Static Caravan Owners - Lockdown issues and Other Topics

[Landsurfer]

Our caravan is on a superb site near Redruth in Cornwall ....
5 mins from Portreath, 5 mins from Porthtowan, 15 mins from the Godrevy / Gwithian super beach ...
Toilets, showers, waste disposal and a swimming pool ....
£25 / month storage and £11/ night, with power, when we visit ....
The whole "static on the East Coast of England" ..etc .. is a rip off funded by people that can't be bothered ( or can afford ) to shop around ...
The prices we pay are not special ... it's the going rate ... we have had our caravan in Cornwall for over 7 years ,,,

Available for hire with awning and all mod cons ..£22 /night .... sleeps 5 in the caravan and 2 in the "Man Cave " in the awning ...

 

[ClichéGuevara]

We have a static caravan in France on a secluded rural site between the Dordogne and the Lot. Each plot is cut into a steep wooded slope so you have the feeling of being the only van around, surrounded by mediterranean oaks, although you can see above the tops of the trees down the slope and across to the opposite hills. The site has a pool and a clubhouse and rarely has more than ten vans occupied at any time mainly by older couples. There is no entertainment here for children! Too quiet and rural. Great base for reasonably hilly cycling and for taking the camper van on short trips to other parts of southern France. Can be too hot and too crowded in August though.

Fees are 3500 Euro + gas + water + insurance

The site owners (English) cut the grass, keep the trees under control, maintain the access roads, keep the pool clean and look after the van all year for security and weather damage etc. The owners are fastidious about the site and also about how clean the van and the immediate plot are. They can be a pain but it is generally a stress free way to have a base in France that you can walk away from at any time.

The van cost us 7000 Euro and was 15 years old when we got it. If we wanted to sell, we can but the site owners will not show people around and will want 4000 Euro as an entry fee. Or we can just hand the van over to the site owners for perhaps 1000 Euro. That is what everyone does.

There has been no offer of a discount for this year. The owners have actually tried to discourage people from coming as they are petrified (ironically) of getting Covid from the UK.

We normally spend about 10-12 weeks a year there so that averages at about 300 Euro a week. Equivalent van rent in this area would be 600-800 Euro in high season and we would be cheek by jowl on a commercial site. Cost wise it is fair value. This year it is not, as we have only managed three weeks this year and not looking as if we can go again as the FO advice negates our insurance.

We have been here for three years and made good friends and explored France. It is great having bikes, all your holiday clothes, kayaks and your own stuff here waiting for you. No need to transport anything. Fly in and car hire or we can drive our camper van down slowly.

Another year or so and we may look to go somewhere else. We have kayaked all the local rivers and done most of the walks and rides within day journey of the van. There are vans for sale there.....http://theoldvines.co.uk.

That looks bloody lovely.

 

[Dave7]

We’ve had a reduction on the rates bill and some rent back in the form of a credit on the account, which can be used against purchasing Gas, etc, this season and then against next years rates/rent, if any left by then.

Again, we’ve had the “we’re not legally obliged to” message and that it’s being done out of goodwill.

Edit: forgot to say they’ve also added an extra year onto the age limit for vans, so it’s 26 years now

That sounďs fair. Ours was 15 years if bought new from the owner or 10 years if 2nd had from the owner.. .....and he was ruthless with that ruling.

 

[Dave7]

That looks bloody lovely.

Sounds lovely but the link won't open for me

 

[Dave7]

We sold ours a few years ago. TBH we should never have bought it as we could never do it justice.......not enough time.
Lovely site. No amenities. Lovely van.....en suite, washing machine, 3 piece suite etc.
Family used it more than us .
Fortunately it was in a prime spot and the owner made a good offer as he could sell it on quickly**
**what he did was sell it abroad and put a BIG lodge type thing there which was snapped up by someone with money.

 

[footloose crow]

Sounds lovely but the link won't open for me

google 'the old vines' and it will come up

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Sounds lovely but the link won't open for me

Copy and paste into google

 

[Dave7]

Copy and paste into google

Done it.
Looks good.

 

[fossyant]

We're looking at doing the month extension this and next year - might mean we have to add on another CC'er MTB weekend - next one is October. as I doubt the owner will negotiate ! Just hoping we dont get a lockdown. We do have a quiet beach with virtually no-one one - did a 5 mile walk along it, returning via the sand dunes last weekend. The good thing with lock down is we found a lovely path that runs along the top of the dunes on the return walk.

 

[dodgy]

Sounds lovely but the link won't open for me

http://theoldvines.co.uk/

 

[gavgav]

We're looking at doing the month extension this and next year - might mean we have to add on another CC'er MTB weekend - next one is October. as I doubt the owner will negotiate ! Just hoping we dont get a lockdown. We do have a quiet beach with virtually no-one one - did a 5 mile walk along it, returning via the sand dunes last weekend. The good thing with lock down is we found a lovely path that runs along the top of the dunes on the return walk.

I do something very similar from our site. Last weekend I Walked up to Shell Island, via the beach and then back through the dunes. Whilst there were quite a few people on the beach, by where you enter it, it’s so large that it never feels crowded and once past the “naturist” section, I didn’t see another person for 2 miles, due to Shell Island being closed.

 

[Pale Rider]

My static is between Bedale and Leyburn in North Yorkshire.

