised and got a caravan, its warm, cosy, easy to set up, ready to go always and we don't have to stick to one place, I'd highly recommend trying it for a season before committing to a static.

I bought a static caravan nearly 3 years ago and it was one of my best decisions. I bought a second hand static with then 10 years left on the license. Depreciation is £1300 pa, site fees £2300 pa, gas about £70, electricity about £50 and insurance £200.

So for less than £4K we have a second home. Our static is on the coast by my dc's watersports club. They are late teens/early 20s and love it. This summer in particular, they are spending their days sailing, windsurfing etc.

We can use it 8 months of the year, we cannot kept it out commercially but sometimes lend it to friends/family. Most people on the small site also take part in water sports.

I know these costs are relative but we used to own a boat and that really was a money pit!

Personally I would go with a tourer. But you get one life, and time when the kids are small is so brief. Someone wrote that you only get 18 summers with your kids. Less than that really once they hit teens and don’t want to come on holiday with you. Grab every opportunity to enjoy that time I say!

In theory it is a nice idea, but wouldn't these kind of properties depreciate more quickly than regular homes, since they are built as temporary structures and are also holiday residences?

@Serin

My cousin has recently paid £350k for one in Abersoch. I just dont get it. For that I would have bought a proper house, made of bricks. Or a touring caravan that can actually be moved, so that you dont have to go to the same place for years.

Gosh that sounds like an awful lot. Ours is/was around 60k, and is quite high spec, certainly much cheaper than the flats we were looking at to give extra accommodation and a private space to guests.

There will be depreciation, but not as much maintenance as our boat (which we cannot use at the moment because of quarantine). The costs are lower than the cottage. The depreciation is not as costly as booking one each time we have anyone out to stay. Unless they are lying, resales are popular. We were shown the only one that was currently available, but we wanted to be further away from ‘ the facilities’.
If we’ve made a mistake it’s not going to ruin us, so a risk worth taking. We intend to still travel abroad when we can again. We wouldn’t want less space or the hassle of a tourer and don’t want guests in the garden without mains facilities. It feels like a good solution.

@Serin

My cousin has recently paid £350k for one in Abersoch. I just dont get it. For that I would have bought a proper house, made of bricks. Or a touring caravan that can actually be moved, so that you dont have to go to the same place for years.

are you sure that was the actual cost and not £35k ??

In theory it is a nice idea, but wouldn't these kind of properties depreciate more quickly than regular homes, since they are built as temporary structures and are also holiday residences? Statics definitely depreciate more in value than touring caravans. Once a Static reaches the end of it's life, they can be hard to dispose of as the scrap value is minimal. Even very old tourers seem to have a resale value of a few hundred pounds second hand, they seem to retain their value better than cars.

My parents have one in Cornwall and they go for 7-10 days each month, 10 months of the year and let family use it whenever they want. We usually go 3 times a year (not this year obvs, although we are going this week) and it's basically booked to be used between now and November. We don't get bored of it. They don't get bored of it. So much to do in Cornwall!!

I was thinking of this shortly before the virus hit us - largely for Dd and family with 3 little dcs. I was looking at sites near the sea, with lots of facilities, indoor and outdoor pools, etc., and not too long a drive away. I’m sure they’d get a lot of use out of it for several years.

I know that from an investment POV it’s money down the drain, and costs are hefty, but letting it for part of the year would presumably defray at least some of these.
Might have a re-think in a few months, depending on what’s happening with this bloody virus. And maybe do some site visits in say October.

We just bought a motor home which l don't think will lose much value and as we park it in our drive, it is really easy to pack up and go somewhere different each time. Maybe consider that OP?

My grandparents own a static caravan and I loved the time I spent with them when I was younger. I used to go most weekends.
However as an adult it’s not something I would ever consider buying. My Nan still owns her caravan and it’s very expensive. On my Nans site, once the caravan is a certain age, you have to upgrade it or remove it from the site. She she to pay over £4000 a year in site fees plus the cost of your caravan, your gas, electric, water rates, insurance and maintenance on top.
If youre happy to rent it out then great but in order to cover your costs you’d probably have to rent it out over peak season.
However if you can afford it and are happy going to the same place all the time for your holidays then why not.

