static caravans

[beach pig]

anyone lived in one on return to the uk?.well my idea is to purchase one and live in it for a couple of months until we find are feet .as we are moving back to an area we will be unfamiliar with. it will give us a base to live while we explore the general area for schools,jobs etc, and when we do find the right area we could just hire out the caravan to holiday makers.anyone have any expierience of this ,good or bad cheers beach

[fourcorners]

We lived with my Mum when we moved back, allowed us to save some cash for when we did buy our own place. I would perhaps only consider getting a static caravan if you're moving back in the summer. Are you going back to a nice area? You don't want to inadvertently get labelled as pikies if you live in the wrong place, and equally might be hard to rent out if you're not in a touristy spot.

 

If you're moving back in the winter, one possibility would be to rent a holiday home in the off season (i.e. January to Easter). We used to do that at university, and it worked out cheaper than living in university accommodation and we ended up in quite nice houses. Holiday home owners are usually pretty happy to get some steady income over these months even if its a lot less than what they normally charge the house out at. What part of the country are you looking at moving to?

[beach pig]

thanks for the reply we are looking at relocating around the sw of england devon,dorset,somerset area,so yeah a high tourist area which would make it easy to rent out later.we don't just want to pay out dead money for rent in a area which might not be suitable ,this way getting the static we could recoup the cost through letting it out later or sell it or use it for our own pleasure, it's not money wasted which we have little to waste.

[Fisher1]

Beware of site charges! You can buy a decent caravan for about £15000 but site charges can be as much as £3000 a year, so remember to factor those into your calculations. On the other hand the site fees are that high because there are usually good facilities.

[Guest chris955]

We moved into one when we returned last year, we did a search on Google and found some really good deals and negotiated for week by week. It was really good actually and the kids loved it. So our experience is just renting not buying one. They are very comfortable short term.

[Jacaranda]

BP have a look on Ebay UK.I happened to be looking at property on there last week and saw a transportable house on a park for sale (not a static van).Might be worth a look?Or try Gumtree?

[supa]

I think it's a good idea. We've got one in a holiday park and it's so lovely, mainly because there are facilities and also because most other people on the site are on holiday/relaxing and it is therefore a positive place to be. Yep, the site fees are a killer but it isn't too bad for us as we use it for holidays and most weekends so it's not bad value - depends how often you are going to use it once you have moved out. It's best if you buy one near where you are going to live so that you have a holiday home when you find somewhere more permanent. If you buy a young enough van you'll be able to hire it out through the park but they won't allow older vans to be used - nothing to stop you hiring it out privately to recoup some cash. As has been mentioned, they are freezing in winter; we shut ours down at end of October and ventured back at end of March, but gave up as it was too cold. They are cosy but have lots of ventilation, so keeping them warm is tricky. You can of course sell it eventually, but expect to lose a hefty bit of cash and the park owners to make a good bit of profit. Good luck.

Edited May 15, 2013 by supa