People who own caravans at places like Haven, is it easy to make money by owning one?
Posted by Cornishlee@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 46 comments
We recently went to a Haven and got caught up in the idea of owning a caravan there. What’s the likelihood of actually making any money? Does the pressure of having to let people stay in it outweigh the nice bit of being able to go there whenever you want?
Seems like a bit of a timeshare but yet people still do it.
BigHeadedKid@reddit
If they are so profitable then why are the parks selling them to you?
Cornishlee@reddit (OP)
Yeah but by that standpoint, if they aren’t profitable then why do people have them?
normanriches@reddit
Yes really easy. Haven make a fortune.
If you mean personally then you are better off filling a black hole with money.
shysaver@reddit
No if you go into the world with a view to make money you’ll be very disappointed, BBC have been running a few articles recently about people who have been hoodwinked into parting with their life savings and losing most of it.
I’m actually staying in a holiday park right now in these massive caravans, 3bd each with ensuite, wine cooler, dishwasher etc, very nice and modern and good insulation. The park is selling them for £300k. I burst out laughing when I saw that, a fool and his money and all that
I suppose if you had £300k that you could not care less about it might be worth it as a fun side thing but you should never enter into these things as investments
okokoktytyty@reddit
Which holiday park?
BroodLord1962@reddit
Well you can't stay in it when ever you want if you plan to rent it out. The busiest times for holiday makers will be the same time you want to go there as well. Plus remember a lot of these places close over winter.
Cultural_Joke2025@reddit
Stay away from caravan, or mobile home parks. There's plenty of horror stories out there!
spaceshipcommander@reddit
If it was profitable, the company would do it themselves.
Party-Werewolf-4888@reddit
My brother has one and basically rents it out to cover the site fees (which are extortionate). He used to have a much smaller one on the same site and upgraded to a fancier one, downside of the fancier one is that he HAS to rent it out to cover costs. He hates all the packing up and locking away now, in the smaller one they'd come and go as they pleased as nobody else other than family ever stayed.
To make the best money they have to rent it out on key weeks- easter/school hols etc. It bothers them because that's when they really want to be there.
His is on Presthaven and its been robbed a few times- you'll notice all the patio furniture is chained to the decking because otherwise people will just take it. It also got trashed by a hen party, although I think Haven sorted it as they accepted the booking. Still not .
He has it because he has 4 young kids and its perfect for them, but they definitely used the smaller one more regularly as it felt more like a home from home. This one probably does feel like a timeshare, they really have to consider when they can and can't go and they have the rigmarole of packing everything when they decide to go.
Kamoebas@reddit
One near me has come up recently. 60k plus 6k a year site fees. 500 a month is a bit pricy for me to be able to spend most weekends away in the same spot.
dyUBNZCmMpPN@reddit
Even with double council tax you could buy a small flat or house in many holiday-friendly locations and spend a similar amount per month, with a lower total cost over of a few years after the depreciation is included
Jaded-Initiative5003@reddit
500 a month is my mortgage on a nice two bed flat damn that’s pricey for a static 😂
aembleton@reddit
And that's just for the side fee!
DigitalStefan@reddit
Which can increase by a lot at the whim of the site operator.
Site operator might be the most convivial, fair and level-headed person in the world, but the person they sell the site to next year is almost guaranteed to not be.
Plumb121@reddit
The news is full of people who didn't.
squigs@reddit
Here's how I see it;
Haven own most of the caravans. They have economies of scale, and understand the business so they can optimise efficiency. This means they'll make more money off a caravan than you can. The only reason they'll sell you one is if they'll make more money from you paying site fees than they would letting the caravan out. If you have a unique business strategy then it could work out I guess, but if you just want to do what Haven does you're not really in a position to compete.
The_Geralt_Of_Trivia@reddit
A friend of mine owned one a few years ago. He wasn't allowed to rent it out, as it was a site restriction.
When he sold it he had to pay a big chunk of the money to the site also, which was another contractual stipulation.
Not allowed to live in it 12 months of the year (site closed for 2-3 months a year)
Lost a lot of money on it. Not an investment at all. He used to go down and stay in it most weekends, as it was right by the beach and they did a lot of windsurfing, but he certainly paid for the luxury.
zephyrthewonderdog@reddit
Looked at it many years ago and realised it wasn’t a real business or financially viable.
The only person I know who is happy with his doesn’t rent it out. He lives and works remote from there several months of the year. No idea what he does when they shut. He also owns a flat he rents out - so he sort of does it back to front. Lives at the seaside and rents his flat out. His flat pays for his caravan.
As a business idea - forget it. You are throwing money away.
foozyfelt@reddit
The ONLY people making any money are the site owners
AutreMoiFrise@reddit
I worked for one of these companies and I’ve seen the real figures and it was an interesting insight. Some people made some money, some people made a nicer sum of money, the company made a whole lotta money.
Comfortable-Bug1737@reddit
A friend of mine does, but she lets it out herself and does all the cleaning, etc. She just pays the fees to have it at a Haven site.
Responsible_Club_638@reddit
Zero percent chance. It'll cost you a fortune and youll probably get ripped off if you ever try to sell it.
Plastic-Machine-9537@reddit
Short answer? No
Long answer? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Sad-Bag3443@reddit
My mother had one. She got value from it not you have to spend a lot of time there, she was retired so spent weeks at a time in the summer.
