howie Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 When our travelling days are over both the wife and myself have set our minds on a static caravan. Annual costs can be high but what really concerns us is the length of time you are allowed to keep a van on site. We already know the location that we like but talking to the owner last weekend he informed us that there is only a ten year lease with an added two years grace. After that you have to replace your old van with another (through them of course) and I see no reason for this other than to boost his profits. Talk about dead money. I,m sure I read somewhere that the goverment was bringing in new legislation that offered more protection for static van owners. Any information out there on this subject. Howard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyAndy Posted September 30, 2006 Share Posted September 30, 2006 In my previous life with my ex we had a static for around 15 years, we replaced the first one with a 2 bunk room as the family grew. When I left he kept the van on and has had it there another 7 years, 2 years ago he told he must up grade or get off. The reason being, that having an old van on the site made the site look unkept and scruffy , they again told him this year and last week he had to go and remove all his things out of it and pay the site to have it removed. The site is built on a steep slope,. friends who have vans at the bottom of the slope with an older van than his are fine, as they cant be seen from the road and therefore do not spoil the look of the site. Have to say I can't see a 10 year old van looking that bad, maybe they just want a get out clause. Check how often they intend putting their rates up too, and what setting the electric is at, they make great savings by setting it so low that the smallest of kettles trips the switch. I would also stay away from a site that has alot of rentals as you can get alot of problems with strangers on site and not caring about the site or its residents as they are going home and not coming back, after their holiday. I loved our times there , every weekend and most of the school holidays, made some very good friends there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted October 1, 2006 Author Share Posted October 1, 2006 To many loose ends with statics Mandy. As you mentioned on yearly rent, whats to stop site owners increasing this to whatever suits them. This is why I want to know what rights (if any) the individual van owner has before giving this serious consideration although its the length of time you are allowed to keep the van on site that is the main concern at the moment. I,ve made a rough estimate on the costs over a ten year lease. Cost of van (one year old) .......................................... £25,000 Rent p.a.......£2,300 x 10...............................................£23,000 Ins, gas and other sundries. £700 x 10.........................£ 7000 ----------- .............................................................................Total £ 55,000 Now thats a lot of money being spent and I have not taken into account any interest that may occur if a loan was taken out or the inevitable rise in ground rent which over ten years could be anyones guess. Printing it out in the cold light of day , plus nothing to show for it at the end of any lease is starting to put a lot of doubts in my mind. Brighten my day and tell me i,ve got it all wrong. Howard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyAndy Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Blimey I didnt realise how much they cost these days, I know you will be right with the rent, and it can be alot more than that depending on the position and facilites of the site. Unless you get it written down they can raise the rent when they like. Our site often came up with very good reasons, ie inflation, electricity rises, etc and I have to say our rent was very reasonable considering we were by the sea. The real thing for me was initially , would I ever find anywhere that I would be happy going back to for 10+ years. We were on Angelsey and waterskied there so it was perfect and only 2 hours from home with the new North Wales dual carraige way. I think once you have had a motor home it would be hard to have to stay in one place all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Still a few years of touring ahead of us hopefully Mandy and plenty of time to consider our options. When the figures are laid out in front of you it still comes as a bit of a shock and even though its something we have often talked about it, justifying the cost has always been the stumbling block. Alright if you have money to burn but I can think of a lot better ways to spend that sort of outlay. Narrow boats on the canals is something else we have considered and having hired them a few times in the past its something we know we would both enjoy. Not to sure how much this might cost regarding moorings and upkeep are concerned but a nice way of passing the winter nights on a bit of research. Howard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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