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Original poster

Static caravan on holiday park - a good investment?

28 replies

HopeG · 13/05/2023 16:33

Hi all,

I am wondering whether purchasing a static caravan on a UK holiday park perhaps somewhere like Whitstable or Margate (South East, by the sea) is a good investment?

I am thinking it could be nice for us to visit as a family but also we could rent it out when not in use by us.

We’d need to take out a second mortgage to cover it so I would want holiday rentals to cover the cost.

Do people find this works for them?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

OP posts:

OvaHere · 13/05/2023 16:41

I think do your homework. I ended up down a bit of a rabbit hole a while back reading about some issues both with renting out and the park T&Cs.

Apparently many main parks will only house statics up to a certain age so some people have found themselves after a few years having to either find a new site or pay for an upgraded model. Especially if the caravan was bought 2nd hand.

I'm sure other more knowledgeable posters will be along to answer shortly.

Roselilly36 · 13/05/2023 16:41

Not an investment, the cost to buy the caravan, ongoing fees some sites can be £5k pa, and then when you want to sell you are offered next to nothing. Also many sites expect you to “upgrade” your caravan within a certain timeframe. Every one I know that has bought a caravan on a site, has regretted it tbh, sorry to be negative but to borrow money, with interest rates rising, doesn’t sound a good idea. Perhaps some mn will come along with positives experiences.

Ilikewinter · 13/05/2023 16:41

We looked into this, and to be honest, the overwhelming response / advice I got was that a caravan is not a good investment, do lots of research, potentially stay away from large parks, research research research!. Be aware that costs rack up fast.... we saw site fees anything from £3500 to over £7k. BUT if you go in eyes open and find the right site then it can be fantastic. We decided against it purley due to the annual costs as we didnt want to rent it out, but im envious of people who have a little bolt home by the sea!

stayingaliveisawayoflife · 13/05/2023 17:00

It's not good as an investment. My
Mum bought a caravan from Park Deane in Trecco Bay. We had many lovely holidays there and my mum tried to make the site fees through renting out to friends. The problem was the caravan got too old and the site offered two options. Spend 20,000 plus on a new caravan and keep the site place we were on or keep the old caravan and be moved right to the back of the site. My mum sold and got £2,000 for it and we saw it up for resale at the site at £16,000 a few months later.

The site fees were over £4,000 a year and because my mum did it privately not through the site and paying a fee she didn't get help even when there were issues the site fees should cover.

They suck people in but once they are not making as much money as they want the love bombing stops quickly.

We did love the owners swim time at 8am though!

Iwrote · 15/05/2023 20:08

A caravan is possibly the worst investment you could make. They depreciate like hell, there are often multiple t's + c's about renting them out, some sites charge 20k a year in fees. It would be a terrible investment with available funds, and an absolute fucking money pit with borrowed funds.

PlantDoctor · 15/05/2023 20:14

My friend used to work for one of these companies. She said NEVER do it. It all sounds great before you buy but then people realise how much money they're losing and want to sell them back, only to find they're not worth anything (until the company comes to resell them, that is!)

SullysBabyMama · 15/05/2023 20:14

My Mum also bought a caravan and had all the same issues as the previous posters. Don’t do it!

OnNaturesCourse · 15/05/2023 20:20

We looked into it. Doing it the same way as you hope to do.

We worked out that even with the best renting out circumstances (ie constantly throughout summer) we'd never "break even" so it would be a constant drain on our resources.

Figured we'd end up resenting it so decided against it. Shame really as the whole idea of it still makes me smile. A little weekend holiday stop.

Maybe something to consider going into with friends or family? Sort of like a shared holiday home with split costs?

gogohmm · 15/05/2023 20:23

If you want a bolt hole by the sea for you, fine, just don't think of it as an investment. I know plenty of people with them who love them but they won't make you money. At best you can recoup some of your annual costs which are hefty.

KinderCat · 15/05/2023 20:32

Another vote for don't do it. A lot of the parks my family looked at also had a cap on how long you could stay there so you would be expected to move after a certain time and then on top of that finding a park to accept a move caravan more than a couple or years old was a nightmare. Really not worth the hassle unfortunately!

Hellocatshome · 15/05/2023 20:34

It shouldn't be seen as any sort of investment. Do it if you think you would benefit from it and can afford it. Do not do it as an investment.

Whatevergetsyouthroughthenight · 15/05/2023 20:35

Not an investment, a very expensive lifestyle choice which can be difficult to escape. If you’ll use it and enjoy it, fine, but definitely not an investment.

ChiChiGabor · 15/05/2023 20:38

I don’t think you’d get a mortgage on one for starters.

