new and totally clueless to static holiday homes

[glenn]

Hi everyone we are glenn and claire from south wales and we are just about to take the expensive leap of faith in to static holiday ownership with park dean camarthan bay holiday park, is there anyone else on the park with a static who can give any advice on renting out our van to help recuperate some or all of our money also how long are we allowed to keep the van on our pitch, we have been told by sales that a 2012 model still has 10 years life is this correct please or are we just being sold on sales speak as we dont have this information in writing         

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[fhb2]

Hello and welcome.
I would say - sales speak applies.
(a)
As far as the length of time that you can keep the van on the pitch, this entirely depends on what your contract says.
No matter how nice the sales person, do NOT EVER rely on anything you are told about how long you can keep it on site unless it is in writing.
Yes, a 2012 static can easily last 10 or more years.
This does not mean that it can remain on the same site - you need to know what age limits the site allows.
Some contracts specify a set period (usually that after a certain age, which can be as little as 10 years, the van has to be replaced or removed).
Some contracts do not specify any period, they are rolling contracts that are intended to be renewed annually - which means that your terms and conditions, including whether you can keep the van on site, can be changed or terminated at the whim of the site owner.
(b).
If you need to rent the van out to cover costs, then it is possible that owning a static is not a good idea.
It is unlikely that you will recover all costs,  you may get enough to cover the annual pitch fee - but there are a lot of costs and legal duties associated with renting out a van, it needs a lot more research than just asking on a forum.
The sales person has probably indicated that renting out your van is a guaranteed way of recovering costs - if it was so good, why are they so keen to sell you the van instead of keeping it and renting it out themselves?
The park cannot lose - you still have to pay all the fees and running costs whether or not anyone is renting it (and a 2012 model will be at the lower end of the revenue stream).
Ask the park for a breakdown of costs involved - including their fees for managing rental ad whether they guarantee any income.(and again, in writing).


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[Sparkalicious]

Hi Glenn and welcome mate,

So I am on a Park Dean site in Cornwall. We love it there but there are some massive caveats to that.

- Most of the site staff you see day to day are great. We have made friends with them and it makes for an easier life. They do us favours and we get them the odd bag of treats to share among themselves.

- We mostly keep to ourselves and don't really interact with site management or other patrons on the site other than the odd visit to the night disco for the kids. Every time we have tried to interact with the management it has always ended up in disappointment. Either you can't get hold of them or you have to constantly chase them to get jobs done. Now we do our own drain downs and all we rely on them for is the gas and electrical certificates which they always do late and head office, in Newcastle, chase you for even though you have told them to do it.

- We rented for a while, our van was brand new at the time, but came off the scheme due to damage. Even though we did earn a fair chunk of change in the couple of months we rented through the Park Dean scheme the 'van was damaged on several occasions and Park Dean really don't care. They have their slice of the pie and it is then over to you to run the bill through the insurance company. They will repair it and invoice you but there was no concern whatsoever that damage had been done. They didn't even spot it when cleaning up, it was only spotted by my mother in law when she was down there for a week. So rent at your own risk. If it is to be your pride and joy, as mine is, then I wouldn't bother. Renting also means you can't personalise the 'van. No pictures of the kids or art work etc. Just has to be a plain box or you pack it all away every time you leave etc.

- Our site says the 'van can not be older than 15 years. I think it used to be around 10-12 as that was the score for my neighbour and he did get it extended for a couple of years past his termination date but that is not guaranteed.

All that above, it is one of the best things we as a family have bought. The kids love it. Entertainment around every corner. But as fhb2 says do research and don't buy into the snake oil the sales team may be spouting. At the end of the day they are on commission and will drop you like a stone once you have signed onto the dotted line.

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