To ask for advice with a financial/camping dilemma?

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

I didn’t know which category to put this in! Would especially love to hear opinions from seasoned campers and vanners.
we need to release money for our sons house deposit. We don’t have it all so would remortgage for some of it.
we have a VW campervan which we could sell
basically the financial difference between keeping or selling the van would be around £400 over 4 and a half years.
just writing it out here it seems like a no brainer!
but we do love our weekends in the van. Anyone switched to a tent from a van and kept their relationship intact? We tend to just do weekends.

How much is in the LISA for the youngest? When will they need that? I'm not sure how they work but could this not be used and replaced later?

Don't sell your van if you enjoy it. YourDS needs to save up a bit longer himself. You can't give what you don't have.

In this context, assuming the lisa is in their name, it can only be accessed near retirement

Well, I think it needs to be negotiable.

You haven't currently got the funds to give away money to your DC. You need to think about your own needs, especially as you get older.

There's no way you should be remortgaging your house. What about your security? You have no idea if you'll always be able to pay the mortgage.

Does your son know you are remortgaging your house and considering giving up your van? I would be thoroughly ashamed of my children if they took money from me under these circumstances. We all want to support our kids but this is ridiculous. You've got one hell of a spoilt brat if they allow you to do this.

How many nights a year do you spend in the van and how much does that cost in site fees?

If you still need a vehicle, you'd be better buying the vehicle and the kits for the micro camper separately. You get boot jump options for Citroen Berlingo style or those designed for taking the seats out of the back. Lots of good options second hand now. You'll pay a lot more to buy it converted.

Do you stay on campsites? if so a micro camper is a sensible option assuming you still need a vehicle.

I'd love a campervan but I can't justify the cost while still working. I book camping pods instead and do cheap caravan holidays which come to less than the running costs of a van.

What it's worth to you is different to anyone else though but you do need to get a full handle on the costs and compare.

Tents are crap once you’re in your 50s ( I’m assuming you are around 50 something if your son is of housebuying age) - cold, often wet, a pita to put up and take down. A lot of hassle for one weekend.
I also think you’re mad remortgaging at a time when you want to be looking forward to the end of its term, not adding to it (again, I’m making certain assumptions about your age here) - are you sure it’s the right thing to do?

Keep campervan

Can you downsize to a smaller property & release some money that way to your children & for your own holidays ?

Don't go back to tents

I don't think you're in a financial position to give your son a deposit. Remortgaging your home for that, bad idea, and you would be giving up a van that you use on your vacations. Tent camping really sucks if you're used to vehicle camping. You said you'd have to cut back on house maintenance as well as vacations to do this.

You'd be compromising your biggest asset by remortgaging and taking away the vacations you enjoy to give your son a deposit that he could work for and save.

Do you have other kids?

Yes I’m thinking this might be a good compromise.
i have allowed £7k in my calculations for a second car to replace the van but I could get a micro camper or even a transit with that.

You could sell camper van

Buy a cheaper car with a tent box onto
Or
Buy a cheaper car & a trailer tent

I would not remortgage existing property

Buy a second hand camper van
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/227338680286?_skw=camper+van&itmmeta=01KRGMWKK713Y43VBZ7F9AXVJT&hash=item34ee70f7de:g:bp4AAeSwzrlp-QlY&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA8GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xBes3XxlWfJ5apH4QHQlpqpszplhxGKB%2F%2BfkaQ5vAJe3ZFBKWU2RdP5uVl7AdR1S8fStWjQQDaRkJ%2FyMlT4NMVZdoXPKJ9ROM4gin%2BxxUWlVck7fm%2BwtcAvR9jx2OPgkq3bBo1DPbzxMvGXx4fG32vyjbuPEWBjG%2BogHFts4douDU1%2Bhwpawvt2eGAdHrzfNy4cq5jKV%2Bm7eSYbty5RYH5o4cJKqH8u%2FM1ljuXHExVzBPzcfp0XmUPBnWHi5vDmeOzr8TE3EJIpOpb2Hbinj3QpmuVkLYUXtw5eNJ2HdE8saA%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6C68pTEZw

It can be accessed for buying a first home. I thought that was the point of them

I voted YABU simply because you should not take on extra debt to fund a child’s house deposit.

