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Moving to live in a caravan

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MaryLou18
MaryLou18 Posts: 5 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Has anyone sold their house and moved in to a caravan?

Seriously considering it, but don't know whether to make the move.



Basically, we want to take money out of our home and pay less for bills. Downside is there is less space.

Need some serious advice as I don't know what to do.



Thanks in advance for your help x
«13

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  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,595 Forumite
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    A caravan might be great in this weather but in winter it will be cold and damp. Could you downside to a smaller property/flat.
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
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    Static caravan is likely to have higher bills due to less insulation so more difficult to keep warm. There will also be site fees so it may not work out any cheaper than buying a cheaper house in a cheaper area of the country.
  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,282 Forumite
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    edited 2 July 2018 at 10:39PM
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    Pros

    erm.......none.

    Cons

    Hot in summer
    Cold in winter
    You don't own the land
    Rapidly depreciating asset
    Site owners will bleed you dry with extortionate ground rents (£4K-ish per annum)
    Site owners will then bleed you dry again on inflated prices for gas cylinders
    Tiny
    Very few sites where you can actually stay 12 months
    Site owners will bleed you dry when they insist you buy a new caravan when yours is too old.
    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • sheepy21
    sheepy21 Posts: 221 Forumite
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    Are you talking about proper park homes as opposed to a caravan?
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598 Forumite
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    MaryLou18 wrote: »
    Has anyone sold their house and moved in to a caravan?

    Seriously considering it, but don't know whether to make the move.



    Basically, we want to take money out of our home and pay less for bills. Downside is there is less space.

    Need some serious advice as I don't know what to do.



    Thanks in advance for your help x

    You seriously considering this ?

    Not something I could do, Ive spent a week or 2 on various holidays and it was ok but no way could I live in 1 permanently, well not this country but maybe a warmer climate I could.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    If you want to cash-out on your major asset and have lower bills it's likely that you want to clear debt.


    As a means of achieving that end, this idea is hopeless.


    If my guess above is correct, you'd be better getting yourself over to the Debt Free Wannabee Board and asking for guidance there. It's a really helpful place.
  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 32,735 Forumite
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    If you're looking at static caravans, you need to check that they can be lived in all year round and that the site owners aren't one of the rip off merchants who charge ridiculous fees for rent, amenities etc.

    You also need to factor in their limited life spans. The site owner can make you replace or remove after a certain amount of time as it gets older even if you think it's still fine.
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    The word caravan implies a towed holiday vehicle, like travellers/gypsies use.

    There are three types of accommodation you could mean:

    Caravan: Parked on a site, or in somebody's garden
    Static Caravan: On a holiday park, with residency restrictions and inadequate insulation
    Mobile Home: Better built/insulated and on a formal, residential mobile home park -or- on older one wedged in the woods hoping nobody will raise questions.

    You need to define the style of caravan and the parking arrangements for it.

    I am aware of a couple who live in a towing caravan, with an awning, on what's supposed to be a holiday site and it's where "questions haven't been raised" yet by the Council. There are a few people who live on that "proper holiday park" caravan site and who have done for some years .... but one day they'll probably get told to move on.

    I've lived in a "proper mobile home on a proper mobile home site" in the past; wouldn't recommend it to anybody due to the insecurity over the longer-term.

    I've looked at odd mobile homes "dotted around here and there" that were rented out to people to live in ... they were quite shabby and I declined due to realising that the neighbours might not be as one requires.....

    Over the years I've personally known many people who have opted for a variety of "living in a caravan" scenarios, including one lad who was thrown out from his parents so lived in a pub car park in a touring caravan ... and another pub chef who had a caravan in their car park as he was a seasonal/summer worker.... there are many ways and reasons people can be living in XYZ....

    Until we know precisely what you mean, the question can't really be answered.
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
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    What Elsien said. You'll have to factor in a complete replacement of the static caravan after 10-20 years, so in the long term this may not work out cheaper as you'll need to rebuy. Will you have the money to do that?

    . You'll be swapping an asset that increases in price for one that falls, plus you'll be burning down the money you got for the house, and so long term this is a losing proposition. Plus you have much less security on a mobile home site that in your own house

    As another poster said dealing with your ongoing expenses directly is likely a better plan.
  • need_an_answer
    need_an_answer Posts: 2,812 Forumite
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    People do live in static caravans on pre set up sites,some of them are very lovely.


    A few more things to consider is once you have bought your park home the cost doesn't end there.
    You are then part of a gated community that will need to pay ground rent and service charges which whilst are not as much as rent or mortgage payments will still be a sizable chuck of money each month.

    Some sites also have a lease condition that park homes cannot be over a certain age so once the caravan becomes x years old you will be required to replace it for a newer model.
    This is to prevent older or run down pitches.


    Many sites do not allow 12 months full occupation so you may find there is a month of shut down where all homes must be empty or at least not occupied overnight.

    I know of several parks that operate this rule in January or Feb and the local travelodges or premier inns get very busy and very expensive at this time of year mainly because park home residents are having to pay for an extended holiday simply because they cant use their static home.Either that or they need to find an obliging relative to house them for a month.
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