House with Static Lodge - now with RM link

The_Palmist

Thanks All. very helpful replied.

Yes, it is a posh 44ft caravan and similar ones are being sold brand new around £35 - £45K, that is what I can gather from my research on the web.

It get's its gas from big cylinders, electricity and water from main house. Waste goes in to main house sewage line.

I can buy the full package but knocking it down will end up costing me more. For the right price, I can see some use in the Posh Lodge, I can use it as my space when we have an argument [Mrs Palmist and I] or use as a study.

Will I pay £40K to have a sulk room if there wasn't one....absolutely no.

I am personally valuing the resale value at £20K or thereabouts.

Vendor mentioned that since someone is living there permanently, they are paying "rates" to council. I will be making my own enquiries if I were to progress.

I have made a soft offer broken down in to house and lodge, leaving the option to sell it elsewhere open to them. They haven't dismissed it yet and are contemplating over the holiday period.

We were not in the market for a lodge or caravan but since visiting, Mrs Palmist is head over heels on it.

unforeseen

If somebody is currently living there then they may effectively be tenants of the vendor.

What do you think the chances of them moving out on sale are?

Coupled to which, your mortgage lender is going to want and experience t vacant possession of it all.

I would only take this further AFTER the lodge has been vacated.

The_Palmist

unforeseen wrote: »

If somebody is currently living there then they may effectively be tenants of the vendor.

What do you think the chances of them moving out on sale are?

Coupled to which, your mortgage lender is going to want and experience t vacant possession of it all.

I would only take this further AFTER the lodge has been vacated.

That is a very good point. I am just going by what the vendor was saying which was ..."once we sell it, he will move out or we will move somewhere in a bigger house".

I don't understand what you mean by lender wanting to experience the vacant possession of it all.

moneyistooshorttomention

The_Palmist wrote: »

That is a very good point. I am just going by what the vendor was saying which was ..."once we sell it, he will move out or we will move somewhere in a bigger house".

I don't understand what you mean by lender wanting to experience the vacant possession of it all.

You only have the vendors word for it that the other household will move out.

Any day of the week you can read tales on here of vendors breaking their word in a variety of respects (the usual one seems to be "Oh we'll move out into rented for you" - and then they dont).

By "vacant possession" that means no-one else living there. Mortgage companies will require that the place is empty.

unforeseen

The_Palmist wrote: »

That is a very good point. I am just going by what the vendor was saying which was ..."once we sell it, he will move out or we will move somewhere in a bigger house".

I don't understand what you mean by lender wanting to experience the vacant possession of it all.

Should have been expect not experience.

Predictive text strikes again.

PasturesNew

This is very complex. Please stop calling it a lodge... it's a "big fancy caravan in the garden".

To live in one, as per son/family, would require full residential planning permission to have been granted. It's possible they "work round it" pretending to use the caravan as "ancillary accommodation to the main house", thereby pretending they don't actually "live" in it. If you wish to retain it, fully check the planning permission. It could be: None -or- Family Staying Only -or- Full Residential. It could even be time-limited.

The caravan would also need to pay its own council tax.

As the son's living in it, there's the possibility there'd be a struggle to get them moved out. He will HAVE to be gone BEFORE you exchange - and on exchange day you need to go and CHECK and refuse to exchange until you can see it has been vacated (and take photos to prove you were there/saw it).... don't allow their problems to become your problems if it went downhill...

This has many problems .... it's not impossible to proceed/complete, but be aware of the legal and other issues that you might encounter if you pursue it.

moneyistooshorttomention

PasturesNew wrote: »

This is very complex. Please stop calling it a lodge... it's a "big fancy caravan in the garden".

To live in one, as per son/family, would require full residential planning permission to have been granted. It's possible they "work round it" pretending to use the caravan as "ancillary accommodation to the main house", thereby pretending they don't actually "live" in it. If you wish to retain it, fully check the planning permission. It could be: None -or- Family Staying Only -or- Full Residential. It could even be time-limited.

The caravan would also need to pay its own council tax.

As the son's living in it, there's the possibility there'd be a struggle to get them moved out. He will HAVE to be gone BEFORE you exchange - and on exchange day you need to go and CHECK and refuse to exchange until you can see it has been vacated (and take photos to prove you were there/saw it).... don't allow their problems to become your problems if it went downhill...

This has many problems .... it's not impossible to proceed/complete, but be aware of the legal and other issues that you might encounter if you pursue it.

Put pretty clearly there:T

Which has been followed by my cynical thought that, for all we know, the parents have decided they don't want the son/family living with them any more and are selling the house because it's the only way they can see to stop having son/family living with them - and guess who would land up with the expense/hassle of evicting son & family. Yep......got it in one...:cool:. The phrase "carrying the can" is running around in my head for some reason....

G_M

It's not a lodge.

If you agree to buy the property with the carava in situ, make qite sure the contract specifies 'vacant possession' of both the house and the caravan.

Then, on the day of Completion, go round before you authorise the Completion payment to check both are vacant. If anyne is still in the caravan (or house) do not pay - instead, caim failure to Complete by the vendor.

The_Palmist

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Put pretty clearly there:T

Which has been followed by my cynical thought that, for all we know, the parents have decided they don't want the son/family living with them any more and are selling the house because it's the only way they can see to stop having son/family living with them - and guess who would land up with the expense/hassle of evicting son & family. Yep......got it in one...:cool:. The phrase "carrying the can" is running around in my head for some reason....

I am most grateful for the above and other posts.

With regards to lenders wanting to see vacant property, last time we bought the house, the previous owners moved on the day we got the key.

I understand it is different when it comes to the caravan on site.

I am now going to insist on either no caravan or complete only when I witness vacant premises myself.

This makes me think....do I have any rights if let's say I buy the house and caravan and when they move they end up taking it with them. It is on site and not the usual tow-away caravan but still movable.

moneyistooshorttomention

Sounds like you'd want to have it specified in writing either "with caravan" or "without caravan". So it's very clear exactly what you're paying for.

One of the legal bods on here could clarify that for you.