I wouldn't buy one.

From what i have heard there are a lot of rules and regulations re re-selling, letting out, having to buy a new one if the site manager insists.

Plus could get boring visiting same place month in month out.

We had a tourer. We didn't tow it - it stayed on a site and when we wanted to visit I would phone up and book a pitch - then the ground staff towed it on to that pitch for the duration of our stay. It worked well as needed storage regardless - so cost for storage and reasonably priced pitch fees meant it could be quite a value break away. Some people would book a seasonal pitch - so had it available to use on pitch from April - October. Cheaper per night and you could just come and go at will.

Of course tourers cost money too but you can get them for significantly less than a static - and you can move it to a new site whenever you want.

Re relative initial outlay, the kind of new-ish 3 bed one I’d want would be around £70k, or they were when I looked back in January.

A bricks and mortar property of the type I’d consider in similar areas (all S/SW coast) would be an awful lot more. £350k seems a huge amount for a static! If I were going to shell out that much I’d buy bricks and mortar.

Though I know that those actually on the beach at Lyme Regis - the stony, not the sandy one - do go for £200k+.

We have an 8ft side tourer that we pitch on a seasonal pitch. During the summer we use it loads and most weekends from March to October. We put up a huge awning and it’s great. Our site has a slipway so the kids can swim or kayak.

I think the very expensive statics are normally lodges or park home permanent type structures. In Wales you could easily buy a stone cottage for that money.

I do get why people buy them, a £30k outlay will get your something to use regularly in a lovely location where a Holiday house or flat In the type of desirable area people wish to holiday in would cost hundreds of thousands plus council tax and so on. That is out of reach to most people. Also some people prefer to have home comforts, holiday in the same place, have dogs etc. You just need to be able to get to them enough, which is why you see retirees with them.

Tourers are a good alternative but not everyone wants to tow, plus you need a big expensive car as well. Appreciate some just buy it then get it delivered to their favourite site for a season pitch. The bathrooms and kitchens in a tourer are not nearly as good though.

We used to have one.

Most sites will only let it stay for 20years more likely 15years maximin and that’s from the age it was made not the age from when your purchase it. Sites fees on cheap sites are over 2k a year butlins and such can be over 6k a year and they tent to go up by at least £100 a year. Then you have your gas, electric, insurance, gas safe, electrical tests every year. Plus if you want to be covered for frost damage to pipe work you need to pay for a winter shut down.

Most sites will only allow certain company’s on to fit pre approved decking. If the site will let it for you then it will only be until it’s no longer one of the most premium vans on site and you get nowhere near what they actually let it for you. Say haven prestige with deck wales £1,500 peak you wouldn’t be getting anywhere near that but if you rented your self you could charge much than they would pay you and still be cheaper than the haven direct price. However you need to pay a cleaner normally a minimum of £25 a clean plus you need a budget for all damages/repairs.

People have paid 50k plus for a static and given then up the same year for sites to offer half its price. Some sites won’t let you private let or let you private sale. If they do let you sell it privately they will take a percentage of the price as a change of name. Others will want to “approve” the new owner first which will then pretty much be them trying to steal your buyer for one of their own caravans.

For one or twice a year I wouldn’t do it. If you really really want someone I’d go for a lodge they at least hold there value a lot better than statics.

It depends on how often you will use it, how much you need to let it out to recover costs and whether you can pay for it upfront or will need finance, how much site fees are.

We bought one when our children were similar ages to yours OP. It seemed like a lovely idea, was only an hour away and on a lovely Haven site with pool/entertainment/beach etc.

The reality however - site fees were expensive even back then. Added to the finance we took out to pay for the van (we initially bought the bottom range van but after a week there in October we soon realised we needed to upgrade to one with proper heating as it was Baltic) it meant we felt we needed to rent it out at all the peak times in order to recoup some of our costs. We did have time there during school holidays but it was hard not to book it out when you realise you could make £700 on that week by renting it to someone else!

