Buying Holiday Caravans – What You Need To Know
My Buying a static caravan advice. If you have thought about buying a static caravan on a UK holiday park and are not sure if it is right for you, then you have come to the right place. I am going to provide you with all the information you need about buying a static caravan holiday home.
There are more than 2,000-holiday parks in the UK. A report claimed that more than 365,000 static caravans are owned by people in the UK, but the real figure of private static caravans is more than 555,000.
Sadly, the holiday caravan industry is not properly governed. Don’t believe what caravan sales people tell you. When they say static caravan buyers are protected by legislation and there are organisations out there that protect static caravan owners or those buying a static caravan, it is not true. A sales person is there to sell you a caravan and earn commission, they are not your friend, and most do not have your interests at heart. There are organisations out there, but they are there for the holiday parks and not for consumers who are buying caravans or who have bought a static holiday caravan.
Read How To Make Money From A Caravan
The information I am going to provide you about buying a static caravan will allow you to buy a holiday home the right way and will also allow you to have all the information at hand to see if buying a static caravan is for you.
My Buying a static caravan advice article is aimed at giving you all the information you need and helping you avoid being mis-sold a static caravan.
Buying A Static Caravan Can Be A Great Choice If You Have All The Information At Hand
Buying a static caravan for a UK staycation can be a great lifestyle choice, but if you do not have all the knowledge at hand, then it could be one of your biggest financial mistakes. Sadly, thousands of people make a huge mistake each year when buying caravans, and that is because they do not do their research.
The majority of caravan buyers will buy a static caravan on-site and on impulse. They will go on holiday to one of the many holiday parks in the UK and think they had an amazing holiday and want to do it again and again and again. They are caught in the moment and visit the static holiday caravan showground where the sales people are waiting like vultures to sell you a holiday home and earn their commission.
My first advice when looking to buy a static caravan is not to buy one while you are on holiday. My second piece of advice is, don’t agree to visit the static home showground if a sales person visits your caravan or stops you in your tracks while going to one of the venues. Does it happen? Yes.
I have had lots of people contact me to say they were on a UK holiday park having a great time when all of a sudden, they get a knock at the door of their holiday home. They open the door and standing there are one or two sales people inviting you to come and look around at some of the caravans they have on display. If this happens to you, then say you are not interested. Again, do not buy a static holiday home on impulse.
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My Buying A Static Caravan Advice will look at many aspects of buying a caravan and help static caravan buyers make the right choice.
I will look at
How to find the right park for you
The cost associated with having a static caravan
The pitfalls to look out for
How to go about getting the very best deal
Should you buy a caravan on finance
Why Buy A Holiday Home in the UK?
I am not here to tell you if buying a static caravan is a bad or a good choice. Lots of people have their own opinions and experiences. A good place to see people’s bad experiences, and that provides a lot of great information is a Facebook group called Holiday Park Action Group. The founder of Holiday Park Action Group Carole Keeble is doing an incredible job to clean up the static caravan industry and making buying a static caravan safer. So, if you are looking at buying a static caravan, or if you are a static caravan owner and need advice, then do visit the Holiday Park Action Group.
Read Skegness Sands Caravan Park Review
How To Find The Right Static Caravan Park For You When Looking To Buy A UK Static Caravan
When looking to buy a UK static caravan you need to think about many different things. They include:
How far away is the holiday park
What is on the holiday park
How much are the site fees
How long can I have my caravan on the park?
How far away is the holiday park
Some people have said when looking to buy a holiday home you should only buy one that is within two hours of where you live. I disagree with that. Two hours does not give you many options if you live in Manchester, Skegness, or Rhyl. There are lots of great places around the UK to have a holiday home including the Lake District, and Great Yarmouth. My advice is, to look at holiday parks that are within three and a half hours from your home.
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You don’t want to go beyond three and a half hours from your holiday home, especially if you are going to use your holiday home at weekends. If you are retired then you are not limited to when you can use your static home, but if you are working, the last thing you want to do is to drive for four hours or more on a Friday, and then drive another four hours on a Sunday. So, my advice is, when choosing a holiday park, don’t choose one that is too far away as it would result in you being put off visiting the holiday park too often.
