Buying a static caravan in the UK.
Buying a static caravan in the UK.
Author
Discussion

Slyjoe

Original Poster:

1,591 posts

241 months

Sunday 21st March 2010
quotequote all
Ok - its not very rock & roll I know, however, does anyone own / lease a static on the uk south coast?
How much is this going to cost? where's best? can you make money from them?
Does PH recomend or steer away?


Engineer1

10,486 posts

239 months

Sunday 21st March 2010
quotequote all
The cost is £20K+ the exact amount depends on the site and the van you chose, the site my parents have a van on the site owner buys the van then sells it on to the new owner so a van with an RRP of £20K can be sold for £23K, as to being able to make money look at the rules of the site some may try and limit renting of the vans or make it difficult. Other things to consider are that although the van may be provided with mains electric gas and water you may again be buying of the site owner. So in summary on a good site with a fair owner it should be possible to cover costs and do well on a site with a less fair owner the rules could change leaving it less profitable.

Kaelic

2,720 posts

231 months

Sunday 21st March 2010
quotequote all
you will become a pikey like me and an outcast biggrin

I won mine with the sun newspaper... But the OH and kid have stayed in them loads.
From research and excitement of winning a 40K one I have done quite a bit of reading.

From what I can tell :

Dont buy one new the depreciation is mental
Don't buy one over 7 or 8 years as a lot of parks wont have them over 10 years on-site
Renting out is a nightmare and be prepared for the scum of the earth ruining your pride and joy
They are expensive "holiday homes" I would never have considered buying one (OH wanted for ages to buy one but I said no) and the plot rental costs can be very high
Be careful of the park you choose and their rules and regulations (as in changing van every x years and their plot rentals)
Sub-letting using an agency is very expensive and a bit of a con imo


Loads more things to add but cant remember off the top of my head.

Other bods will be out of the woodwork to tell you some useful advice I have no doubt but do your homework before you jump in matey.

ShadownINja

80,090 posts

312 months

Sunday 21st March 2010
quotequote all
Been watching Snatch tonight? biggrin

Slyjoe

Original Poster:

1,591 posts

241 months

Monday 22nd March 2010
quotequote all
smile I was very drunk when I wrote the above last night, and now have no intention of buying a stativ caravan!
It is just not "the done thing".
thanks anyway guys! smile

Vipers

33,514 posts

258 months

Monday 22nd March 2010
quotequote all
We believe you rolleyes not.




smile

F i F

48,821 posts

281 months

Monday 22nd March 2010
quotequote all
Ah we know.

tongue outikey accent:
Periwinkle blue, for yer ma!
:/PA:

ooo000ooo

2,647 posts

224 months

Monday 22nd March 2010
quotequote all
The wife's driving instructor had a static on a site, he let his sister use it for the odd weekend/week during the summer. He arrived down one friday night to find it sitting in the site compound. The site owners pointed him to a clause in the contract which forbid anyone except him from using it.
They then billed him an extortionate amount daily for the storage of the van. The contract prevented him from selling it privately, so he had to sell it back to the site owner at a lot less than real value, he got charged for them disconnecting it and transporting it from the pitch to the compound and they charged him the remainder of the season site fee's.
He lost thousands.
Legal fees to contest the contract were going to cost him a lot of ££££s with no guarantees of winning the case.

LuS1fer

43,518 posts

275 months

Monday 22nd March 2010
quotequote all
Plus some sites can insist on you buying a new caravan every now and then to keep up the standard of the site (usually a clause somewhere) or evict you and the van. Moss grows on them, you know.

standfree93

3,001 posts

217 months

Monday 22nd March 2010
quotequote all
I have a static caravan in Alford, near Aberdeen.
But to be honest, not sure about the costs, but caravanning is good smile
You could rent it out to make some money?

pat_y

1,029 posts

231 months

Wednesday 24th March 2010
quotequote all
the inlaws have a static van near Bridport (Dorset/Devon border), they have been on the same site for around 15 years and we get to borrow it every year for a week or 2.
It's a really nice place to be, we really like it but as a couple of people have pointed out it's hellishly expensive, especially if your site is private ownership only and run by facists.
The rules for the inlaws site are laughable, no vans over 10 years old, the van must be of an 'approved' manufacturer and style/colour combo which must be sympathetic to the surrounding vans.
Vans that exceed to 10 year old rule must be sold to the site owner, who will buy the van for a 'nominal' set fee (i'm sure this part is acually illegal) who then sells it on to pikeys at an inflated rate. As for the site fees, how does £7k a year grab you....
If you're going to do it, make sure you read the site rules and regs VERY carefully.
As another poster mentioned expect your van to loose 95% of it's original purchase price in 7-10 years.
approx purchase price seems to be around £35-40K+ for a nice new one.

F i F

48,821 posts

281 months

Wednesday 24th March 2010
quotequote all
So in summary...

