STATIC CARAVAN/MOBILE HOME GROUND RENT please help!!?

Question

How much is the average price in uk to pay ground rent on a static caravan or mobile homw please? In dorset/hampshire area aswell and how much is insurance? cheapest? and council tax although it will only be lived in for 6-10 months of the year. How much would hot water, gas and electric cost on average to? please help, all answers welcome, thanks so much

Answer 1

I must admit that I cannot give prices for Dorset/Hampshire but for our static in South Wales we have to pay approx. £2000 per year for ground rent and insurance. On top of that last year we had to pay about £220 for electricity which, bearing in mind we actually only stayed there for about 15 nights during the year, is rather a lot but most of this was accounted for by the standing charge for electricity which we had to pay daily, even when not there. On top of that we had to pay £20 for each bottle of gas for heating, hot water and cooking. Each bottle would last about 7 days. In fact, we found it so expensive (as we were not able to visit more often)  that we have given up on the van.

The rent we paid was, as I understand it, very low compared with sites in more desirable areas. Our friends pay nearly £6000 per year for a seaside site in Devon and they recoup some of this by letting it out when they aren't there.

Answer 2

Hiya

I work at a static caravan dealer in Yorkshire.  Obviously I can not be sure of the rents around that area, but from my own personal experience they can be anything between £1000 to £3000 a year, dependant on the facilities on the site and the location. For example a small site with nothing but pitches will be cheaper than one which has a clubhouse and launderette etc.

You say it will be lived in...most sites, unless they are open for 12 months and are classed as residential require proof of another home where you are paying council tax as the 'holiday' site must ensure that people aren't avoiding paying council tax!

Insurance varies depending on the type you need...eg new for old...type and value of the van.  Anything between £100 to £400 quid.  Most sites will require you to have insurance though.

Cost of running really depends on the type of van...like a house...a 28x10 is cheaper to heat than a 40x12...if its double glazed it keeps the heat in better...!  Electric is normally charged at local rates, not sure if there are still sites that do this but please ensure you go on a site where the electric is metered for your van only and not just the row of vans...cos obviously if theres someone there who has electric heaters on all day you could be paying for it!

Gas...some places have piped which I think tends to be slightly cheaper.  Bottled gas is normally cheaper to buy away from the site if the site you choose provides it...  I think, don't quote me on this, people generally use a bottle a month in summer, and maybe 2 a month in winter if they have central heating.  It really does depend on the usage though.  You'd be better looking round a few parks and asking park wardens as they will have a good idea of the costs.

Also...find the park, before the caravan...as park owners are quite picky...can only have certain models, sizes, colours, etc.

One more thing, as a dealer, I know that there are RRP's on vans...please be aware of this if you are going to the high profile holiday camps...on average they are about 10k over the RRP...and they don't give you an extra 10k when you sell it back to them.

Buying a static is not an investment...most parks have age limits...usually around 15-20 years...and by that time the van you bought for anything between 15k - 50k when new will be worth about £1000 maximum and possibly more when part exchanging...

Good luck with it and if you need any more advice please don't hesitate to gimme a shout!