what sort of caravan?
I live in a park home on a residential site, and the legal definition of a park home is "caravan". Plenty of residential caravan sites all over the country, including West Midlands.
I suspect you are thinking of living in a touring caravan, which is perfectly possible with some forethought and planning - but you will not find a site that will (legally) allow permanent full time living in a tourer, so people who live full time generally hitch up and move every so often.
It is the land underneath the caravan that causes the problem - the land itself has to have planning permission to be used as a permanent residence.
Was thinking tourer, but now you've said that it may have to be static, only seen a few in West midlands, but wasn't sure about costs , just think it's going to be cheaper than renting, with all other costs rising , an it's just me an the dog
Quote: Originally posted by Riananny on 01/12/2024
Was thinking tourer, but now you've said that it may have to be static, only seen a few in West midlands, but wasn't sure about costs , just think it's going to be cheaper than renting, with all other costs rising , an it's just me an the dog
I certainly wouldn't recommend living in a static holiday caravan as you would have no security whatsoever, and could lose an awful lot of money. Park Homes certainly wouldn't be cheap. A tourer is a possibility, but it's doubtful you could stay on a site for very long. People do live in them, but usually they travel around quite a bit going from site to site. At least with a tourer if you were asked to leave the site as you have been there too long, you would be able to hitch it up and go. If you had a static holiday caravan you could be told to leave at any time and you would have to take the static too. A static holiday caravan without a site to put it on is virtually worthless as no other site will take it. I think you have a great deal of research to do before you do anything.
We lived in our caravan for 2 1/2 years and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. We had to get off the site end of November to return end of February.
Biggest issue is having someone's address that you can use as you will need it for driving licence, car registration and of course insurance. For obvious reasons you cannot use the site's address. Unfortunately I developed RA so needed to move back to proper home with bricks and mortar.
There are some parks which sometimes have residential park homes available to rent, which may or may not be cheaper than renting bricks&mortar - all depends on the area. These come under the Housing Act, so the terms and conditions will be very similar to any other rental.
If you are thinking of purchasing a park home on a residential site you do need to carry out a lot of research, while the majority of park home owners have no regrets, it certainly does not suit everybody.
You will still have the same utility bills and council tax, you will be responsible for the costs of insuring and maintaining the park home, AND there will be a form of rent in the pitch fee (which is for the right to keep the home on site); this may well be lower than a standard rent, but add this to the costs of insurance and maintenance and the money side may not be much better - plus, if you want to later sell the home, the site owner takes 10% of the sale price. And you will have to carry on paying the pitch fee until it is sold. You cannot get a mortgage on a park home.
DO NOT consider buying a static on a holiday site to live in unless you have made yourself well aware of the potential risks, which can be as severe as ending homeless and losing everything you have paid. You will often be told "lots of people do it" but without mentioning that lots of people also come badly unstuck, or "I did it with no problems" without mentioning that things have changed (not for the better) in the last 10 years and the risk is much higher than it was.
Already lost everything I worked for few years ago, home an everything in it , at moment in shared house with my dog, an no luck private renting as costs are sky high, so just thought a caravan / static or mobile may have been better , think your right will have to do a lot of research before I commit
I am doing the same thing - just about to buy a touring caravan and have found somewhere to put it long term (ish- may need to move on for a couple of months, then move back)
IMO it's doable and more and more people will be going down this route. Also environmentally better as less of a carbon footprint. Farmers are also seeing it as a way to survive. With the housing crisis and rocket sky rents I feel it will become more and more common. Good luck 🤞☺️❤️
Quote: Originally posted by Riananny on 02/12/2024
Already lost everything I worked for few years ago, home an everything in it , at moment in shared house with my dog, an no luck private renting as costs are sky high, so just thought a caravan / static or mobile may have been better , think your right will have to do a lot of research before I commit
Forget a static as they will, not may, cost you a lot of money at the end of the day i.e. pay £30000 today for a second hand unit and next year it can only be sold for £10000 or less!
Buy a twin axle touring caravan with island bed, bathroom & shower, kitchen etc. If buying consider HP over 5 years to keep costs down, but buy while you still have a permanent address. Once you are back on your feet, you can sell it and move on.
Just to add that we lived in the caravan on a site in Stourport on Severn and convenient to walk into the town for shopping.
One thing I'm worried about is keeping my cleaning job. I'm self employed but work for a company who finds me the cleans. Will they accept that I live in a caravan and have NFA??? I also have my own business but it's not making any money atm.
I will have to move further north and be re interviewed by the company in that area and they come round to meet you. I will have to ring them as I can't move into a caravan with no income. Can't stay here in my flat either 😩
Quote: Originally posted by JoanneAbi on 04/12/2024
One thing I'm worried about is keeping my cleaning job. I'm self employed but work for a company who finds me the cleans. Will they accept that I live in a caravan and have NFA??? I also have my own business but it's not making any money atm.
The only people who can answer this are the potential employers. You first need to decide what address you will use for the bodies that need an official postal address. If you are going to set up a "care-of" address, or a postbox address, then you need to do this while you still have a fixed postal address. Then you can explain to the cleaning company that you are using your caravan as accommodation because you have had to travel for work, but have a registered care-of address they can use, and see what they say.
I cannot speak from experience about getting work while living in a touring caravan, but it is fairly common for people who are working away from home to use alternative accommodations to be near their work; bed&breakfast/hotels/bedsits/friend's sofas/rented flats/touring or static caravan.
It is also usual/expected that people have a mobile phone as their contact number (and many people no longer even have a landline).
You will be in exactly the same situation as anybody else who has relocated for work. The only difference is that you will officially be of "no fixed abode" - but cannot think of any reason why an employer would need to know this.
Unless a potential employer has a valid reason to visit you at your home there is no real reason why they would even know that you are actually living full time in the van.
So see no reason why living in caravan should make any difference when you go to an interview.
Yeah agree but in this case they visit you in your home. They might not be bothered - it's only cleaning. I'm working through it and gaining confidence and if I need to go freelance I will and take all their work !!!!! 😂
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Permanent living
via mobile 01/12/2024 at 2:45pm
