Caravan to live whilst working away.

getmore4less

Where is this place where the nearest housing stock is 30 mins away and the only thing near the workplace is a caravan site.

Also work in the evenings?

Can you compress this into a 4 day or even 3 day week where all you do is work long hours and travel on the work days.

One thing I would not do is buy a caravan till I had been there at least a couple of months and probably wait till next year.

If you start in sept at least then you see what the place is like in the winter.

Once in the area it will be easier to negotiate on all accommodation options.

If the seller is struggling to sell will they take a rental offer.

tpic69

You will probably not get half your money back after paying out for the rates each year plus increases yearly with no reasonable answer as to why.
15% commission when they sell it you cant sell private,also your tied to paying whatever they charge for gas bottles which are £65 each. In winter the pipes are prone to freezing and they get very damp.
In my opionion with whats happened to us once they have your money their not bothered.
We sold ours 31st march 2019(only bought it july 18) have been told by the salesman who sold it us we have to wait 44days from when the balance was paid in full which was the 05/04/19 as park agreement. There is nothing in the agreement we signed for 2019-2020 about waiting 44 days for your money once sold. I have contacted the Holiday parks association as there holding our money.
Also after june no rates paid are paid back to you. But we had to pay nearly ,£1800 from september to february. So they have had 2 lots as the previous owner wouldnt have got any rates back as it had gone past june.
Also you have to pay the following year in advance. None of this was explained properly to us. And we then had to pay £2165 in december then another £2165 by february the 9th. So thats £6000 gone. Also it shuts for 2 weeks in february.
Hope this helps.

DugIntoBeetroot

Hi Guys,


Just to make it clear, it is a static caravan, not a motorhome. It's pretty big with a living room, kitchen/dinner area and two bedrooms with an one en-suite. There is laundry facilities, a village 5 min walk with all the amanities Spoke to the Salesman and it has been wintered with double glazing and isulation as that is a requirement for a full year plot. Council tax is included in site fees, although I don't know the breakdown in costs.



I have looked at AirBnB and standard B&B, but there are not many at all that seem suitable or withing my price range. Also, don't have money to buy another property.



Anyway, I am due to go on Sunday for a look. I have also arranged to see some room lets, so will see what suits best.


Reason for taking the posistion is the company are putting me through my chartership and masters with all expenses paid. This is whilst working on a major engineering project which is excellent experience for me. If all goes well, they will take me on full time, with the salary being at least £15k more than I am currently earning. I have friend who is currently working for this company and they take on everyone after the process as they have spent so much money on training. Tbh it would have been better before I bought my house, but I can't pass up this opportunity as it will be better for me in the long term. The pay cut is around £6k, so I think this is a sacrafice I am willing to take. We can just afford it, but wouldn't be able to take on another property. Our saving would maybe afford the deposit, but I can't see a bank lending to us. We would be stretched a bit thin.


One again, thanks for all the advice. It's good to hear all the negatives. I've not decided what to do yet.

DugIntoBeetroot

The nerest town is Oban, which is 30 mns away. There are a few smaller villages, but nothing that big. The next closest town is fort william. Everything in the area is aimed at tourists. Not many house shares, but loads of AirBnB (too expensive).

getmore4less

I guessed Wales but parts of Scotland are remote.

Accommodation will be aimed at tourists because there is no demand for anything else.

There will be those that want a long term tenant/lodger but cant find one.

I had similar issue in Glasgow looking for a short term share/let for a contract

most accommodation was aimed at students/long term not mature contract worker.

When I advertised me on spareroom I got quite a few potential offers from older people looking for a share(they don't bother advertising because most people looking are students)

A few were nice places but too far out for me I wanted central to access public transport and the going out, not a cozy cottage with a garden.

getmore4less

Stick a wanted add on spareroom closer to the time.

There are a couple of places between Oban and FW.

One is in Ballachulish one in Connel maybe they are closer than Oban
If still available in Sept that could get you through the winter.

Although some say single only they may be open to having the wife visit some of the time.

One advantage of a share initially is you will probably have a fixed payment inc. bills so no surprises while you get used to the area.

Owain_Moneysaver

DugIntoBeetroot wrote: »

I understand that the caravan will depriciate like a car, with the guy selling it it estimating that I could sell it after 3 years for between 7k-10k depending how many plots on the site are fore sale at the time. Does this seem reasonable?

Maybe not.

Say the "static" is 7 years old now. When you come to sell it will be 10 years old. The park has (or may have by the time you come to sell) a rule that statics must be less than 10 years old. The buyer will not be able to renew the pitch lease. You will have to sell the static for off-site, and the buyer will have to pay for de-siting and haulage away.

10-year-old statics sold for off-site go for a lot less than sited vans. Many sites won't take 10+ year old ones.

You can rent a 2-bed flat in Oban for £525 pm + bills (Scotland has no tenant fees) and if you can find a colleage to take the second bedroom that halves the cost. You may find that compares favourably to the overall costs of buying a static, maintaining it, paying site fees, and then having the depreciation when you come to sell - as well as overall quality of life having a 'proper' home.

An alternative is to try local farms and see if they can let you park up behind a barn or whatever.

onwards&upwards

If your current house is only 1 hour 45 minutes away, is there nowhere you could buy in the middle of the two locations so you and your wife can both commute.

This is 3 years, it’s a long time! And if the hope is that it becomes permanent then you’re just delay8ng the inevitable and throwing awa6 a lot of money in the process.

duggan1

If you're going to be working in the evening anyway, can you not work remotely 2/3 days a week and spend a couple of long days on site?

HalfPint

I suspected it was somewhere in the Highlands. To be honest, (only my opinion) you’ll be better off both financially and physically by renting a house/flat in Oban or Fort William rather than a van. Don’t forget there are lots of smaller places in between to two, Glencoe, etc. I’m not a million miles away myself but too far to be of any help to you.

The roads up there, particularly the A82, are kept clear most of the time and it’s not all that common for them to close in winter. You’ll have more of an issue come summer with the tourist traffic!

It’s a fantastic part of the world and if the jobs right for you, go for it, it’ll be worth the financial hardship in the long term. I wish you every success.

HP