Any caravan owners?

Charityworker

greenface wrote: »

So long as the van is in good condition IN THEIR OPINION . So 12 years then depending on what they want to do . If your site has an option of finance deals over a 20 year repayment then there is no time limit even if you dont use the finance deal . little know fact , unless you already have a written contract saying time up anytime after ???years . We are due up next year after 10 . we know of no one being turfed out after 10 years but as we have a prime pitch thats in demand we dont expect to stay without upgrading by about 14/15 . ( and we have a good relationship with the site owners).

Is that a "chain" site or an independent one? My caravan is on a site where I know owners with vans that were bought in the 80s.

greenface

Me too . we are on a family owned site but the largest in a very busy part of Gwynedd . If they do finance over a 20yr spell its regardless as it was goverened by law just under 3 years ago and made statute 2 years ago. some parts of the site are tucked away without demand for the pitch so as they are paying their fees and keeping their gaff in decent nick there would be no reason to ask them to leave (or be asked ) especially in the recession times of the past 7 years . They fill the spaces up made by people wanting to leave .

Tigsteroonie

shegirl wrote: »

I've got a lot of interest from people already by thinking along the line of making it an autism/disability friendly caravan as a lot of other families with autistics no longer use caravans, or have a hard time, due to lack of safety items they would have at home (such as locks on things) or a gated area outside the van.

And another potential customer here! Window catches/locks please ... We generally take our own safety gate. Ooooh, and if you can, parking next to the caravan rather than on a communal piece of ground - the closer we can get the car, the better.

shegirl

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

And another potential customer here! Window catches/locks please ... We generally take our own safety gate. Ooooh, and if you can, parking next to the caravan rather than on a communal piece of ground - the closer we can get the car, the better.

Nice to see another sensible response to an asd/disability friendly caravan. When I asked what people would find helpful in one on some local fb support pages I got lots of sensible answers and interest and lots of daft ones.


I had one tell me I should get one on a Park site instead because SHE doesn't like the Haven entertainment. Another said I should buy a chalet on a Park site instead which she would visit every summer! One who said to have free wifi installed for them for Minecraft. Another who said to have 'lots of usb ports'...usb ports fitted in a caravan?!!!!!!? Another of my favourites was 'oh that would be brilliant, we can never afford to go on holiday so would be nice if you done this' -does she think it's free?!?!?!

The_mangler

I know nothing of Autism so forgive any ignorance this may show but as a carer, we can never holiday in disabled friendly caravans due to the site rules of them being non pet friendly, so we have to hire a 'normal' one and make adjustments, which isnt always convenient. Maybe some private disabled and pet friendly hire caravans may make a difference

Tigsteroonie

shegirl wrote: »

Nice to see another sensible response to an asd/disability friendly caravan. When I asked what people would find helpful in one on some local fb support pages I got lots of sensible answers and interest and lots of daft ones.

If you go ahead and are looking for more ideas/opinions, let me know On the daft answers, may I say "Please" to Haven and "No Thanks" to Park, as we've only ever had a horrible holiday at Park

I would agree with the above thread regarding pets, although I understand that it would increase the cleaning greatly - there are many more therapy dogs around these days

shegirl

The_mangler wrote: »

I know nothing of Autism so forgive any ignorance this may show but as a carer, we can never holiday in disabled friendly caravans due to the site rules of them being non pet friendly, so we have to hire a 'normal' one and make adjustments, which isnt always convenient. Maybe some private disabled and pet friendly hire caravans may make a difference

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

If you go ahead and are looking for more ideas/opinions, let me know On the daft answers, may I say "Please" to Haven and "No Thanks" to Park, as we've only ever had a horrible holiday at Park

I would agree with the above thread regarding pets, although I understand that it would increase the cleaning greatly - there are many more therapy dogs around these days

The pet thing is something I was thinking about as it does restrict a lot of people!


The suggestion from them to buy one on a park I don't want to visit did make me laugh!!!

greenface

Most bases covered but its very difficult make anywhere Disabled friendly / wheelchair friendly , suitable for people with autismn / pet friendly . There are often major restrictions ( try buying a caravan with 900mm internal doors 1200mm turning , suitable fire escapes and a low level shower/ toilet with correct handles,more than one bedroom and then try renting out) . I own a holiday home and have a wheelchair user son which is not fully suitable for wheelchair users after all my best efforts . Its close but i understand whats wrong with it and not prepared to say it's right for chairs nor adapt it and lose my key market ( families without major disabilities)

Charityworker

shegirl wrote: »

we can never afford to go on holiday so would be nice if you done this' -does she think it's free?!?!?!

The answer to that is probably yes. A lot of charities own caravans which they let their service users stay in for free. The charity I work for used to have a caravan and a beach hut. But it wasnt financially viable so we got rid of it.

SueDerbyshire

Hi, I have been reading your post with interest. You sound very excited at the prospect of owning your own holiday home and rightly so but thought I could make a suggestion.

My family have had caravans available to them for holidays for years, my grand parents owned them and then my parents. They too have had good and bad experiences with people using the caravans but it never put them off. Saying that, this is a very important financial decision you are about to make so try not let the excitement carry you away.

Have you considered a chalet instead of a caravan. My parents were fed up with having to sell their caravan at next to nothing when they wanted to upgrade and got told that chalet's tend to increase in value.

My parents have a chalet near Great Yarmouth and it does cost them a lot each year, as mentioned with all the yearly bills, even council tax and public liability insurance and have now retired and struggle with the costs, I have therefore taken over the booking and finances but it is a constant worry each year as to whether they get enough from renting the chalet out to pay the bills.

I also think turning it into a disabled friendly home is an excellent idea but again a chalet might be a better option for that.

Last point, have you got your heart set on a known branded park, you will find great privately owned parks, like my mums much cheaper.

I hope this helps and good luck with whatever you decide, just take your time to weigh it all up.

Sue