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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think that we can live in a lodge

107 replies

Pizfufffff · 20/10/2023 08:01

We have been looking at family homes for a while now. I stumbled across these lodges on rightmove. https://www.goodlifelodge.com/

I've looked at the website and I mentions things such as "part exchange your home" or "sell your home" to get funding for them. So I presume you can live full time in these things.

I love the design and layout of them. I love the idea of waking up to rolling countryside views.

My partner says I'm being ridiculous and that we are not living in a wooden lodge in the middle of nowhere with our baby.

I can't see why it's so bad?

Goodlife Lodge Company

Choose to begin your new lifestyle today

https://www.goodlifelodge.com

OP posts:
Sjh15 · 21/10/2023 08:25

My friend lives in a static caravan on a site (no, not a gypsy before anyone says that’s normal for gypsies yes I know)
She’s quite happy there. You do have to pay ground rent and you can’t get a mortgage on them, you can however get some particular type of loan she was telling me
when we went to center parcs with our 2 yo I said to my DP ‘wow I wish we lived here’. I’m the same as you, I’d love to live in one in such a nice countryside but think it’s a dream and don’t think it’s viable

Sjh15 · 21/10/2023 08:28

Daffodilsandtuplips · 21/10/2023 04:33

I know someone who bought one of these ‘lodges’ as a holiday/weekend retreat. It wasn’t new, three years old but the previous owner had died and his wife couldn’t face going there any more so she approached the site owners about selling it. It couldn’t be sold privately it had to be sold through them. They took a huge commission fee for this. Our friends bought it. They loved it, close to the sea, in a lovely Victorian town on the North East coast, the site fees were about 4k a year but accepted it.
Two years after buying it the Holiday Park owners changed the site from a Holiday Park to a residential site and started bringing in lots of bigger lodges.
The owners of lodges five years or older all got notices to quit. ‘As a goodwill gesture we can buy your lodge from you. Or you can arrange removal from the site at your own expense.’
Our friends lodge was five years old.
The amount they were offered was an insult. Those affected formed a group and took legal advice and they found the site owners had found a loophole which meant the lodge owners didn’t have a leg to stand on. They had no choice but to accept the offer. Some tried sell privately , others looked to other sites to move them to but discovered it’s almost impossible to find one. It’s all left a bitter taste. Personally I wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.

Edited

Wow. This is a sad story :-(

LizzieSiddal · 21/10/2023 08:29

So much misinformation in this thread. As a pp said you can live there full time.

My brother in law has just bought a lodge on a site, post divorce, It’s a 3 bed, 2 shower rooms and is beautiful and on the edge of a national park. The contract says he can live there apart from a total of 4 weeks a year, which is easily taken up with holidays and visits a to friends/relatives. It suits him really well and is less than half the price of a flat.

I do think more and more people will be opting for this kind of living, because of the shortage of housing.

PurpleFlower1983 · 21/10/2023 08:31

You wouldn’t be able to live there all year round and you would need to factor in replacement costs when it needs replacing in 20 years-ish time.

Frasers · 21/10/2023 08:32

PurpleFlower1983 · 21/10/2023 08:31

You wouldn’t be able to live there all year round and you would need to factor in replacement costs when it needs replacing in 20 years-ish time.

This is so wrong it’s quite astounding. She can live there all year long and no it doesn’t have a life span of 20 years.

Viviennemary · 21/10/2023 08:41

It's a mad idea. They are glorified caravans and the price will go down over time. Unlike a house which will usually increase in value over time.

Badsox · 21/10/2023 08:43

It is a shame really. If we could build them properly and set up fairer rules for occupation, they could become a really good answer to some of the chronic housing problems we have in this country.

Spidey66 · 21/10/2023 08:46

My friend has a static one. she told me some of the rules eg not being able to stay all year , but what put me off was the service charges 7-8k a year on top of the van itself, id rather buy a campervan or motorhome and stay at diffderent sites.

Apologise for typos. im on strong painkillers for a back abd a bit spaced out

Gettingbysomehow · 21/10/2023 09:10

I rented one for three months with my cat when I moved to Somerset while I was looking for a house to buy. I loved it. It was so idyllic. I would have been happy to live in one all the time but you can only do that if you pay council tax on a property elsewhere sadly.

Pleaseme · 21/10/2023 09:13

Frasers · 21/10/2023 08:32

This is so wrong it’s quite astounding. She can live there all year long and no it doesn’t have a life span of 20 years.

Show quote history

It depends a lot on the park and your contract tbh. I worked for One and standard life span for a lodge was 20 years and a static was ten years. Often with the statics they’d be sold to the park for a small sum less than £5k “refurbished ( deep cleaned and a bit of maintenance)” moved to a new spot and sold for £30k+ Re certified for another ten years. Lodges were a newer addition.

