Can I live in a static caravan on the countryside?

aneary

theartfullodger wrote: »

Think of it this way: I CAN drive down the M4 @ 123mph (as in it is possible for me to do so..) but I MAY not (as in that would be illegal).

So yeah, buy one, tow it & drive it to nearest lay-by, live in it: But expect several visits from unhappy locals and the Police...

The police never visited the travellers who pitched up on our school's playing fields every May, meaning we (middle school children) had to spend breaks in the playground (concrete) instead.

hussnainh8

Arleen wrote: »

This type of topics pops up here every now and then. The nutshell of it is that there are a lot of hidden charges there, you will need land with residential permission (or park in one of the expensive parks) etc. There really is nothing wrong with renting, especially if right now you can't afford to buy.

I am not looking to buy now, I am thinking what my options will be in 2-3 years time when I am ready to buy my first home..The caravan I am referring too just says it is on a "small private site" which I am not sure if you would have to pay fees to stay there or not? Thanks for the reply.

hussnainh8

tlc678910 wrote: »

Hi OP,
Keep in mind that if you buy a caravan in twenty years (for example) it's value could be minimal and it may have degraded a lot where as bricks and mortar should stand the test of time and hold or increase in value.

If you live in a caravan you would probably want to start saving for a more traditional home or the next caravan right away.

Some sites are open 11 months to comply with their permits and in this case you need to live away for a month e.g. January. Some sites only allow caravans up to a certain age and you then need to move or replace it.

If you investigated all the costs in the particular case it could be OK in the short-medium term but I think you would need your follow on plan in place.

Re your original question I don't think you can assume you can just pop it anywhere (with the landowners permission) - I wonder if the council's planning dept are the people to ask if you are not looking at a licensed site?

Tlc

Thanks for the reply..Yes I understand the value will not rise but this does not bother me as I wouldnt be thinking of moving places any way. The static caravans I have seen are looking very strongly built so I would assume they should last some time. Yes I also know that I might have to go into a caravan site and pay a fee but I was wondering how does the one I have found work as all it says is located on a "small private site" Does this mean there are fees to pay with it too or I am allowed to keep the caravan there with no fees?

hussnainh8

nimbo wrote: »

You also have to consider electric and water. Bottled gas is not too hard to find but soon adds up cost wise.

But how will you be flushing your toilet? Having a shower and watching television or getting your boiler to heat the cold caravan with no mains electric.

They are fine to live in over summer. But my mil’s gets cold by the end of the season and costs a fortune to heat with the bottled gas. On some sites they close down for more than a month. You have to keep them heated when the weather drops or drain the system to avoid frozen pipes.

Youll have some kind of pitch fee. They take up a lot of land. I imagine what you’ve seen for 35k is just the caravan. They can be moved. Not cheap or easy as you can imagine. I imagine it’s best practice to have them on a concrete (or similar) foundation / footing so they stay level and don’t sink into grass or muck. You need to find a place to have it - where the neighbours won’t complain. If you’re not on an official site - you’d be charged to get rid of sewage but if not on mains water you’d have to figure out a safe plan to dispose of this and be hooked up to *something* to safely collect this and then have it emptied.

It could be possible - but not an easy way to live....

Hello thanks for the reply.. Who said there was no mains electric? In the pictures that I have seen of the caravan, there is a TV on the wall with a wall socket where it plugs in to so of course there is electricity.. the toilet is a standard toilet with a flusher and it has a shower as well so that wouldnt be a problem.. The gas bottles I would be fine with because I am planning to live alone and most of the time I am either at work or asleep so I wouldnt be using much gas any way other than heating and if it buying a caravan saves me lets say around 30k minimum ... I think buying gas bottles every so often shouldnt be a problem should it?

It looks like there is mains water by the picture as there is a sink (kitchen), toilet and shower.

ProDave

Lulu0110 wrote: »

We were looking to buy one of these to live in on a site of a house we were building. There was a dealer who had a site with literally 100's of these static homes and the prices were a lot less than 35k plus they would buy it back off of you. Research what to buy more thoroughly as there is a lot of choice. Sorry I am unsure of the legalities as mentioned in your post though.