What Is On The Holiday Park
My buying a static caravan advice when looking to choose a caravan park to purchase a caravan is to look at the facilities the UK holiday park has on offer. Before you start looking to buy a static caravan, you need to make a list of what you want on the park.
Read The Best Caravan Parks In Great Yarmouth
It is important to think about what you want and if you have children what they would want. Remember, children get older, so if you have children that are very young, think about what they would want on the park as they get older.
Some questions that will help you in your search.
How important is it that you have lots of activities and entertainment?
Does the caravan park have a swimming pool?
Would you prefer a caravan park that offers peace and quiet?
Does the holiday park allow children?
Would you like a park where you can take your dog?
Do you want a park that’s aimed at adults?
Do you like golf, does the caravan park have a golf course?
Does the UK caravan park have places where you can eat food?
Does the park offer full accessibility for people with disabilities?
Are you allowed to rent out your caravan?
When you have put together that list, then it will allow you to compare that list to any holiday parks in the UK that you may be interested in.
Please note, when you have found a caravan park that has all the facilities you need, then you need to make sure those facilities will be staying. A lot of caravan holiday owners have found, that after they bought the caravan, some of the facilities they were interested in were later closed down. We will cover this later on. But what you need to do is to get it in writing that the facilities will not vanish. One of the popular facilities to close down are golf courses and bowling greens which are replaced with caravan plots to earn the site more money.
What is near the caravan park?
When caravan buying it is important to look at what is near the holiday park. I have been to some nice caravan parks, but there is nothing nearby. The last thing you want to do if you are looking for things to do is to buy a caravan that is more than one hour away from places of interest.
If you are looking for a caravan where you want to go off-site and explore, then check how far away are all the nearest places you would like to visit. So, please, do your research.
Talk to the caravan park on the telephone
When buying a caravan, it is important to do as much research as possible, and that includes speaking to the holiday park over the phone. Don’t be afraid to give them a call, but don’t be enticed into visiting the holiday park with any offers they may give you. Remember, the caravan sales people are there to sell you a caravan and earn commission.
Put a list of questions that you want answers to. If they are not happy to talk to you over the phone, then this is not the park for you.
Is the person you’re talking to friendly?
Are they happy to answer all of your questions?
Do they seem happy to send you the information you require?
Are they evasive with any of the questions you want answers to?
Here are some questions that I recommend asking:
How long is the park open for?
Can I choose my own location on the park?
How long can I keep the caravan on the park?
Is there an owner’s lounge?
Do I receive a written contract for how long I can keep the caravan on the park?
Can I rent out my caravan?
What are the running costs of a static caravan holiday home?
It is very important to look at the costs of owning a static caravan. One of the biggest mistakes a person makes when buying static caravans is not understanding the costs involved in keeping the caravan on site.
The number of people I have come across who don’t do their research in the yearly caravan running costs is scary. People seem to think the biggest cost is buying the caravan, but that is not correct. That is why I am offering buying a static caravan advice, to help people avoid financial nightmares.
Yearly costs of owning a static holiday caravan.
Site Fees –
Local Council Rates
Insurance
Gas
Electric
Water
Wear and Tear
These are just some of the site fees. But let’s look at them one by one.
Site Fees – Site fees can range anything from £3,000 to £12,000. Believe it or not, some parks are more expensive. Can you afford these type of site fees. Also, you need to find out how much site fees go up each year. The last thing you want it to buy a static caravan on a UK holiday park where the site fees are £4,000, and then find out the site fees go up by £1,2,00 or more a year.
Local Council Rates – Does the caravan park you are thinking of buying a caravan from charge you local council rates, or are they included. If they are not included, how much do you have to pay?
Insurance – It is important that you have your caravan insured. Most holiday parks make it a condition that you have the caravan insured. These can range from £200 a year up to more than £600 a year. It depends on what insurance you require and the value of your caravan.