The contracts are massively in the parks favour, I’d recommend that anyone considering a lodge invests in some time with a solicitor to explain the clauses.

Refillfast · 21/10/2023 09:14

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AbbeyGailsParty · 21/10/2023 09:16

You need to look at the annual charges ( I’ve seen £4000 pa for a static caravan)
Also if they are 12 months living / permanent address.
And replacement conditions, or if you choose to sell, can be restrictive and expensive.

Oganesson118 · 21/10/2023 09:17

My in-laws live in one and tbh I think they now realise it was a huge mistake but financially they're stuck and can't go back. It's tiny, it's cold, they have to lug their laundry across to the launderette on the other side of the site... loads of little inconveniences.

Not all these places force part occupancy though. Some do. Not all.

Wonkasworld · 21/10/2023 09:18

People do live in them for 10 months of the year or similar. Believe me, they are well insulated and warm. People have air con fitted as well.

Wonkasworld · 21/10/2023 09:19

Oganesson118 · 21/10/2023 09:17

My in-laws live in one and tbh I think they now realise it was a huge mistake but financially they're stuck and can't go back. It's tiny, it's cold, they have to lug their laundry across to the launderette on the other side of the site... loads of little inconveniences.

Not all these places force part occupancy though. Some do. Not all.

Most people have their own washing machines fitted. Laundrette on site?

Molecule · 21/10/2023 09:23

For goodness sake there are many sites that do have year round occupancy, just as there are many that are restricted. Residential lodges have much better insulation etc and are perfectly fine to live in. The major downside is the fact the industry is unregulated and there are some very nasty park owners.

Many years ago we built a wooden lodge to replace a static caravan on a rural property we had bought. We were a family of six and lived in it very happily for a year; it was cosy with lovely views, though we did realise we should have put better insulation under it, the wind didn’t half whistle in, and if we hadn’t sold it we would have done so.

I could quite happily live in one again, and often look out for sites which have a scruffy static in situ and fantasise about my wooden chalet.

payriseday · 21/10/2023 09:26

Wonkasworld · 21/10/2023 09:18

People do live in them for 10 months of the year or similar. Believe me, they are well insulated and warm. People have air con fitted as well.

Yes, holiday parks.
However on residential parks they can live in them all year round.

Wonkasworld · 21/10/2023 09:28

payriseday · 21/10/2023 09:26

Yes, holiday parks.
However on residential parks they can live in them all year round.

Show quote history

Yes, you're right, forgot about the actual residential parks 😊

Oganesson118 · 21/10/2023 09:29

Wonkasworld · 21/10/2023 09:19

Most people have their own washing machines fitted. Laundrette on site?

Show quote history

Well theirs doesn't and yes there's a load of washing machines and dryers in a separate building on the site. There's absolutely nowhere in their place a washer could go.

Wonkasworld · 21/10/2023 09:33

Oganesson118 · 21/10/2023 09:29

Well theirs doesn't and yes there's a load of washing machines and dryers in a separate building on the site. There's absolutely nowhere in their place a washer could go.

Show quote history

People have them fitted in outside sheds. I'm not denying what you're saying, BTW.

Original poster
Pizfufffff · 21/10/2023 09:36

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You sound really nice :)

OP posts:
LakieLady · 21/10/2023 09:40

When I worked in homelessness prevention, I had a client who was being evicted from one of these places because her "lodge" was no longer new enough to meet the conditions of the park and she couldn't raise the funds to replace it.

She got a council place because she was over 60 and had a disability, so she didn't end up homeless, but a year later she got a bill from the park owners for a few thousand for the cost of removing and disposing of her lodge.

I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole.

Original poster
Pizfufffff · 21/10/2023 09:41

Autumn1990 · 21/10/2023 01:10

What about a bungalow in a village instead? Some bungalows already have an open plan layout others can be altered. Bungalows usually go up in value as well. Most villages have a good community and there wouldn’t be the danger of the water just a garden you could make space. I have a bungalow and it’s great with small kids.

Yes this is what I was looking for initially. I just love the idea of one floor living that is not an apartment. I guess that's what drew me in to the lodges! After reading this thread it's back to the search for a bungalow :)

OP posts:
GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 21/10/2023 10:41

TizerorFizz · 20/10/2023 08:51

Planning restrictions force part year occupancy. It’s standard. It’s not sneaky by the owners! It’s planning policies! Plus these are not full time residencies and are not intended to be.

I assume that was to me? I didn't mean the planning restrictions are sneaky, I meant that the website making no mention of the planning restrictions and actually saying the site is open 365 days a year - therefore implying you can live there all year - is sneaky.

Refillfast · 21/10/2023 10:45

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