buying a caravan

[triple h]

I am toying with the idea of buying a static caravan in Cumbria.What are the various pitfalls and what should I be aware of?

[Lil O'lady]

The main pitfall with all static vans seems to be the contract that makes it impossible for you to sell the van. usually you find the owner of the site has first refusal and can set the price and may also 'own' any sheds etc you've placed - bit of a con I suppose BUT if the caravan gives you pleasure while you have it, then it may serve its purpose for you.
I'd look carefully at the site & its amenities - any DSS? Can you stay all year / is it shut down at certain times? Noisy or quiet - depends what you want. Garden perimeter fences allowed or not - these can define personal spaces on a site and so reduce conflict but owners may discourage them.
Lastly, calculate how many hotel or B&B type holidays you could afford for the price of your van. Then you've got the basis for a decision.

[amonty1144]

The biggest problem I can see is that it's in Cumbria......sorry only joking well not really.
I think you need to be sure that this is the area you want to lay out a lot of cash in, check the contract small print, some sites want you to book spare weeks through them, ie you have no control who is in your van, some sites limit the number of weeks the van can be occupied.
Just beware that after intial low charges, they can rocket the site charges.

[welshlibranr]

Be very careful!! if you buy from one of the large Site owners they charge huge site fees, and encourage you to let out your caravan to help with the costs of these fees, and the electricity, gas and water, which are also your responsibility, to be able to pay your site fees alone you need to let out your van for all of the peak weeks in the year, meaning that you only have access to your van off peak!!! and the damage caused can be horrendous, the wear and tear is very obvious, we kept ours for less than 2 years, we couldn't bear going there, we dreaded what we would find, and spent our time in the van cleaning and tidying up the mess left after the site cleaners had done nothing!!! and to add insult to injury, we had to give them first refusal when we sold, we lost about �10,000 but were glad to get away from all the stress of it!!!!!!!!!!! So do be very very careful, if you do it, go for a small family run site, that way you may be ok. Hope this helps M

[triple h]

Thanks everyone,that certainly gives me plenty to think about.

[burbie]

Also some sites will only allow caravans up to a certain age, such as 10yrs. You may then have to get the caravan off the site. They dont want old caravans on their sites. This doesnt apply to all sites, but make sure you check their policy.
You usually cannot sell you caravan to a third party without it having to be removed from the site.
This means you have to sell it to the site owners, usually at a lot less than the real price.
Its like buying a car, the value depriciates each year, until its worth nothing.
If you dont mind paying a few thousand for the caravan, then quite hefty site fees , plus ins, plus gas and electric.
then you can have many years of enjoyment from owning one.
Instead of two weeks annual holiday abroad, you can have six to 10 months of weeks or weekends away.
I have a caravan in Wales , bought second hand, and I love it. My caravan is now 12 years old, and still on the same site
My family and I pay the fees between us, so we all have the use of it.
Just dont get carried away, and ask all the questions brought up on here.
I personally wouldnt buy one and rent it out, except to family and friends.
Only buy one for you and your family to enjoy, but it doesnt come cheap.