Static caravan ownership

[Clappingforjoy]

Hi posting here for traffic.
I will shortly come into some money and was thinking of buying a static caravan not an expensive one just second hand and then renting it out for a income but I clueless on costs my responsibilities this end. Will the holiday park take care of practicalities such as cleaning between guests and giving out keys etc and what would my costs be such as land rent insurance etc and what other costs will I have.

Didcot know static caravans were still a thing. They used to be awful investments as you could only buy and sell via the site owner, and they used to pay a huge % less than you paid them. Plus site rents.

Check the conditions carefully. I’m guessing it depends on the site. But I would doubt they would do cleaning. And many insist that owners replace vans that are a certain age and there are also site fees.

Family member just bought one - sounds like madness to me. £50k or whatever for a second hand one, then £13k a year rent, then he has to give the plot back after 15 years, so they’ll be 80 with a dilapidated caravan to get rid of. Weird decision!

Tread carefully. The people I know who own a static have been hit with heavy increases in site charges - and it is very expensive to get them moved to another site. They have also lost value very quickly.

We looked into this and decided that it doesn’t make sense.
The actual static rapidly devalue, the site fees, cleaning and cost of replacing items and no guarantee of occupancy.
We do live about 10 miles away from the coast and what seems like 400 sites.

Highly unlikely to make any money - much more likely to cost you dearly!

Extremely bad investment.

I’ve never seen how they benefit anyone apart from the site owners.

Many sites make you replace statics when they hit a certain age. It’s no investment so you would have to want one for it’s own sake. Why not work out how many weeks of renting other people’s statics over the next ten years that the same amount of money would give you hassle free? You would need to invest it wisely (although there’s not much return on saving at the moment).

Do not touch with a bargepole!

The site owners themselves could make money renting the things out by the week. So why do they get other people involved "investing"? Simply because they'll make far more out of people who don't really understand the deal, don't read the agreement and can't do sums or plan than they ever could by just renting direct (and they the hassle)!

We looked into this at a ParkDean site. The salesman said himself, that it’s more of a lifestyle choice rather than an investment.

It's not a good financial investment unless you're the site owner.

Unless you have fallen in love with a particular site and want to spend money to go there on every single holiday you get for the next 15 years, it's not going to be worth it.

Firstly, most the comments are right in that they are a poor investment. My parents did this exact thing and the site fees alone..also resisting a static caravan is costly- 5k is the cheaper price to move it.

I work in compliance for an insurance company that sells caravan, park home, leisure home insurance..the cost of that premium alone based on risk factors you wouldn’t have thought of. The premium if you then rent it out to strangers..it’s a minefield..I wouldn’t bother!

Not If you are going to rent it out. I live in a South coast tourist destination. The thing to do here is buy or rent a cheap one for the summer and rent your house out on air bnb! Can pop home to do the turn around and are on hand for issues.

My pal buys them secondhand. They have brutal depreciation. Site fees are considerable...

I wouldn't, the costs are ridulously high, pretty much as expensive as buying a small house, without any kind of security of tenure. A tourer would be a better option if you like the idea of caravanning, they don't depreciate in value quite as much as statics.

I have no idea about the money side of things but agree with the lifestyle comments. We are lucky enough to have a caravan in the family and it’s lovely to be able to go down on a weekend or annual leave. Everything we need is there, can just sit on the deck in the morning watching the sea! And the fact it’s a caravan seems to add something...
I would only get one if you’re going to get lots of use and joy from it yourself!

You can buy a house in some places for less than the monthly site fees .
I would use the money as deposit on a house at the seaside and get a mortgage .

My IL did this and lost down so much money

My Grandparents owned one until around 3 years ago. It cost an eye watering 80K, but they used it every other week for 7 years, and the site allowed family members to go so we used it too. The site was owners only, had 5* facilities and their pitch had coastal views.

However. The site changed ownership and it rapidly declined the last 2 years.

They are so not worth investing in to rent out.

We have one. It’s brilliant. We were always a bit dismissive of them but wanted somewhere on a beach that was easy to maintain. We have a cottage close by that is often in use, so less spontaneous.

It’s not going to make us huge amounts of income but will have paid for itself. It’s rented out via the site for twelve weeks a year in peak season. We would hate using it in July and August when the site was busy, so happy to let those weeks and keep our cottage free.

Those twelve weeks cover all the costs and more besides. Over time, they’ll allow us to recoup the price we paid. We won’t come out with a profit but will have had fifteen years of free weekend breaks and even weeks working looking at the sea, for us and the children.

It’s very comfortable. It’s tucked away in a corner away from ‘facilities’ so quiet it’s only one privately owned neighbour. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms. Very easy to lock up and leave with site maintenance doing odd jobs and security on site. There is a small shop for teabags or milk and newspapers. There’s a swimming pool which is fine off season. From October to March the site is owners only.

We looked at second properties close by but you can’t get a one bedroom flat for under £120k and that wouldn’t be in such a good location. We wanted somewhere the children can use with friends or, eventually, with little children. We’ve only had it a year but it’s been excellent and allows sea swimming from just outside the door.

Not a good investment or a good idea unless you have money to burn. The depriciation on a caravan is free fall. Strangers dont respect your caravan and family want to use it for next to nothing.

There are site fees, insurance, safety certificates and restrictions by owners. Fees and conditions can change at the drop of a hat.

If you want caravan life buy a motor home or tourer. These can be placed on site, in storage and moved around.

My FIL had one and kindly offered it to us to take over - er no thanks

Unless it somewhere you want to go yearbin year out on holiday I wouldn't bother

@CherryRoulade

Those twelve weeks cover all the costs and more besides. Over time, they’ll allow us to recoup the price we paid. We won’t come out with a profit but will have had fifteen years of free weekend breaks and even weeks working looking at the sea, for us and the children.

Do you mean it will take 15 years of renting it out to recoup your costs?

My DS inherited a van when his Dad past away in 2020. It cost approx £80k in 2018 and we were lucky to get £15k for it. The caravan park offered us less, we were lucky that a family friend wanted one and owns a caravan haulage company.
I can hardly think of a worse investment.