We are doing just that, living in a static 'van we bought for £4000 on our building site. But crucially the site has planning permission for the house we are building, and temporary planning permission for the van. (the planning condition says occupation of the van will cease upon completion of the house, so it can't be kept as a second dwelling or even used as a holiday home)

hussnainh8

_CC_ wrote: »

Few people buy a 2-3 bedroom house on their own.

Buying a house for £150k in today's money on two modest incomes should be possible with some dedication with saving a deposit?

If buying alone, are flats much cheaper?

If you've just bought a nice car then maybe buying a house is of less importance to you. I'd personally prefer to own a house and a banger than a nice car outside a caravan. I am jumping to the conclusion that your new car was quite expensive though, which it may not be.

Either way, I'd get into the habit of saving, stay with parents and see what you think in a few years time when circumstances may have changed.

I would have 1 income not 2 as I am planning to live alone.. Flats also have high price tags at around 70k in peterborough and dont look any different to a caravan which in all honestly, the caravan looks a lot more pleasing! Yes for me the car does my singing for me and the house is somewhere I just sleep in over night pretty much.. Whereas for some others a car takes them from A to B thats all .. No the car only cost me £10,000 so its not super high value but as for living in a caravan, it wouldnt bother me seeing as I wouldnt have any mortgage to pay or anything, just sounds like a easy life to be honest.

hussnainh8

Edi81 wrote: »

You are 20 and looking to the future which is great. You write that £500 on a mortgage is a lot of money - in the grand scheme it’s not that much.

Perhaps you would do well to consider your career options and how you can increase your income.

You are still young so plenty of time to go back into education.

At the moment I am working at a fuel station and earn around £1100 a month after tax..I am not saying I will be at this work place forever as I am trying to get into an IT job but who knows if that will happen or not as I keep getting denied by companies.. I personally dont find living in a caravan to be of problem.. I am not fussed as long as I have something over my head as personally I am never at home any way Also I sleep in the day and be at work in the night so weather is also not an issue. Even if I had a well paid job, I still wouldnt see living in a caravan to be a problem.

hussnainh8

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Also unless you buy the caravan on its site or from a regsitered dealer, you may find it difficult to find a site that will take it. Even if you do there will almost certainly be site fees which can be several thousand pounds a year (I know of one site where they are over £9k - ours is 3.5k a year plus gas, electricity and insurance).

The site also may be closed from 1-4 months a year and you won't be able to live in your caravan during that time.

If you buy one already sited on a residential site (as opposed to a holiday park), then you will be able to live in it all year round, but I think the site fees still apply.

Thank you I am aware of all this. I was just trying to see if there was a way to live without the fees seeing as I have found the 2 bedroom caravan for 35k but it doesnt seem to show any fees etc other than it saying the caravan is located on a "small private site".. I was assuming that seeing as the caravan costs 35k the "small private site" would also belong to me?

Thanks.

chappers

hussnainh8 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply..Yes I understand the value will not rise but this does not bother me as I wouldnt be thinking of moving places any way. The static caravans I have seen are looking very strongly built so I would assume they should last some time. Yes I also know that I might have to go into a caravan site and pay a fee but I was wondering how does the one I have found work as all it says is located on a "small private site" Does this mean there are fees to pay with it too or I am allowed to keep the caravan there with no fees?

If it is on a private site there will be at least an annual rent to pay.
You don't say whether it is a holiday or residential site. if a holiday site you may not be able to live there year round, also as others have said, there may also be restrictions on the age of the vans allowed on site, so you could find yourself having to replace it long before it's useful life is over.
Don't overlook the depreciation, as a rough linear figure that will be about 15% per year .But that could vary depending upon where it is sited.

hussnainh8

ProDave wrote: »

Forget the dream car.

When I bought my first house in 1986 (when people tell you it was oh do easy back then when a house cost £30K) I borrowed the max I could, then to make up the shortfall (deposit) I sold my decent car and bought a very old very rusty, just about working old banger.

It was many years before I could gradually work up to something resembling a decent car again. There was no money for any luxuries.

But it was all worth it in the end.

It never has been, and never will be easy to buy your first home and you will need to make sacrifices.

The dream car is nothing special, it hasnt cost me millions, I was trying to say I have found the car I want to keep forever therefore my next goal now is to save up to buy a house which I have 3-4 years to do as I live with parents any way for now.