It's a family owned site, and they have offered about £300 lock down discount, again with the goodwill warning.

Doesn't strike me as very generous, particularly as the site owners will save more than that from Rishi's VAT reduction to the hospitality industry.

My brother, who shares the running costs with me, is less bothered, and as he pointed out the virus wasn't the owner's fault.

They have always struck me as rather greedy, but like most site owners there are things for and against them.

I would describe site maintenance as at best average, but at least there's no strict 'van age limit.

That's increasingly important to the likes of me who bought in 2006.

The site has a small golf course, which I don't use, and a decent pub restaurant, currently closed while a new couple is found to run it.

Few facilities for children, which suits me just fine because it means there's only ever a handful on site.

In some respects it is expensive for the time I spend there, but close to year round anytime access to a private bolthole is worth a lot to me.

The site is about a hundred mile round trip from home, but I can just about enjoy visits there for a few hours, as well as the occasional few days at a time.

I think the site may now be open 11 months of the year, but that's largely irrelevant to me because I wouldn't want to be there in the colder months.

The 'van has central heating and double glazing, but ultimately it's a tin box.

No problem if there's a light frost overnight and it's chilly during the day, but uncomfortable in anything more severe.

Nothing 'keeps' very well in a static, which can be frustrating, and they are condensation generators, although there's usually only me in mine so I don't get water running down the walls.

Overall, I continue to enjoy having mine, but there may come a time when I don't, in which case it will be sold.

Statics depreciate like cars, so I always regarded the purchase price as money spent, and anything I get back from it after 15 or 20 years will be a bonus.

Again like cars, new prices of statics are relatively high.

The insurers have just sent me the new for old replacement value which they assess at £48,500.

Seems they are about right, there's a similar spec to mine new static on the site marked up at £49,250.

I doubt mine would reach ten grand.

 

[Dave7]

My static is between Bedale and Leyburn in North Yorkshire.

It's a family owned site, and they have offered about £300 lock down discount, again with the goodwill warning.

Doesn't strike me as very generous, particularly as the site owners will save more than that from Rishi's VAT reduction to the hospitality industry.

My brother, who shares the running costs with me, is less bothered, and as he pointed out the virus wasn't the owner's fault.

They have always struck me as rather greedy, but like most site owners there are things for and against them.

I would describe site maintenance as at best average, but at least there's no strict 'van age limit.

That's increasingly important to the likes of me who bought in 2006.

The site has a small golf course, which I don't use, and a decent pub restaurant, currently closed while a new couple is found to run it.

Few facilities for children, which suits me just fine because it means there's only ever a handful on site.

In some respects it is expensive for the time I spend there, but close to year round anytime access to a private bolthole is worth a lot to me.

The site is about a hundred mile round trip from home, but I can just about enjoy visits there for a few hours, as well as the occasional few days at a time.

I think the site may now be open 11 months of the year, but that's largely irrelevant to me because I wouldn't want to be there in the colder months.

The 'van has central heating and double glazing, but ultimately it's a tin box.

No problem if there's a light frost overnight and it's chilly during the day, but uncomfortable in anything more severe.

Nothing 'keeps' very well in a static, which can be frustrating, and they are condensation generators, although there's usually only me in mine so I don't get water running down the walls.

Overall, I continue to enjoy having mine, but there may come a time when I don't, in which case it will be sold.

Statics depreciate like cars, so I always regarded the purchase price as money spent, and anything I get back from it after 15 or 20 years will be a bonus.

Again like cars, new prices of statics are relatively high.

The insurers have just sent me the new for old replacement value which they assess at £48,500.

Seems they are about right, there's a similar spec to mine new static on the site marked up at £49,250.

I doubt mine would reach ten grand.

We were fortunate because, as I said, the site owner wanted our spot. He gave us just over £20K to go.......we snatched his hand off.
Its was time to go and though we have happy memories we were happy to go.
We actually did use ours throughout winter and enjoyed a few Christmas hols there. We would arrive eg christmas morning, put the roast in and walk down to the pub for a couple of drinks. We did enjoy doing that.

 

[Pale Rider]

We were fortunate because, as I said, the site owner wanted our spot. He gave us just over £20K to go.......we snatched his hand off.
Its was time to go and though we have happy memories we were happy to go.
We actually did use ours throughout winter and enjoyed a few Christmas hols there. We would arrive eg christmas morning, put the roast in and walk down to the pub for a couple of drinks. We did enjoy doing that.

I've seen quite a few owners who have enjoyed having their static but are also pleased to get rid of it when the time comes.

Pricing a static is difficult because the buying price will include a premium from the site for siting the caravan.

In other words, the ex-works price of the static will be a lot lower than the price of the same static on a premium site.

Buying one ex-works is not a realistic prospect for most of us because we've nowhere to put it.

 

[Domus]

Ours is on a privately owned site in Grange-over-Sands we have an elevated plot with cracking views over Morecambe Bay and the Bowland hills. A small rockery garden at the front and a large deck all around. £3,000 pa for a full 12 month access. No offer of any discount but again non expected.
Mrs Domus is not as mobile as she used to be, two fractured hips have taken their toll but she enjoys the one mile stroll to Grange for a mooch in the shops and a coffee before a slightly more energetic stroll back. I really enjoy the cycling up here and as Mrs Domus is happy my rides are guilt free.