Gas – It is important to find out how the gas is charged. And you need to find out if it is mains gas or bottle gas. The more you use the caravan, then the more your gas bill will be.
Electric – Don’t be afraid to ask how much the average electric bill is, and how much they charge you per unit.
Water – You will find on a lot of parks that your water bill will be more expensive than your water bill at home. I have seen some static caravan owners pay more than £700 a year. When looking to buy a static caravan you need to check if you are paying for the water you use, or if you are paying a standard charge for the whole site. Yes, you read that correctly. Some UK caravan parks work out how much water the whole site used including their own facilities, and then charge all caravan owners equally. So, in theory, you could use just £100 worth of water and receive a water bill for around £300 or more. Shocking, I know.
Wear and Tear – You need to think about the upkeep of the caravan. That can include cleaning or maintenance. So, it is important to put some money to one side each year to cover this.
If you are on a site that charges £5,500 site fees per year, then your running costs could be as much as £9,000 a year. It is so important to work out if you can afford the running costs of a caravan.
My buying a static caravan advice to you is. Work out how much it would cost to run a static caravan, and then add 8% each year to those running costs. This will then allow you to know it is within your budget.
How long can I keep my static caravan on the holiday park?
I wanted to focus on this question, and this is another reason why offering buying a static caravan advice. A lot of people are being mis sold caravans solely on how long a caravan can stay on a caravan park.
I have said this before, but I will say it again. Caravan sales people are there to sell caravans. Some will say anything to earn their commission, so it is important to get everything in writing and for them to sign it. If they make statements and they will not put it in writing and sign it, then my advice to you is to walk away.
The length of time you can keep a static caravan on a holiday park is very important. Some holiday parks will give you a contract for ten years, which is normally on the sale of second-hand caravans, while others will give you a contract of twenty years. If they do not provide you with a contract of how long you can keep a holiday home on their park then again, walk away.
Sadly, a lot of caravan sales people will lie and tell you that you can keep the caravan on the site for as long as you want. They will say to you that there is no age limit. Most of the time that is not true. If they say there is no age limit and you can keep the caravan on the park forever, then tell them to put it in writing and then check with the head office of the UK holiday park.
Please, do not believe everything a caravan sales person tells you. Get everything in writing.
Visit The Holiday Park At Least Four Times
When buying a static caravan, it is important to visit the holiday park at least four times. I would also advise you to stay at least one full week, and one weekend.
By visiting the holiday park more than once, it will allow you to do more research. It will also allow you to see if you would get bored going back to the same holiday park week after week, or month after month.
When you visit the holiday park on multiple occasions, you will be able to see if it lives up to everything that you want from a park. It will also allow you to see how the holiday park is run and maintained, as well as the atmosphere.
Join The Holiday Park Facebook Group
When you think you have found the ideal park, then I would suggest finding out if the holiday park has an owners Facebook group. If they do the contact the admin and ask them some questions about the park, and also ask if you can join so you can ask other owners.
Remember, it is important to do as much research as possible.
Before buying a static caravan, speak to other caravan owners on the park.
The best people to know if the holiday park is a good one is by speaking to people who already have a caravan on the park.
By speaking to caravan owners, you will be able to ask all the questions you need answers to. Caravan owners will be able to tell you if the park is run properly. They will be able to tell you by how much the site fees go up each year, as well as how well they look after caravan owners.
Don’t Go Over Budget When Buying A Static Caravan
One of the most important buying a static caravan advice I can give you is, don’t spend more than you have. A lot of people make the huge mistake of going over budget, and those people have a life span on the holiday park of around two years.
I want To Buy A Static Caravan, I Have Done All My Research, What Next?
Ok. So, you have read my buying a static caravan advice and you still want to buy a holiday home, so what is next? The answer is, decide if you want to buy a new caravan, or if you want to buy an older caravan.
If you want to buy a brand-new caravan then you can only do this through the holiday park, but if you want to buy a second-hand caravan, then you can do this either through the park, or through an owner on the park who are selling up.
Let me be honest with you. A lot of UK Caravan Parks hate it when you buy a second-hand caravan from an owner instead of one of their sales people, but you can save money.