Is he sure this is a good idea? I bought a flat in 2019 (in a modern block in a city centre), it’s now worth about half what I paid for it (if I could sell it), my deposit is long gone and I had to save for a new deposit to move out.

I’d be beside myself if I knew my parents had remortgaged and sold their hobby vehicle to fund that.

Sell van, buy sports car and lightweight hiking tent.

Don't do it. Tent camping is a hassle (we do it a lot). Setting up is easy but you won't go if you're going to be packing away wet on a Sunday morning and having to repitch in your garden on Tuesday but then have to leave work early to take it down by 3pm before the rain comes blah blah blah. If you sell the van you will do far fewer weekends away and you'll be sad, even if you do less due to budget you'll still have the option.

Not "a first home", "your first home". Whoever owns the lisa, needs to be buying their first home (and anyone else buying with them needs to be buying for the first time too I believe).

You can't open one until you're 18. Therefore op must be saving under their names. Therefore, money can only be withdrawn once they're over 60. If they had kids in their mid to late 30s, this works well.

Why did you do it for one - without thinking how you would do it for the others?

Go and sit in one of those micro campers first......... I did and even though only for me I found it too cramped/claustrophobic. I bought a van and kitted it out myself very cheaply with a kit off ebay so it has a sliding double bed with cupboards under, I made blackout curtains by sewing magnets into the seams and cut up a foam mattress which I covered using cheap cotton duvets (end of season sale asda £5 each) sewn to size which look like seat cushions by day then slot together to become the bed's mattress by night. Small camping stove and magnetic battery light and only cost about £600 for conversion. Much more comfortable than a tent 👍

Your not going to be able to re- afford to buy the campervan.
The depreciation is almost negligible so the issue is, how can you keep the campervan and therefore enjoy the lifestyle while you can.

So. Asking for help.
Do you have parents who might be willing to give you an inheritance early, and therefore avoid giving it to the tax man. Seven year old gifts dont count as deprivation of income and care homes will take everything. It might be a difficult conversation but easily worth £40,000.

Or mad solution.
Can you rent out your home and live in your campervan for the whole summer. I've had more than one friend who couldn't really afford their mortgage and spent summers camping ( whilst still working) . They both and rented out their houses for 6 + weeks a year ( school holidays) to make ends meet. One put a fence up halfway down the garden and camped at the end. It sounds mad until you do the maths.
You would still need to take out a loan to give him £20,000 but that wouldnt need to be secured against your house and then you could add to it what you could afford each year.

Or change the problem.
You could be a guarantor on your sons longer term mortgage.
Or
He could apply for a 40 year mortgage and you could give him various financial gifts along the way to shorten the term as you can afford them.

Or you could get a second job ?

@Mossstitch that sounds great!
I love doing up stuff like that

@iamfedupwiththis he is buying a little earlier than we anticipated!

We love camping (couple in 30s with a school child) however I dread setting up and packing down every single time we go. It takes a good 1.5-2 hours, you’re having to unpack the car and then when packing down you’re playing Tetris with the boot. When everything is set up I love it but it’s such a hassle. Then add in to that the British weather, if setting up in the wind or rain it’s just a nightmare.

We only go away camping now if it’s a long weekend because a Friday - Sunday just isn’t long enough for the stress of setting up.

We are looking to get a camper in the next few years as we’re getting sick of the set up so I wouldn’t go backwards to a tent.

Keep your van. You will get more than £400 of fun out of it (you know this). A tent is not comfortable, takes more time to erect, cold and damp in UK climate, everything is on the wobble in a tent, you cannot take good clothing in a tent, beds are so much better in a van.