Re- living in caravan

iloveblackpool

thankyou i shall look through those now thats most helpful xxx

paddyrg

IIRC most caravan parks have closed weeks to prevent you using them as your main residence for council tax purposes. You may also need to rent a mailbox somewhere. Remember if you (have to) use the site's own gas/leccy, you'll pay a premium for it

picklepick

On the practical side of things... Have you considered how much it costs to heat a caravan?
My parents had one as a holiday home when I was a child, and they are freezing! There's no insulation. All the pipes are underneath the caravan so they also have no insulation, the park shut every winter and the caravans were drained so nothing would burst.
They rock in wind and the noise in a storm is terrifyingly loud.

Admittedly, park homes might have better insulation but I'd still hate the thought of it, myself.

spadoosh

picklepick wrote: »

On the practical side of things... Have you considered how much it costs to heat a caravan?
My parents had one as a holiday home when I was a child, and they are freezing! There's no insulation. All the pipes are underneath the caravan so they also have no insulation, the park shut every winter and the caravans were drained so nothing would burst.
They rock in wind and the noise in a storm is terrifyingly loud.

Admittedly, park homes might have better insulation but I'd still hate the thought of it, myself.

Theyre definately better now.

Theyre certainly cheaper to heat than a house, even with poor insulation. You can even get anti rain patter roofs for them so you cant hear rain as bad! (dont ask how it works, not a clue)

The practical side should be waking up every morning on the dining table or showering whilst having a s**t!!

Especially having 3 kids running around, not much space for downtime. Saying that [STRIKE]gypsies[/STRIKE] travellers do it and they always seem pretty happy!

ukmike

If you want a static on a residential site,you're going to pay big money i'm afraid.The few holiday parks that have a 12 month license,(mine's just got one) will require you to have a permanent address where you pay council tax on otherwise the site could loose their license completely.

RAS

Hi

You will have no security of tenure. You will have to abide by very strict on-site rules; these may well include that you have to buy the caravan from then and that you have to sell it at a massive loss through them.

The 28 day rule applied to mobile caravans (ones with wheels on) which have to be moved every 28 days or will fall foul of planning permission and Council Tax regulations.

These do not apply to statics.

I think Parliament are exploring regulations because of the massive problems in this whole area.

tanith

Also there's ground rent to consider that can be several thousands per year... too many hoops to jump

flora48

Just my twopennorth, we have a static and it is great. Things have improved immensely over the years. I don't know your budget but the necessities for me as a main home would be double glazing, central heating and a gas/electric fire in the lounge. Skirting around the van cuts down wind noise and helps the floors keep a bit warmer. The site we are on closes Jan & Feb. There are people who live there full time and the local hotel advertises special rates and lots of people go there for the closed season. Blackpool must have lots of such accommodation. Site fees are around £2K a year plus rates, water and gas cylinders. Hope this info helps.

RAS

Hi flora

How much did you static cost you to but? How recently? And do you have to replace it after a set number of years?

floopnoodle

I lived in a static caravan for 2 years when I was selling them on holiday parks.

As far as the actually living in a caravan goes, as long as it is waterproof, is 12ft wide (not 10ft) has DG and CH then you should be fine. I didn't have any problems and quite enjoyed living in mine, although I was 24 and single on a holiday park which may have helped.

Where most people fall down is the site. You have to live on a residential park, not a holiday park. Even if the park is open 48 weeks of the year, if it's not residential you can't live there and could be evicted at any time.

So many people sell their houses, buy a static on a holiday park and think they can go on holiday or stay with friends the month it's closed. It doesn't work like that, you need to find a residential site which do tend not to be anywhere near as nice as holiday parks, unfortunately.