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Original poster

Static caravan purchase - pros and cons

15 replies

Annamaywong25 · 14/03/2021 10:53

I'm thinking of buying a static caravan in a popular holiday area to boost my pension when I retire. Any caravan owners on here who can give me an insight into the up/downs of ownership please? Would be used by family sometimes but if empty would like to rent out for extra income.
Do the site costs, insurance, cleaning fees make it viable?

OP posts:

ILovemyCatsSoSoMuch · 14/03/2021 11:18

We looked into it. I’m sure it depends on the site. I hoped we could rent it for the busiest part of the year to cover the costs, but we’d have to rent it pretty much every weekend or week of the spring and summer to break even on site fees alone.

The asset depreciates very quickly too.

I’d only buy as a lifestyle choice, definitely not a financial investment

Mydogisagentleman · 14/03/2021 11:21

We thought about it, the thing that put us off was that once they reach a certain age, a lot of sites ask you to remove them

idontlikealdi · 14/03/2021 11:21

Site fees are very expensive. If you want to cover costs and make an income you need to rent it out over key holiday periods which means you obviously can't use it.

Ours is in France, fees about 6.5k at the moment.

If we let it out through the park owners we have to lock up all the personal stuff in there which is a giant PITA.

Totally recommend it if you want a holiday home but not as a financial investment!

Tobyhouseman · 14/03/2021 11:31

I have looked into this a lot and have yet to find anyone who's not lost money on them. They are a terrible investment, actually they cannot be described as an investment.

Your fixed costs a year are many thousands including site fees, utilities, insurance etc etc. Your van depreciates like hell and a lot of sites have a policy of only allowing vans under a certain age - look at the prices of s/h vans on eBay - that's where you'll be in 10 years - almost worthless.

To give yourself an idea of what it feels like to own one, take £1000 out of the bank and burn it. Repeat a few times.

senua · 14/03/2021 11:36

I’d only buy as a lifestyle choice, definitely not a financial investment.
Absolutely. Like any contract: before you get into it, find out how you get out of it. I believe some parks are sneaky about sales - insisting you sell back to them - or demand a cut. Also mydog's point about obsolescence; I believe static caravans only have a life of approx 15 years although lodges can go up to 80 years.

SpacePotato · 14/03/2021 11:58

I know a family who bought on a holiday park, lost money, massive PITA having to deal with cleaning between renters, damage and they had so little time themselves there as they needed to rent it most of the time and still didn't break even.

Lasted 2 years before they got rid. At a loss.

dewisant2020 · 14/03/2021 12:07

They are not an investment I can assure you off that.
We currently have a static caravan in a popular holiday park but we never purchased it to make money it was purely for us to use as a family and for our own families to use when it was available.
It has to be for a lifestyle not for a profit

ElvisPresleysSideburns · 14/03/2021 15:37

I’d only buy as a lifestyle choice, definitely not a financial investment*
*
This. Please, please don't consider this as a financial investment.

cruisecrazy · 14/03/2021 16:46

Agree with all the other posters, they are definitely not an investment. I have one on a lovely site but do not rent it out, it is only used by my family. As previously said you will only make any income, if any, by renting out during the main holiday season. You have to take into account rent, rates, insurance which depending on site can run into many thousands of pounds, at least £4,000. per annum. for a decent site and could be as much as £7,000. Also they do depreciate at an alarming rate, by as much as half in a couple of years. I have owned mine for 10 years and know that I would be lucky to get £3,000. for it now, but I did not buy it as an investment, just as a little bolt hole. Please think very carefully, they are only an investment for you not for profit.

RainingBatsAndFrogs · 14/03/2021 17:27

On many sites you can only buy and sell through the site - you pay a premium when you buy and they take a huge commission when you sell.

WombatChocolate · 14/03/2021 19:56

Buy one for your own enjoyment or that of your family. Factor in the yearly costs, the costs of buying and the much lower amount you will get when you come to sell or have to remove it from the site and pay to sell it on or scrap it,depending on age. Work out if you’re prepared to pay that for X years of enjoyment.

They are not houses which appreciate in value and can be an investment, but are steadily depreciating assets, so not an investment for an individual looking to make money in terms of capital appreciation or long term income.

Roselilly36 · 15/03/2021 20:06

Don’t touch it with a barge pole OP. The site fees are horrendous, I know someone who paid £35k for a top of the range caravan, two years later they were offered £14k buy it back.

willstarttomorrow · 15/03/2021 22:48

Just to echo all of the above. We have been lucky enough to visit one on a lovely privately owned site for years because the owner rented it out very cheaply (he only needed it for a few weeks a year). We looked into buying a van on the site but it made no financial sense - and this is a site with no maximum van age and has relatively low site fees of £4000 a year before insurance, gas etc. The owner we rented from has now moved on and we would love to continue going but other owners are now looking for £100 a night, used to be around £40. I suspect they are trying to recover their costs but as we would then have to add on paying for the pool etc it just seems bad value for a couple of nights in the UK (pre-covid it is as cheap to head abroad or stay in a hotel). Lots of people on the site basically live there (although it closes for 3 weeks) and I can understand paying the fees for the lifestyle. As an investment- no way. There is loads of info online regarding buying a static- not an investment!

dotdashdashdash · 16/03/2021 13:15

Nope, nope, nope. Certainly not for a rental.

Cons:

the depreciate very quickly
site fees and other charges
most sites insist all homes are below a certain age (and you have to pay for removal)
moving to another site is expensive and difficult
usually can't use during certain weeks
managing any holiday property comes with costs (cleaning and maintenance, rental website fees).

If you want one to go on holiday to regularly, then great, go for it. But not to make money out of.

Original poster

Annamaywong25 · 16/03/2021 21:37

Thanks for all your advice. I dont think it's for me now. The site fees and costs wouldn't make it worth my while and sounds like it would be a bit of a headache tbh. Thinking cap will have to go back on.

OP posts:

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