Dont forget that if you sell it on, park owner gets x% of the sale price.

I know on some sites they cannot be sold past a certain age so the park owner buys them and rents them back out.

EwwSprouts · 15/05/2023 20:39

Not a good investment as PP have said. Definitely do not touch with a barge pole if you need a mortgage to do it.

Deadringer · 15/05/2023 20:45

Definitely not an investment. As pp said they depreciate in value, many sites will insist you replace it after a set amount of years, often 10, and often you have to buy and sell through the site owners making it profitable only for them. Many sites also don't allow you to rent out your van, and insist it's for your personal use only. It's a lifestyle really, a place of your own to spend time in during the summer months. A cheap house would be a much better investment if you could stretch to it, and you won't have the yearly fees that can run into thousands of pounds.

AlligatorPsychopath · 15/05/2023 20:50

As an investment? Hell to the no. A caravan is a thing you spend money on, not make money from.

If you want to spend all your holidays in it and don't mind the cost, by all means go ahead. If you want an investment, open a stocks and shares ISA.

NatMoz · 15/05/2023 20:53

You don't do it to make money, or even break even. You do it for a holiday escape.

I'm one to explore new places so a static was never for me. A touring caravan sounds fun but then the costs of servicing, buying a car to pull it (ours is too small) and the guilt of not using it every weekend didn't seem worth it.

Instead we go camping in the tent a few times a year and have holidays abroad instead. Still cheaper than a caravan!

ThePoshUns · 15/05/2023 20:54

I own one.
Definitely not a financial investment.
My site doesn't allow owners to rent so no money to be made.
We were lucky enough to buy ours outright and love having a place by the sea to escape to whenever we want. We use it a lot.

lupinlapain · 15/05/2023 20:56

Don't do this as an investment.
Caravans don't last.
Sites charge a fortune and dictate that you upgrade your caravan (that means replace it with a newer model) regularly.
Sites rarely open 12 months
Are freezing cold in the winter - think frozen pipes.

madamegazelle1 · 15/05/2023 20:58

They aren’t an investment! We owned one for 8 years- bought for £24k from the owners of the site and when we told the owners we wanted to sell they offered the market rate which was £7k. We could have sold it privately and the new owners have removed it from site but that is expensive and it’s almost impossible to find a place on another site. Site owners want you to buy the static through them if you want a space on their site. Site fees can increase and you have no choice but to pay the increase or remove your static but that’s expensive and you won’t get another space…

Stratocumulus · 15/05/2023 21:00

It’s a money pit! Don’t do it especially if you need to borrow to buy it.

We had a touring caravan (slept 4 comfortably) on a “seasonal pitch.” We chose not to tow so were able to leave it, in situ, on our Cornish site, all year round.
This worked for us for a number of years until ill health forced the sale.
Think about exploring the “seasonal pitch” idea. Our fees were less than £2k per annum. Caravan life is great. We loved it.

Frankieisbackfromhollywood · 15/05/2023 21:01

As others said, if you want it for you and are willing to spend for it, then go for it. If you want it as an investment absolutely no way, you will never ever cover the full cost.

adagio · 15/05/2023 21:05

What everyone else said!
Think of it more like buying a car that depreciates faster than a plummeting stone. if you want one to enjoy and can afford it, go for it but it will be a money pit :)
if I could afford it I would love one - holidays every weekend etc - but reality is I would see the costs/depreciation as a huge financial burden I could never justify in my head and would hate every minute!

mrsm43s · 15/05/2023 21:20

Not a good investment, no.

However, we had one on a small, family owned site, and it was an absolutely wonderful experience for us and gave our children amazing childhoods.

We bought an old caravan for £4k on a small site on the South Coast, paid site fees ranging from £1600pa to £2300pa at the end, and had the caravan for over a decade. We spent weekends and holidays there and completely got our money's worth. But cheaper, family run sites without age restrictions on vans are rarer than hen's teeth nowadays.

littleripper · 15/05/2023 21:24

I looked into it and found they can be a money pit and if the site changes hands you are screwed!
But we did by an old (25 yo!) touring van for £300 on ebay, added new tyres and an awning and paid £20pm for it to be stored on a site in the Lake District. For £25 they would tow it out and set it up on a pitch so it served as a static iykwim. We used it, the whole family did. It was also nice that other friends, family etc could come and camp in a tent or hire a camping pod.
We sold the van after 6 years for....... £550 on ebay!

So I would recommend that.

This is the site:

The Quiet Site | Ullswater | Glamping and Camping | Lake District

Glamping and camping at The Quiet Site, Ullswater - the coolest place to stay in the Lake District, Cumbria. On site shop, bar and pizzas.

https://thequietsite.co.uk

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