95% of 40k = 38k
Over ten years = 3.8k/year
Plus site fees = 3k (a known park in E Yorks is now £3k/year, site nothing special, frankly very ordinary)
Plus rates
Plus insurance
Plus winter storage costs
Plus Leccy and water connections
Plus...

Errrrrrrrr

:Nick the Greek:
"Dunno , seems expensive, what else does it come with? Gold plated Rolls Royce?
:/NTG:

Kaelic

2,720 posts

231 months

Wednesday 24th March 2010
quotequote all
Summary of my costs even thought I won the thing :


Van : £38K
Pitch Rent : £4,600 PA
Insurance : £281 PA
Rates : £360 PA
Fuel Costs : £3-500 PA
FuelDeposit : £95

After 3 years the van would be worth £15-20K Tops

I get the pitch rent and van purchase price paid by the sun but the other costs have to be covered.

Would I buy a van with those figures? Not at all, far too rich for my blood!

Hope that helps!

Penny-lope

13,645 posts

223 months

Wednesday 24th March 2010
quotequote all
Kaelic said:
Summary of my costs even thought I won the thing :


Van : £38K
Pitch Rent : £4,600 PA
Insurance : £281 PA
Rates : £360 PA
Fuel Costs : £3-500 PA
FuelDeposit : £95

After 3 years the van would be worth £15-20K Tops

I get the pitch rent and van purchase price paid by the sun but the other costs have to be covered.

Would I buy a van with those figures? Not at all, far too rich for my blood!

Hope that helps!
God will you stop going on about that blood caravan!!!





tongue out

Have you stayed in it yet?

LuS1fer

43,518 posts

275 months

Wednesday 24th March 2010
quotequote all
Didn't caravans go up in price when people strated treating them as houses, almost like that was a good idea?

prand

6,244 posts

226 months

Wednesday 24th March 2010
quotequote all
pat_y said:
the inlaws have a static van near Bridport (Dorset/Devon border), they have been on the same site for around 15 years and we get to borrow it every year for a week or 2.
It's a really nice place to be, we really like it but as a couple of people have pointed out it's hellishly expensive, especially if your site is private ownership only and run by facists.
The rules for the inlaws site are laughable, no vans over 10 years old, the van must be of an 'approved' manufacturer and style/colour combo which must be sympathetic to the surrounding vans.
Vans that exceed to 10 year old rule must be sold to the site owner, who will buy the van for a 'nominal' set fee (i'm sure this part is acually illegal) who then sells it on to pikeys at an inflated rate. As for the site fees, how does £7k a year grab you....
If you're going to do it, make sure you read the site rules and regs VERY carefully.
As another poster mentioned expect your van to loose 95% of it's original purchase price in 7-10 years.
approx purchase price seems to be around £35-40K+ for a nice new one.
m-i-l looked at buying one in West Bay, and the above sounds familiar. It really does amaze me how people can justify doing this - me and the OH just put it down to the mental craziness that old people get when they retire, and spunk their retirement lump sum on something pointlessley expensive.

Saying that, and judging by the cars parked around this particular site, these are not poor people just staying in caravans.

F i F

48,821 posts

281 months

Wednesday 24th March 2010
quotequote all
prand said:
pat_y said:
the inlaws have a static van near Bridport (Dorset/Devon border), they have been on the same site for around 15 years and we get to borrow it every year for a week or 2.
It's a really nice place to be, we really like it but as a couple of people have pointed out it's hellishly expensive, especially if your site is private ownership only and run by facists.
The rules for the inlaws site are laughable, no vans over 10 years old, the van must be of an 'approved' manufacturer and style/colour combo which must be sympathetic to the surrounding vans.
Vans that exceed to 10 year old rule must be sold to the site owner, who will buy the van for a 'nominal' set fee (i'm sure this part is acually illegal) who then sells it on to pikeys at an inflated rate. As for the site fees, how does £7k a year grab you....
If you're going to do it, make sure you read the site rules and regs VERY carefully.
As another poster mentioned expect your van to loose 95% of it's original purchase price in 7-10 years.
approx purchase price seems to be around £35-40K+ for a nice new one.
m-i-l looked at buying one in West Bay, and the above sounds familiar. It really does amaze me how people can justify doing this - me and the OH just put it down to the mental craziness that old people get when they retire, and spunk their retirement lump sum on something pointlessley expensive.

Saying that, and judging by the cars parked around this particular site, these are not poor people just staying in caravans.
Having said that an ex-colleague when he retired sold his very nice house, got a park home in Peak District (ish) and an apartment in Spain, summer in UK, winter in Spain. Seems like it's working out fine for him.

But people who spend that just on a holiday / weekend van, difficult to justify. We had a van when I was a kid but the site rules and costs were nowhere near as bad as have been mentioned.