Things to think about when buying a second-hand caravan through an owner. You will not have a warranty on the caravan, and there are no come backs if something goes wrong with it. Most UK holiday parks will add extra onto your yearly site fees if you do not buy a caravan through them. This could be as much as £500 a year, but in most cases, you are still saving a lot of money.
If you are looking to buy a caravan from the holiday park sales team, then please check the prices of the caravan. I have seen some parks charge nearly double when buying a static caravan compared to other holiday parks.
For example. I saw a nice static caravan for £52,000 which was built in 2015. It was a lovely caravan and I thought it was a good price. But then I did my research and looked at other holiday companies and parks and found the same caravan on a Haven caravan park for just £28,000. So, as you can see, that was a huge difference in price. The original holiday park I was looking to buy a static caravan were charge more than £24,000 than the Haven holiday park for the same caravan.
Comparing the price of caravans can also help you in your search for the right holiday park.
Buying A Static Caravan, Can I Get A Discount?
There is always a deal to be made. If you have seen a caravan for say £50,000, and the caravan sales person says that is its lowest price then call his bluff. Holiday parks make a huge amount of profit on each caravan they sell, so there is always a deal to be made.
Look at the caravan and think what you would like to pay for it. So, for example, if you think the caravan is worth £45,000 and the caravan sales person is asking for £50,000, then offer them £40,000. They may say to you that is too much of a discount, and I must agree. But they may say to you they can go down by three thousand pounds. If you are happy with that discount, then it is up to you if you want to buy the caravan. If you are not happy, then tell them.
If you feel the sales person is not giving you the discount you want, then don’t be afraid to tell them you will walk away. You may find they will give you more of a discount. If they don’t then ask to speak to the sales manager. If you are not getting the right discount with the sale manager, then get up and tell them you will buy from another holiday park. A lot of the time they will increase the discount. If they don’t then another trick is to leave them your phone number and tell them they have seven days to change their mind. If they are having a slow week, then you may find they give you a call with a better deal. But don’t, and I repeat don’t, pay the full asking price.
Different ways to buy a static caravan
There are different ways to buy a static caravan, but to be honest, the only way I would recommend buying a caravan is with cash. A lot of people will disagree with this, but that is their opinion, and this is my opinion.
I will explain why some people prefer to buy a caravan with finance.
They don’t have the money to buy the caravan
Buying through finance allows people to budget for their holiday home
Buying a caravan through finance could offer protection
There is some protection when buying a caravan through finance. That protection is, if you are struggling financially, then you can hand the caravan back to the finance company when you have paid at least 50% of the caravan total price.
Personally, I would recommend only buying a caravan with cash. What you must think about is the yearly running costs.
A lot of people lose their caravans through not being able to afford them. The huge mistake people make is thinking the caravan looks great and the monthly finance cost is only £600. A lot of people who buy through finance only last a few years on site, and that is down to affordability.
When you buy a caravan and are enticed by an offer where you don’t have to pay site fees for 12-months, then this puts you in a false sense of security. The reality is, you are paying for those free 12-month site fees as they are included in the price of the caravan.
So, when you are at the end of the free 12-month site fees, and you must start paying site fees then it comes a huge shock.
For example.
If you are allowed to pay your site fees via monthly direct debit, then you could be looking at around £600 plus. So, you have your £600 finance to pay for and then you have your £600 site fees to pay for. That is £1,200 each month before you even look at all the other running costs. Can you really afford £1,200 each month on top of the other costs involved? And, what happens if you have an emergency in your life such as losing your job, what will you do next.
I would never recommend anyone buying a holiday home through finance.
Ways To Buy A Caravan
Paying Cash through bank transfer or cheque.
This is my preferred option. It makes sure that you can afford the caravan and don’t have any surprised down the road.
Third party finance
Third party finance can be done through taking a loan from a bank or specialist holiday home finance brokers. Holiday parks have relationships with finance companies and can arrange finance.
I hope my buying a static caravan advice has helped you in your consideration in buying a holiday home in the UK.
