In between homes

MikeH

MikeH

Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Posts
157
Likes collected
205
Location
Wilmslow, UK
Funster No
63,246
MH
2020 Bessacarr 597
Exp
2012
Just looking for general advice. We’re looking to sell our home in the next month or so but new house won’t be ready for 6-8 months so thinking about the in between. We can live in our MH for that period but weighing up long term pitch, renting lodge type place, renting caravan on a site etc to act as a temp home. We’re in Wilmslow Cheshire. Anyone had a similar situation with thoughts re sites, costs etc. just sounding things out at present
 
Maybe think about a mixture, sounds like you will be going over expensive uk holiday seasons when maybe cheaper to be in France or Spain with MH.
Factor in new house build going over time expected, they always do.
 
We rented for what was supposed to be a year and ended up being more than 3 years :( - long story but eventually involved legal action against the builder. However we had a teenage daughter living with us so felt that bricks and mortar would be best for her - and give her the privacy she needed. This was probably the most expensive option and we had to move three times. First time the landlord died and the executor gave notice as he wanted to sell a vacant property, second rental the people were in the armed forces and their service ended so they needed their house back (they sold very soon afterwards - I think they had only bought it to stay on the property ladder and as an investment). The third rental was a farm cottage, electric heating and was cold all year round. We moved into our present house before it was finished (it still isn't finished to be honest!!!!) and were grateful to do so.

If it was just the two of us I would either live in the motorhome on site (but that might be a bit small - I'd build the garage first (straw bale build ?) and get a shower loo and temporary kitchen in there), or buy an old residential caravan to put on the site (two sets of friends did that, both had children) residential caravans are damp and cold in the winter and not always easy to sell on afterwards, or get a 5th wheeler. I have no experience of the 5th wheelers

Edit: when we were pre-children we completed on the sale of one house before the next was available and we had a week in a residential caravan on a holiday park out of season. It was okay but I wouldn't want to do that long term. The caravan was infested with earwigs and it took most of the week to get rid of them. I don't like earwigs .....

:)
 
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We were thinking of trying to find a site for a few months as we have pets with us. We have an 8m van so it’s liveable for a good stretch but wondering about availability and what sort of prices the sites would charge. Just came off the Blakemere site after a few nights and they would do it but don’t have availability so it is something that’s workable
 
We were in the same position as you selling our home without our new house been ready. Should of only been a couple of month but with covid ended up 6 months.

We stayed in our motorhome on a site at Wigan which is up the M6 from Blakemere, on electrc, had a cafe, laundry, and walkable to food shop. As we wanted long term we got a good monthly rate on a rolling month basis. Had our delivery company collect, store our furniture and then delivery to our new house and stored hubbies bikes with a car storage place near Manchester Airport.

Very doable.
 
How about on site security? Staying on a self builders plot for instance.

I'm sure if you Google it there are websites that offer it.

How about local farmers looking for security?
 
Rosemary1 said:
We were in the same position as you selling our home without our new house been ready. Should of only been a couple of month but with covid ended up 6 months.

We stayed in our motorhome on a site at Wigan which is up the M6 from Blakemere, on electrc, had a cafe, laundry, and walkable to food shop. As we wanted long term we got a good monthly rate on a rolling month basis. Had our delivery company collect, store our furniture and then delivery to our new house and stored hubbies bikes with a car storage place near Manchester Airport.

Very doable.
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That’s just what we’re looking for, maybe a bit closer to home though as we’ve 4 grandkids who would be visiting. Need storage for motorbike too so that’s promising. What did the site charge/month?
 
I'd not want to live in the van as a static.
But if you don't need to be around for the build, at least the early part of it, then now would be a good time for an extended tour.

Keep in mind, as a rule of thumb, double any time estimates given by the builders, so if they are talking 6-8 months (September-November 22) I'd suspect a more realistic completion date is the summer of 2023.

Therefore I'd suggest touring for the summer of 2022, and then heading for a place by the seaside for the winter of 2022-23. There are many seaside houses that are rented out during the summer and the owners are then very happy to get in a 3 month booking for the winter season.

Just make sure you pick a house that is suitable for the winter! Decent heating, double glazing, etc.

3 months is the maximum booking they can do as still keep the house as a 'FHL' (Furnished holiday let), but if there are two of you the solution is they rent it for 3 months to one of you and then 3 months to the other.

Be aware actors and authors are well aware of the seaside houses over the winter, many return to the same houses year after year.
The insurance companies also know about seaside house availability:
If there is major flooding anywhere in the UK, it's the seaside houses that the insurance companies move all the people to (even if they are 200 miles from the flooded house), so you may end up with some surprising competition when you are looking in October/November

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MikeH said:
That’s just what we’re looking for, maybe a bit closer to home though as we’ve 4 grandkids who would be visiting. Need storage for motorbike too so that’s promising. What did the site charge/month?
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As has been suggest above, if you are building a stand alone garage, get that built and completed first.
No only does it give you a place to plumb in the water, the electricity meter, and even the phone line/wifi
It also give you a place to store stuff, or, for the builder to store stuff and use as a shelter.