Renting out isn’t such an earner at it looks. You need to clean, provide sheets, ensure gas is full etc and the popular times to rent it out will be when you want to go, unless you don’t have kids.
Great in the summer but winters are cold on the coast and the caravans don’t hold any heat!
AlexAlways9911@reddit
If it made good money Haven would rent it out themselves
it_is_good82@reddit
The site fees for the big parks are more than what some people pay for their rent/mortgage.
Breaking-Dad-@reddit
It depends how you view it. Site fees are high, so you try to recoup some by renting out your caravan. But caravans cost money to maintain and are a depreciating asset, so you are losing money on your caravan too. But then you own a caravan somewhere you want to be on a regular basis. What would the cost of renting be? Or hotels? How much are you prepared to pay to have this? TLDR They are not an investment, they are something which costs money but gives you a holiday home
Tiny_Major_7514@reddit
Go watch the latest documentary on BBC - don't do it, a scam industry.
Scared_Turnover_2257@reddit
If you want a caravan buy a caravan but dont do it make money from and don't go into hock for one. I bought one for about a third of what someone paid for it a few years earlier becuase they were desperate to get out of it. I stay in mines when I need to get away and use it a lot. Friends and family also use it but I dont charge other than them topping up the gas etc.
Standard-Still-8128@reddit
We got one about 10y ago sold it just before COVID you'll not make money after sure fees cleaning insurance an the rest, even less chance now as they are way more expensive,we just rented to friends and family cheap at 150 a week an put money towards the fees just so our holidays ended to free or cheaper
Mission_Escape_8832@reddit
If you rent it out a lot, then you'll cover the site fees and other running costs. If you rent it out for most of the year, you will cover these and also make a small operational profit.
In the end, you will lose money hand over fist because nothing depreciates quicker than a static caravan.
If you are going to do it, then think of it not as a financial investment but more like a car - use it and enjoy it but understand that it is expensive to buy, expensive to run and when you finally sell it you'll get a fraction of the price you paid for it.
Saying that, we do it and love it. It's a second home in a stunning coastal location with sea views. We rent out during the school summer holidays, which covers about three-quarters of the site fees / running costs and have it for our own use the rest of the time.
screwfusdufusrufus@reddit
Nope money pits
ijs_1985@reddit
Absolutely not. Only buy one if you are looking to spend a combined few months a year there, or buy with a few family members
Particular_Work_1789@reddit
Buying a tin box hundreds of miles from home and letting strangers live in it. What could possibly go wrong?
Teembeau@reddit
The reason for getting a park caravan is that you want one and you want to use it a lot, want family and friends to use it. And then, you might make a little money on it being rented when not using it.
It's the same thing with holiday homes abroad. Everyone thinks they'll buy a house, use it for a fortnight and print money for the rest of the year.
rev-fr-john@reddit
You are about to embark on one of the biggest scams going and within a year you'll know something the rest of us know now, unfortunately it's going to cost you £40,000 to learn the hard way, the Internet is full of this kind of thing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/s/ZvGMhzDmrJ
Cyanopicacooki@reddit
Radio 4 has been broadcasting a lot of stories about how caravans are a rip off.
ThaGooch84@reddit
I'm not entirely sure what this lady was expecting. Yes she's been ripped off in terms of the caravan cost but she wasn't renting it out its almost as if she believed the caravan would be worth more when she sold it, like an investment. She's been greatly misled but she's also extremely naive for her age. She clearly couldn't afford the caravan in the first place and Instead of selling it at such a big loss she should have just rented it out to claw some money back over 5 years. She got into something she new nothing about sadly and the company jumped onit. If you know what your doing caravans can be lucrative but it wont be your holiday home
Sniffy_LongDroppings@reddit
I’m sure I watched a video about it on YouTube and they were saying things like it’s not as simple as they make it sound and that there’s a lot of clauses that come with it. Things like they don’t allow caravans older than 10 years old and then they pressure you into buying a new one through them.
EeveesGalore@reddit
My parents considered the idea a while back and then decided against it after discovering that the site rental feels are very high and it isn't really much cheaper than a flat but without the benefit of being an appreciating asset. (They didn't buy a flat either, just decided it's much better to just pay to go on holiday and then you have the benefit of being able to go to different places)
There's a reason why site operators are so keen to sell static caravans. The caravans depreciate whilst the land (which you never own) appreciates.
I don't recall any pressure to let people stay in it. I think that was more of an option to subsidise your ownership cost but I don't think it would ever be a cash cow for whoever bought the caravan.
DOPEYDORA_85@reddit
To make any kind of money, you need to look at much smaller companies than the likes of haven, you need to do your ground work and I would suggest you need to be realistic you will need 2 or 3 minimum for it to be worthwhile.
Honestly though I wouldn't, unless it was more for personal use and cash flow wasn't an issue
CarpeCyprinidae@reddit
the advertising makes it feel like an investment - truth is, it's a trap. the site imposes fees that you can't control or appeal against, and you are competing with every caravan on cheaper sites.
Difficult even to get out of the arrangement as they are hard to sell
RobertGHH@reddit
Simple.
Don't do it.
PerceptionGreat2439@reddit
One word.
No.
One_Pangolin_999@reddit
see recent bbc article
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