My biggest issue though was that the people that hired it from us were, in the main, absolute animals. We had shower fittings smashed off, bleach spilled on the sofas, holes punched in the interior walls, cupboard doors left hanging off their hinges and Haven made us pay for the repairs. Even if a lightbulb blew whilst we were letting it out it would result in a £10 charge to us, plus we had to pay for it to be cleaned after each letting. And got fined if we didn’t leave the van immaculate after we had stayed in it!

The final straw was when we arrived for a weekend when I was 37 weeks pregnant. I was on my own as DH was meeting us down there the next day. I opened a cupboard to get saucepans out to cook dinner for my toddler, only to find that some absolute arsehole had left every pan/dish/cutlery absolutely caked in food. Not just badly washed up in a hurry - no, they had literally opened the cupboards and chucked all the washing up in there.

Not my finest moment but I lost my shit with the reception people and they weren’t overly helpful. They’re happy to take a percentage of your letting profits but weren’t much use when it came to sorting out any problems.

We also worked out that with the sites fees, running costs and the finance it was costing us around £850 for every weekend we managed to spend there. It was far, far cheaper to just book a weekend there direct! We got rid shortly after that - but beware, Haven take 20% of your sale price! Luckily we were halfway through our finance term by then so we could just hand the van back and walk away, it would’ve crippled us financially otherwise to get shot of it.
Obviously I only have experience of Haven and this was about 8yrs ago but I would say if you only plan on going a few times a year then it is much more cost effective to just book holidays there. You can’t even leave anything in the van during your breaks there if you are renting it out in between so still have to pick everything each time you go.

There’s a hard sell involved and they really do sell it to you as a ‘lifestyle’. We were totally sucked in and whilst we did have some lovely times at the caravan, when I think how much less it would’ve cost us to go the 6 or so times we made it down there each year had we booked direct then I could cry!

I love mine, it’s in a very small, quiet site where letting out is not allowed, so no random groups. Only 30 plots overall. It’s got no facilities except for a laundry room so site fees are low. The plots are spaced far apart and mine overlooks a river, so lovely views and wildlife. Very quiet.

On the other side of town is a large commercial holiday park with loads of leisure facilities that we can use if we want to, swimming pool, restaurants, shops, gym etc. Site fees there are 4 times the price of ours and the caravans are packed in tightly, I wouldn’t fancy a plot there.

We have decorated and furnished it completely to our style and because it’s not rented out we keep it as it is all year, stocked with food etc so can just drop in whenever. We have adapted it so it’s got a small study area and I often take myself off there to work.

It’s about 1.5 hrs drive from where we live, we go at least once a fortnight. For many reasons including our dog we cannot holiday abroad and were spending fortunes on holiday cottages, some of which were not anywhere near worth the money, especially in peak season.

It’s in a lovely seaside town where cottages are at least £800-£1000 in summer, and 300-£400 for a long weekend. We then have to pay extra to take our dog, and a Friday to Monday holiday is actually Friday evening to Sunday evening as the Monday is spent cleaning and leaving. Having our own caravan means our long weekends are Thursday night to Monday night, so we get all Friday, sat and Sunday and can leave at our leisure on the Monday.

We never considered it as an investment, only ever a holiday home. We appreciate overall it will cost us money, but, for us, it’s worth it.

Definitely choose the site carefully though, I would personally avoid a site with lots of facilities as the plot fees can be through the roof. But I don’t have kids so obviously a factor.

Also looking to buy but in our case we are retiring early and want to split our time between home, abroad and static. Can anyone recommend sites in the North that don't have age limits on the vans are more owner used than holiday let's, but must have a pool.

Mine is a lodge style rather than traditional static. Never had any issues with keeping warm or cool, no damp. In fact, it’s nicer to be in than my own house, has an en suite and separate study that my house lacks, and is generally a lovely relaxing place to be!

My parents have had one (well, several actual caravans) on the North Norfolk coast since 1985 when I was 12. It is about a 3 hour drive from us (Midlands) and we have been every year, several times a year since our kids were born and before. They are now 18 and 21 and still love it and are in fact there with my parents at the moment! Mum and Dad let it whenever they don't want to be there and charge significantly less than the going rate on the site as they just look to cover their site fees. It is brilliant and we have had such happy holidays there.