We have refurbed several houses, the very first thing we do is always to build the garden shed and fit it out with electricity and if possible, water.
Only then do we start with the demolition etc
 
The house we’re moving too is a Redrow one on a new development so it’s not just a one off that a builder is working on for us. The release date for sale is a good few months before it’s ready. That’s the issue.
 
MikeH said:
The house we’re moving too is a Redrow one on a new development so it’s not just a one off that a builder is working on for us. The release date for sale is a good few months before it’s ready. That’s the issue.
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We were in the same position but luckily we had our own static to stay in over winter for 8 months. Would it be feasible to buy an older static on a site that the yearly fees already paid then sell on when finished, when your away in motorhome rent it out for a few Bob.
 
MikeH said:
That’s just what we’re looking for, maybe a bit closer to home though as we’ve 4 grandkids who would be visiting. Need storage for motorbike too so that’s promising. What did the site charge/month?
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I think it was around £310 a month - you can find them on Facebook - Charity farm Wrightington Wigan. Is also a livery yard and fisheries. To be honest the plan was to travel round the country stopping at different places for a few days ……….but Covid stopped all that!
 
big bertha said:
We were in the same position but luckily we had our own static to stay in over winter for 8 months. Would it be feasible to buy an older static on a site that the yearly fees already paid then sell on when finished, when your away in motorhome rent it out for a few Bob.
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We were thinking about that when at Blakemere. There was a one for sale on there but were unsure how easy it would be to sell on afterwards

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Rosemary1 said:
I think it was around £310 a month - you can find them on Facebook - Charity farm Wrightington Wigan. Is also a livery yard and fisheries. To be honest the plan was to travel round the country stopping at different places for a few days ……….but Covid stopped all that!
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Wow that’s a good price
 
This is an interesting thread. We are about to do this our new build not ready till summer 23. We are selling up and probably moving into a rental. We have a daughter at uni and feel we need a base. Very tempted to go travelling though. With the cost of bills on top of rent it’s expensive to rent a place. Interested in how people find the holiday rentals for 3 months.
 
Spidey said:
This is an interesting thread. We are about to do this our new build not ready till summer 23. We are selling up and probably moving into a rental. We have a daughter at uni and feel we need a base. Very tempted to go travelling though. With the cost of bills on top of rent it’s expensive to rent a place. Interested in how people find the holiday rentals for 3 months.
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The official route is to go to companies such as Cottages.com and have a browse on the website to see what is available.

You may need to make a call and speak to a human, as not all owners of "winter suitable" properties are prepared to rent out for the maximum permitted 3 months.

If you start looking now, there will still be plenty available, but you may need to move fairly fast as the Xmas/New Year period gets booked up fast, certainly usually gone by June-July.

The official route means you will pay the weekly going rate for that property according to their schedule.

The slightly less official route is to ask local Estate Agents, they usually know who owns the properties, and for a fee, will set up a deal.

The best route is to find the owner directly, best way to do this is via the cleaners.
The owners are usually amenable to charging a flat weekly/monthly rate which may be considerably less that the likes of Cottages.com would charge and also probably a bit less than the Estate Agents would charge (as no fees)
 
Our daughter is training at Macclesfield, last year we visited her staying at welltrough farm. Lovely site but at the time facilitys were closed due to covid. They are full most weekends but quiet during the week. I did wonder if a couple of units were full time on site. might be worth a look.
 
Brains said:
The official route is to go to companies such as Cottages.com and have a browse on the website to see what is available.

You may need to make a call and speak to a human, as not all owners of "winter suitable" properties are prepared to rent out for the maximum permitted 3 months.

If you start looking now, there will still be plenty available, but you may need to move fairly fast as the Xmas/New Year period gets booked up fast, certainly usually gone by June-July.

The official route means you will pay the weekly going rate for that property according to their schedule.

The slightly less official route is to ask local Estate Agents, they usually know who owns the properties, and for a fee, will set up a deal.

The best route is to find the owner directly, best way to do this is via the cleaners.
The owners are usually amenable to charging a flat weekly/monthly rate which may be considerably less that the likes of Cottages.com would charge and also probably a bit less than the Estate Agents would charge (as no fees)
Click to expand...
I'd look at holiday properties then google their name and see if the owners have their own website for bookings maybe look at them on trip advisor rather than through an agents website.

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I would look at local sites to where you want to be and give them a call, tell them what your thinking and you might be surprised, the cost could be very reasonable…
 

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