i want to own a static caravan?

live132

i want to own a static caravan? because i can not afford my rent long term and i can pick up a static caravan for around £2,000,
do you think it would be cheaper liveing in a static caravan?
if so i live in Southampton can any one recommend any sites witch will take me no with not much ground rent/fee? thank you for your help

dktreesea

Do you mean a static caravan as in a mobile home, or the old fashioned kind that can be pulled by a car but could be parked on a site all year round?

If the former, site fees are around £1,500 to £2,000 a year. So you are still looking at £120 to £180 a month to rent the site, even though you own the caravan/mobile home.

Keep in mind, holiday parks, which often have static caravans/mobile homes, don't always have a licence to operate all year round. Others let you keep the caravan on site, but you have to be off site for two days every 28 days, to aviod you becoming classified as a permanent resident and therefore having to pay your own council tax etc.

Have you checked out the Caravan Club and the other one, I think it's called something like the Camping and Caravanning Club? It's just hard to get around the 28 day maximum stay at any one visit rule. It's fine if you are okay about moving to a different site every month, but permanent year round sites for mobile homes, so park homes, are a different kettle of fish and can be quite expensive to buy. I wouldn't want that - owning the house but leasing the land, because you would be at the mercy of the site owner. From what I hear, they can make people's lives a misery.

The other thing is, it would help to have a postal address at a fixed place, because it's not really practical to use the site as your personal address.

dktreesea

It might be worth your while checking out someone like Island Meadow Parks. They are down your way, and could probably give you some good advice on what the various "caravanning as a permanent lifestyle" options are.

worried_jim

dktreesea wrote: »

It might be worth your while checking out someone like Island Meadow Parks. They are down your way, and could probably give you some good advice on what the various "caravanning as a permanent lifestyle" options are.

Ground Rent: £205 per month, paid by direct debit.
Electricity: Individually metered and billed quarterly.
Water: Park metered and bill divided equally between residents.
Telephone: Arranged with BT.

http://www.islandmeadow.co.uk/residentialparks.htm

witchy1066

I think you are looking for a residential mobile home caravan site, that you can live in as your only home, if that is the case , you will not be able to buy a £2000 caravan and just plonk it on the land

residential and holiday homes are 2 totally different things and different licences , while a caravan park may be open for 12 months of the year they are strict rules in the running licence that say you can not use it as your main home , so would not be able to live in it as your main residence,

Mobile homes on residential sites are expensive , the better the site the higher the home will cost

I live on a residential caravan park at the moment and believe me the running costs of living in a "tin tent" are not cheap

you will have to pay the going rate council tax and water rates , we are banded as band B

gas and electric runs out at more than a 2 bed house

you will find the ground rent varies a lot depending on area

a lot of residential sites you will also have to pay a service charge , this also can be high

although new laws have come out to give mobile home owners more security ,its still a very grey area

every time we ask the landlord to do anything,( at the moment we have huge craters in the road ) we either get threatened with a ground rent rise (this can be increased every year ) or site closure

our site rules are fairly relaxed but some site have very strict rules

age retrictions usually apply

I only have my own experience to go off, I know others who have been on their Mobile park for many a years with no problems but
what I am saying is, its not a cheap option or a lifestyle that would suit everyone,

lincroft1710

Statics at £2K are that price because they are no longer allowed to remain on their current site because of their age. They are for people with their own land or temporary accom for construction workers or self builders. I would doubt you would find any site near Southampton willing to accept such a van, especially if it hasn't been supplied by them.

As other posters have stated, statics are very different to mobile/park homes.

mfactor

Did it a few years back, worst mistake I ever made ,I dare say some landlords are good , but mine wasnt, the meters (gas / lecky) were set to his liking and cost a bomb, plus other problems, but it was cheap £15pw ground rent and my unit cost me £4000, but you had to buy one on the site.

But thats just my experience :mad:

live132

thank you every one, i understand that picking up a Statics home for £2K might not be aloud on some sites but paying only 2/3k for rent is much cheaper then renting a house, and it will only be for a few years, so i can save for a mortgage but if any one can help me what do you think would be best a Statics home or a caravan? thank you for all you help

paddyrg

Metered and billed leccy and metered/bottled gas - all well and good until you find out just how high they rebill them at. Having done overwinter and all summer in a reasonable spec old caravan, it's miserable - icy in the winter, sweltering in the summer. You'll spend a mint just trying to not freeze to death.

gayleanne

If you buy a static for just 2K, you will find out that 99% of static park owners will not allow that static on site, they have ridiculous rules about statics being over 10 years of age must be removed from site, and you have to get it off the site other wise they will charge you a couple of thousand to remove it them selves. Site fee's vary but some sites can be as high as 2 to 5K per year, I would get some information on the sites before you decide on what you are doing. All sites have different rules, what one may allow the other won't.

artbaron

I've never lived in a static caravan but I've spent plenty of time in one and I'd advise one thing; make sure the electrics can stand a decent power fan heater because otherwise you'll freeze to death one winter morning and they'll discover your grimacing corpse the following spring.