Cuddlymarms getting on with it diary

meritaten

Molly41 wrote: »

Sorry to be nosy but what do you do when the site is closed?
Is this when you go on holiday?

I used to live backing onto a caravan park with lakes in Northants and spent many happy hours walking my dogs around the site dreaming of a life living in a caravan:T I was very nosy and kept imagining what each static was like inside and who lived there.

Only yesterday we passed an abnormal load travelling to an unknown destination - it was a luxury static caravan with patio doors - I started day dreaming of a winter away from it all overlooking the sea. Hubby said "it will get cold" - i said "oh no it has central heating and double glazing". I even planned that I would have one of those light weight and rechargeable cleaners that you see advertised :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Hubby said it would get blown off the cliff or washed away - he was in a bad mood due to a difficult meeting re one of my relatives. Burst my bubble of dreams.
Will subscribed to this thread xx

molly - remember that hurricane that Micheal Fish said wasn't going to happen? well, we spent that night in our static caravan on the South Wales coast! The caravan thought it was a 'hovercraft', but, next morning it just gently settled back down and there wasn't a scratch on it! in fact NONE of the caravans on the site 'got loose' or fell down the cliffs, one did get a bit damaged when a loose bin blew into it!

and we cant resist going for a looksee at any statics at exhibitions etc - they are really comfortable and luxurious nowadays.

Cwtchie

I am so enjoying this, what a lovely chat! We used to have a static on a holiday site, and they are lovely. We loved staying in it, so cosy. Back soon, subscribing x

dingdongsaving

Ooooh, I love caravan life too. We stay on a park in Cornwall each year and it's so lovely...everything you need and such a relaxed feel.

I'd love to have 1 at some point down the line too. Some friends of ours have a van at a local park here in Norfolk and I really envy seeing them popping there for weekends and breaks.

Each park we've ever visited seems to have a really nice "network" of friends there too. Just like a little village and very os by nature...just what I'm used to living in a tiny place in the middle of nowhere in the woods.

Will love following your thread. xx Thanks. xx

cuddlymarm

Hi guys

I thought I'd check in with my day's events . Not much to say really, it was a lovely blustery day so big load of washing nearly dry ( so now spread out on a rack ) Yesterday's chilli now in freezer and as OH is away tonight I had a big jacket potato and some baked beans done in microwave and then value rice pud for afters.
I'm consciously making an effort to only turn hot tap on when I really need to cos it takes a while to warm up and then fan runs for a little while after (probably costs very little but it all adds up) and using microwave as much as poss because bottled gas is quite expensive. No NSD because I thought I would top the electric up in case we get a cold snap.
Not the most exciting day but quite peaceful so can't complain.
Night night
Cuddles:)

monnagran

Hi.

Very interested in this talk of static caravans.
When I had some money I bought a static caravan and it was beautiful - three bedrooms, shower room, the most gorgeous lounge, all mod cons. My idea was to let it, free or very cheap, to families going through a bad time. Unfortunately the site costs were so great that I had to let it on a commercial basis just to pay all the expenses on it. Even then the income didn't cover the outgoings. I'm sure that the owners of the site were rip-off merchants although they are a big, well known concern. Anyway, I sold the caravan as soon as possible because I couldn't afford the expenses. And I lost on it very heavily.
I would advise anyone thinking of a static caravan to investigate thoroughly. I think I was just unlucky but do take care.

x

meritaten

site costs can be high - but compared to council tax, if the static is your home its not that much difference.
statics as 'holiday homes' are expensive. we had ours about four years on a very small family run site - which then got taken over. charges SOARED! we suddenly found we had to pay to use the gym, the pool was free, but we could only use it for an hour a day, we had to pay for 'security' (an old guy who walked round once a night), entertainment wasn't 'free' on weekends. we very reluctantly sold it - and the site owners got a very large percentage of the sale price! cheeky barstewards! it was a private sale - they had nothing to do with it! but, it was in their new ownership contract.


we have checked out some sites in the last couple of years - and were gobsmacked to find that it hasn't gone up much since we sold our van back in the late eighties!

EstherH

I'm following the caravan/retirement home discussion with interest. I knew someone who lived in a large retirement type static home and it was lovely. But don't they lose value fast as opposed to 'proper' brick houses? What about deterioration? I know that caravans on holiday sites are expected to be renewed after about ten years. And I thought that you still had to pay council tax on a static. These things would put me off but maybe I'm wrong. Esther x

cuddlymarm

I think the thing is you have to think what is best for you at the time. Holiday caravans can be a mistake because lots of people listen to the salesman and go in with rose tinted glasses on. The same with buying a retirement home. You have to do your homework very carefully. We did and don't plan on doing this for ever, we know that a caravan is more like a car in that as it ages it loses value and if OHs job was up north we would rent up there but the closer you get to London the more extortionate rents get so at the moment our lifestyle suits us. If you are looking for a cheap option of somewhere to live for the rest of your life a caravan isn't a good idea because eventually your caravan will age and need replacing so you have all that expense again. This way of life isn't a constant holiday its a roof over our head which is allowing us to save for the future.
I hope this hasn't upset or scared anyone off if you were thinking of going this way but you have to go into it with your eyes wide open because nothing's perfect.
Cuddles

iris

Many years ago, my husband's parents sold their bricks and mortar house and bought a residential static caravan ready for their retirement. What a mistake this was.


After about 10 years they were told that they needed to 'upgrade' their static mobile home or they would be evicted:eek:


Luckily they were offered a council flat, but they lost all their money on the mobile home.


Don't you still have to pay council tax if you live in a residential park home?

[Deleted User]

friends of ours with a static caravan. £4000 a year management fees. Electricity metered via the management. Sold at a huge loss and had to give a relatively large % to the freeholders.

I would not touch one with a barge pole