Logistics of living in a tiny house/ static caravan

letsbetfair

You could get a flat in a small town for under £50k, which won't be a dream home, but will give you easy access to countryside and be a lot warmer in winter than a caravan! It also won't depreciate like a caravan would. You can get small houses like this for under £100k https://www.tspc.co.uk/1-Bed-Terraced-Bungalow-For-Sale-3-Fountain-Square-Auchmithie-DD11-5SJ
If you've not got a huge budget, getting something fairly conventional means you benefit from economies of scale. Something like a unique 'tiny home' can be surprisingly expensive!

letsbetfair

Deleted_User said:

Keswick1uk said:

Can writers work from anywhere now. Do you not need WiFi or broadband, like the rest of us?

What I mean is, I don't have an office I need to go to. I use my mobile as a hotspot for WiFi and find it works well.

Make sure to check the mobile signal in the area you're planning to move to. This can work well in many areas...there's some when the signal is too poor, though

[Deleted User]

letsbetfair said:

You could get a flat in a small town for under £50k, which won't be a dream home, but will give you easy access to countryside and be a lot warmer in winter than a caravan! It also won't depreciate like a caravan would. You can get small houses like this for under £100k https://www.tspc.co.uk/1-Bed-Terraced-Bungalow-For-Sale-3-Fountain-Square-Auchmithie-DD11-5SJ
If you've not got a huge budget, getting something fairly conventional means you benefit from economies of scale. Something like a unique 'tiny home' can be surprisingly expensive!

Yes, I've been looking into the tiny house idea and the price definitely adds up when you factor in land, delivery of the tiny house, etc. The bungalow you sent is the kind I'm looking for. On reflection, I think something like that would be my best bet. I am just frustrated living under someone else's roof and so a static caravan in the middle of nowhere seems appealing, albeit not necessarily cheap!

letsbetfair

I know what you mean! One more thought, depending how you feel about risk and how much you like travel - you could invest the £50k in something like a low/medium risk Vanguard plan and then base yourself in interesting places with low rent for a couple of years. Parts of the economy are shot enough that you should be able to find cheap short/medium term rentals and hopefully save more £s towards your deposit at the same time.
Of course, you risk your investment falling/house prices rising/rents rising

[Deleted User]

letsbetfair said:

I know what you mean! One more thought, depending how you feel about risk and how much you like travel - you could invest the £50k in something like a low/medium risk Vanguard plan and then base yourself in interesting places with low rent for a couple of years. Parts of the economy are shot enough that you should be able to find cheap short/medium term rentals and hopefully save more £s towards your deposit at the same time.
Of course, you risk your investment falling/house prices rising/rents rising

This is exactly the situation I'm in now - the money is in a Vanguard account and my rent is relatively low. I had resigned myself to living here until maybe next summer, saving a lot and reassessing the housing market but I'm getting itchy feet and not very patient at all! However, your plan seems to be the best bet for the time being, rather than a middle-ground which will likely depreciate and result in some regrets long-term!

letsbetfair

Deleted_User said:

letsbetfair said:

I know what you mean! One more thought, depending how you feel about risk and how much you like travel - you could invest the £50k in something like a low/medium risk Vanguard plan and then base yourself in interesting places with low rent for a couple of years. Parts of the economy are shot enough that you should be able to find cheap short/medium term rentals and hopefully save more £s towards your deposit at the same time.
Of course, you risk your investment falling/house prices rising/rents rising

This is exactly the situation I'm in now - the money is in a Vanguard account and my rent is relatively low. I had resigned myself to living here until maybe next summer, saving a lot and reassessing the housing market but I'm getting itchy feet and not very patient at all! However, your plan seems to be the best bet for the time being, rather than a middle-ground which will likely depreciate and result in some regrets long-term!

That makes sense to me! You could afford to buy now, and you could get a small house in a rural area if you're able to get say a £50k mortgage.

It seems like the type of rural setting you want has become more desirable (and expensive) recently - very hard to predict what will happen in a year or two. I'd be inclined to keep doing what you're doing now, but markets are v unpredictable nowadays

[Deleted User]

Deleted_User said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

Deleted_User said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

Deleted_User said:

Hi all,
I am a FTB in Scotland and, like many in my situation, buying a house just now seems less and less probable. I have been considering my options and looking into buying a less traditional house, such as a tiny house/ log cabin/ static caravan. I wondered if anyone has done this before? I am fairly minimalist and don't need a lot of space. I imagine I would have to purchase a small patch of land with planning permission for a dwelling/ electricity and water supply but do you have any other considerations? Any advice would be much appreciated to determine whether this is a viable alternative! Thank you.

If you have £50k in cash how can buying a home in Scotland be less and less probable? Unless you’re trying to buy in the New Town, which I don’t think you are based on a previous thread, surely you must be able to buy something other than a caravan. 

Less probable due to the competition and lack of availability of the kind of house I am looking for (ideally small, detached, close to nature. Most of the houses I've seen are huge and very expensive). I also don't want a large mortgage. £50k in cash is an overestimate as I'd rather keep some in savings if possible. Given all of this, it seems a tiny house or log cabin is more what I'm looking for than what is currently available.

So instead of a mortgage that would help you buy what you want you want to spend the cash you do have on a depreciating asset. What happens when you eventually need to replace the caravan or log cabin? A mortgage to buy a property will almost definitely be the less expensive option. 

I do know a couple of people who have lived in static caravans in Scotland. Only on a temporary basis though whilst renovating old buildings to live in. If you buy land factor in the cost, or find out if it’s even possible, to hook the caravan or log cabin up to water and electricity. Also winters are cold. 

Rather than a caravan or log cabin have you thought about buying land and doing a self build to get what you want? Something like this:

https://theweehousecompany.co.uk/modular-homes/two-bedroom-cottage-style/

You're right, it's not an ideal situation. The cold winters do concern me. I think I'm just frustrated at renting and there being no end in sight to the current seller's market. Thank you for the link, definitely food for thought! Will need to look into whether mortgages on such properties are possible but really like the idea of this!

You get mortgages for self build properties. I think the money is usually released in stages at key milestones of the build. 

GDB2222

As a writer, can you get a mortgage? Doesn’t it depend what you are writing how regular your income is?

[Deleted User]

GDB2222 said:

As a writer, can you get a mortgage? Doesn’t it depend what you are writing how regular your income is?

Yes, I have a permanent contract as opposed to being freelance so this isn't a problem.

Grumpy_chap

The OP may find some of the contributions to this thread are useful:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6248633/tiny-house-uk/p1