Buying a static caravan help

tim158

Please can anyone advice on what to look out for when buying a second hand static caravan. whe have found the park where the van is sited, got the site fees/gas/elc/insurance/ all sorted.

Is there a log book for the static van once bought also is there a check to make sure there is no holding (outstanding credit owed) on the van.

many thanks for your help

Tim

dexters_mum_2

Hi Tim
I can't help with your Q but I would also be interested to know the answer to this, as I am thinking also of purchasing a static.
DM

PasturesNew

I used to own one/live in one (about 1988ish to about 1990ish).

There is no log book.

I had a surveyor go and take a look. There are specialist mobile home surveyors. First one I surveyed the man said it was rotting from the inside out, he said that was common with Tingdenes.

Look around and see that the ventilation is adequate (even over the top), they can be little damp hovels before too long if the vents are blocked. Check all the windows open.

Have you got the finance arranged yet? The deposits are what most people can't come up with. Usually 20% or more needed as it's a personal loan and not a mortgage you're getting.

tim158

Thanks for your reply,,,:o

We are going to pay cash so there will no be loan involved, thanks for the advice about damp, i will be inspecting the van from top to bottom,

when the park take there cut do the check if there is any outstanding finance on it (question to ask tommorrow i think,,,

Thanks again

Tim

PasturesNew

tim158 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply,,,:o

We are going to pay cash so there will no be loan involved, thanks for the advice about damp, i will be inspecting the van from top to bottom,

when the park take there cut do the check if there is any outstanding finance on it (question to ask tommorrow i think,,,

Thanks again

Tim

To my knowledge nobody does any checks on finance. And I've no idea how you'd go about doing that.

SouthCoast

I have looked into buying one.

Some have very onerous contract terms e.g. Only allowed to buy gas from the site owner, 20% of sale proceeds to site owner, etc, etc.

When the sales person refused to give me a copy of the contract to discuss with my solicitor I walked away.

Caveat Emptor.

PasturesNew

SouthCoast wrote: »

I have looked into buying one.

Some have very onerous contract terms e.g. Only allowed to buy gas from the site owner, 20% of sale proceeds to site owner, etc, etc.

When the sales person refused to give me a copy of the contract to discuss with my solicitor I walked away.

Caveat Emptor.

The site owner is limited to taking 10% from the seller when they sell the caravan. That is set in law.

My experiences were:
- had to pay about £400 to move onto the site (a sneaky one-off fee to the site owner)
- had to be interviewed by the site owner
- very strict rules on residency (e.g. single females/MARRIED couples only)
- site owner would "patrol" the site looking for misdemeanours to threaten you with
- rents rose quite a bit for the plot
- I had to buy the gas from the site owner
- If I wanted newspapers or milk delivered, they had to come from her ONE approved supplier. Same for coal for those who had coal heating.
- when I sold I could only sell it to somebody she had interviewed/approved
- site owner takes 10% of the sales price.
- another van owner couldn't sell hers as she said that the site owner was using her interviews of potential buyers to offer those people one of her own to rent.
- sites don't last forever; the one I was on has now been sold/cleared/layout redesigned and it's all brand new posh mobile homes for retired people

Overall, I'd tell a friend not to do it. I'd nod and smile encouragingly if an enemy was thinking about doing it.

Yes there are good/nice sites. But you'll only know once you're living there.

SouthCoast

PN:

PROPERTY INFORMATION
Cabin is 4 years old with ground rent £6000.00 per annum which includes maintenance, water and sewage, gas and electric billed separatly, 6 years remaining on the Lease renewable for 10 years. 12 Months permitted to live on site. no age restrictions, no pet restrictions. 20% plus vat charge paid to site by seller on completion. These properties are for Cash purchasers only.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-17296069.rsp?pa_n=3&tr_t=buy

PasturesNew

Oh, a log cabin. Different beast. Same rules though.

That 20% + VAT fee must be because the site owner acted as an agent. Check into that, if the site owner gets 20%/has to act as agent. What's the deal?

It's not clear what's included in the £6k/year. I take it to mean the £6k includes maintenance, water and sewage. Check if they mean log cabin maintenance (what's included/what's not), or if they just mean site maintenance (lighting/grass cutting. etc)

£6k is £120/week or £500/month. That's a LOT.
Add to that the loss of interest on the £45k at the bank (5% after tax at 20%) which would be another £187/month and it's costing you £687/month.

If you sold it straight away at the same price, you'd be handing over £9k to the site owner. As the lease gets shorter and the cabin gets older the value goes down, so again it adds up to quite a monthly amount in "depreciation".

And that lease ... 6 years. Short!
How much would it cost to extend? What happens if in 4 years' time the site owner decides they're going to sell up and not renew any leases?

Snooze

PasturesNew wrote: »

The site owner is limited to taking 10% from the seller when they sell the caravan. That is set in law.

My experiences were:
- had to pay about £400 to move onto the site (a sneaky one-off fee to the site owner)
- had to be interviewed by the site owner
- very strict rules on residency (e.g. single females/MARRIED couples only)
- site owner would "patrol" the site looking for misdemeanours to threaten you with
- rents rose quite a bit for the plot
- I had to buy the gas from the site owner
- If I wanted newspapers or milk delivered, they had to come from her ONE approved supplier. Same for coal for those who had coal heating.
- when I sold I could only sell it to somebody she had interviewed/approved
- site owner takes 10% of the sales price.
- another van owner couldn't sell hers as she said that the site owner was using her interviews of potential buyers to offer those people one of her own to rent.
- sites don't last forever; the one I was on has now been sold/cleared/layout redesigned and it's all brand new posh mobile homes for retired people

Overall, I'd tell a friend not to do it. I'd nod and smile encouragingly if an enemy was thinking about doing it.

Yes there are good/nice sites. But you'll only know once you're living there.

Yes, my Old Dear lives in a static caravan on a private site in North Wales and the amount of trouble she's had with the site owner could fill several books.

She's experienced pretty much all of what PN has said plus threats to be evicted off site if she does not replace her caravan with a more modern one! I kid you not, if your caravan is too old it apparently damages the look of the site and you can get thrown off if you don't do it! Luckily after nearly 2 years or wrangling with him, he's agreed that she can spend a couple of grand on getting it covered in cladding and getting a pointy roof put on to make it look like a permanent fixture. :rolleyes:

Rob

Pete0926

I have bought 2 statics in the past.The biggest thing to watch for is depreciation, i.e,bought new 50K, the site will give you about two thirds of that within the first year and about a third after 2 years.Then they will sell it to the next buyer at nearly the price you originaly paid for it. If you can buy private and then site it yourself (but they will charge you for this), you will get a much better deal.