Static Caravan - worth it?

Dangermac

I have a fairly pressured job, and like the idea of a weekend bolthole. There are static caravans for sale at parks run by Haven Holidays, but the economics of it v the reason we want the caravan in the first place dont seem to add up, because we would need to rent it out for 3/4 months to get the £5000 income to pay the site fees. I dont mind the capital cost of the caravan (say £15,000 - £20,000) but I dont really want to be paying £5000 a year in site fees. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of ownership of static caravans?

gardner1

and depending on site after 15 years you have to buy new van or get out and your vans worth jack !!!!

jaymac_2

Have you ever stayed on a haven site? Try it before you buy..and why not consider a tourer instead? Your money would get you a lovely new van, you can decide where you want to go, you don't have to rent it out and you don't have £5000 annual site fees. Some of the camping and caravan club sites have seasonal pitches which cost a lot less than £5000.

Becles

My parents have one.

It's near a small rural town about 30 mins drive away. The site has no facilities - just a small office where you can buy gas bottles and speak to the site warden.

The town doesn't have any attractions either. Just a couple of pubs (which my parents don't go to), and an overpriced Co-op. Mam bought a couple of cool bags and shops at home and takes food with them as it's cheaper.

They've got a TV with Freeview and a DVD player up there, and all they seem to do is watch TV and go for walks.

Don't see the point of paying for the caravan myself as you can watch TV and go for walks at home for free!

If it was in an area with more things to do, then I would think it would be more worthwhile.

mcdermott_c

I have been looking at buying a caravan to get away at the weekends. 5K sounds very expensive - in scotland they seem to be around the £1200+ mark which I still thought was expensive - I guess if you will be up there most weekends then its probably good value, however if like me you will not be up every weekend maybe few times a year I'm starting to think you are probably cheaper and much easier paying for caravan rental.

When I first started looking I thought you would get sites fees for small site with nothing much there for around £600 which wouldnt be too bad. Its funny the last posters description sounds lovely (peace and quiet) so i guess it depends pn what you are looking for

If anyone has any experience of season long site fees in scotland i'd love to hear from them

cheers

chris

TravellingAbuela

Unless you really want all the attractions of a Haven site then certainly look rural. We are in the process of taking over a static on a country site (North Yorkshire) which, with electric included, is less than £1,000 a year. The site is on a farm and also has a separate camp site. No clubs, bars, amusements etc, just toilet/shower block and washers/dryers. But a lovely peaceful setting by a river, perfect for quick escapes, with a pub in the nearest village about a mile away. We are halving the costs with daughter and family, so I don't call just under £500 a year (or £10 a week!) bad.

pingu

with £5000 you can have a lot of weekends away and on different sites and no worries about the income from caravan

thats why we decided against buying one!

tanith

Becles wrote: »

My parents have one.

It's near a small rural town about 30 mins drive away. The site has no facilities - just a small office where you can buy gas bottles and speak to the site warden.

The town doesn't have any attractions either. Just a couple of pubs (which my parents don't go to), and an overpriced Co-op. Mam bought a couple of cool bags and shops at home and takes food with them as it's cheaper.

They've got a TV with Freeview and a DVD player up there, and all they seem to do is watch TV and go for walks.

Don't see the point of paying for the caravan myself as you can watch TV and go for walks at home for free!

If it was in an area with more things to do, then I would think it would be more worthwhile.

I think your parents may be more 'savvy' than you give them credit for :rotfl:

BillTrac

In a similar vein we thought about buying a bolthole in France. Then we realised we would only ever be able to afford to holiday in france when we enjoy other countries as well.

Don't limit your choice, as said before use the funds to have different bolt-holes. Maybe not your own, but then you won't have the initial outlay, nor the annual fees(what happens if suddenly you can't afford them?),

And then when you get too old to enjoy the static van you need someone to buy it off you. More hassle.

Just get out there and enjoy life and don't land yourself with anymore un-neccessary problems

Bill

ps..just my 2p worth

Inactive

tanith wrote: »

I think your parents may be more 'savvy' than you give them credit for :rotfl:

I agree...;)

mcdermott_c

BillTrac wrote: »

In a similar vein we thought about buying a bolthole in France. Then we realised we would only ever be able to afford to holiday in france when we enjoy other countries as well.

Don't limit your choice, as said before use the funds to have different bolt-holes. Maybe not your own, but then you won't have the initial outlay, nor the annual fees(what happens if suddenly you can't afford them?),

And then when you get too old to enjoy the static van you need someone to buy it off you. More hassle.

Just get out there and enjoy life and don't land yourself with anymore un-neccessary problems

Bill

ps..just my 2p worth

thanks Bill, could you expand a bit on what bolt holes are - is it some kind of timeshare ?

cheers

chris