Buying a log home / cabin vs a traditional home

underthesea

Has anyone bought one? You can get a home for around £50k. Far as I see, you can live in them 10 months out of a year. Are there any negatives? Why don't people buy these instead of city homes? £50k is the price of a deposit in London so you can buy a log home and be debt free. No council tax but I guess water/electric costs are similar.

Thanks for the advice in advance!

(I was thinking something like this beachviewholidaypark.co.uk)

Werdnal

They often have clauses meaning you cannot live in them 24/7, even if they say 10 months of the year because they are not for residential use.

If they are specifically for holiday use, you must have a permanent residence elsehwere.

There are hefty ground rent and service charges to cover insurance, site management, security, cleaning, sewerage, water, services, refuse collection etc.

They have a limited lifespan and once they are considered due for replacement, you as owner will have to fork out for replacement costs and disposal of the old one! Or your lease for the plot will be terminated. Site owners don't want a tatty out-of-date lodge letting the impression of their site down!

That will do for starters, but I'm sure there are other reasons ...

I looked into buying one instead of the residential flat that I current rent out, but was put off by all the above ... and I wasn't even looking into the complications of living in it!

underthesea

Thanks, that's some helpful thought there.

It still looks cheaper than renting which will help to save money. I can take a 2 month holiday in order to keep check of the T&C Even a 50 year lease is enough which most of them are. One other option would be to buy a home to built yourself but firstly you need the land. That way you can do without the extra costs.

They are so out the way that it might be a no go for me.

Werdnal

I think you will find the 50 year lease is for the plot the lodge sits on - not the lodge itself! I was told the one I looked at had a 20 year lifespan, and it was brand new then, so you may need to replace it twice in the 50 year lease.

If you are looking to buy/build one for yourself you would need to factor in planning consent, connection of services, drainage and/or septic tank and emptying/servicing costs, council tax, insurance, plus cost of the land to start with.