Would you recommend subletting?

[pixie]

The title kinda says it all :D
In my heart of hearts i don't want to once i get my 'van....oops gone from "ours" to "my" :p
But it is a way for us to get one earlier.

[vanman]

think i answered this on your other post !!!! lol. folks will be along with their good stories and their horror stories. take it from there.

[pixie]

think i answered this on your other post !!!! lol. folks will be along with their good stories and their horror stories. take it from there.

You certainly did good man, was hoping for lots of different opinions though :D

[vanman]

don't worry, you'll get them lol

[fontaine]

Yes
I would reccomend it especially in thse times of osterity
I have no real horror stories through years of subletting apart from normal wear and tear
And maintenance
On balance it is well worth it

[treetopper]

The title kinda says it all :D
In my heart of hearts i don't want to once i get my 'van....oops gone from "ours" to "my" :p
But it is a way for us to get one earlier.

Pixie,
As you want more opinions.....
We went on our park because we cannot sublet.
But from what we have seen recently is families buying vans between them and splitting bills.
Also if in the future you have to sublet then you must select a site that allows this.
Good luck with your search:D

[mirkwood]

Would you recommend subletting?

oh yes ;)
we more than cover all costs , but saying that it depends on how much you want to use your van . we only go at the start and end of the season with a very few weekends inbetween so it works well for us,
so far only had a lamp shade broke this year, could have something to do with taking a damage deposit that is a must plus i use a very good cleaning company

[emmell]

I wouldn't sub-let, been there , done that, no more, no thanks.

I don't like the idea of strangers sleeping in my bed, using my shower and toilet and walking about in bare feet (yuk).

We leave clothes there, food there, booze there and lots of books and games and toiletries. Plus I like the spontaneity of just being able to go when the mood takes our fancy (I might have made that last quote up, but you know what I mean).

ML.

[Maddy]

We don't I think the reason I love the van is we don't need to take any stuff except milk and bread to have to empty it for guests would spoil it for me. To sit at home on a beautiful day when we could have gone would break my heart. However we chose a site which allows letting because you never know what will happen work wise these days, one of us or a close family member could be ill long term and we couldn't justify the cost of a van unused.

[Pauline]

The jury is still out with us on whether sub-letting is a good or bad thing. We bought our caravan in September last year, with no thought at all of sub-letting. After getting to know the people who owned the caravan previously to us and who have rented out for years, (they have another caravan), and under their advice, we decided to let the van out for rental just to cover costs, ie., site fees, insurance, etc. So far we've let it out for 4 weeks, with 4 more weeks to go. Now all expenses covered, jobs a goodun, yes/no? So far, after only 4 weeks, we've had to replace television, vacuum cleaner and shower head! The very first people we let to, a lovely, jolly, friendly old couple, managed in one short week to break the television to the point that it wouldn't even switch on AND the vacuum cleaner, by, I imagine trying to use it just that little bit further than the cable was capable of stretching and pulled the whole wire out of the back of the cleaner. None of which was mentioned before they left. The £50 bond obviously didn't cover all the damage they did.

Then we had two lovely families who left the caravan exactly as they found it. Last week's family had broken the shower head and never mentioned it.

Not too sure whether I can take the hassle next year, we'll have to have a serious think during the closed season about whether to do it again next year. If everything runs smoothly from now on, then maybe, if not, then probably not.

[pixie]

Thank you for the replies guys.

I feel the same about renting it out, like somehow it won't be our home from home as was initial intent...but i don't really wanna wait years to get one either which would be the case if we didn't rent.

[Angela B]

If you do your sums properly, choose your site carefully, ie affordable site fees, and budget accordingly you may not need to... there are some amazing bargains out there at the moment, sadly, we are seeing more coming up for sale due to changes in circumstance, so maybe go for a slightly older caravan, but higher spec? That way, you may be lucky enough to find one that's been 'treasured' by its owners, and may come with decking or equipped... that could in effect save you a small fortune!
Choose a site that allows you to sublet ~ just incase YOUR circumstances change, that way you are 'future proofed' and may be able to actually get one quicker ;)

[pixie]

If you do your sums properly, choose your site carefully, ie affordable site fees, and budget accordingly you may not need to... there are some amazing bargains out there at the moment, sadly, we are seeing more coming up for sale due to changes in circumstance, so maybe go for a slightly older caravan, but higher spec? That way, you may be lucky enough to find one that's been 'treasured' by its owners, and may come with decking or equipped... that could in effect save you a small fortune!
Choose a site that allows you to sublet ~ just incase YOUR circumstances change, that way you are 'future proofed' and may be able to actually get one quicker ;)

:D i'm dreaming of caravans LOL :D

[deejay24]

Letting is not for us.
Our caravan is one of our only proper "luxury" items. the kids have all their stuff there and it is literally like walking out of our house and into a second home-I would'nt like lodgers in my house for the same reason.
Several years ago BC (Before Caravan!) We made the mistake of letting close friends stay in our tourer-they broke a door, put a ciggie burn in the curtain and lost our plates!:confused: If close friends can treat our possessions like this I dont hold out much hope for strangers! we have the option to sublet if required, and we initially said we would if it meant that we may lose the van (change in finances etc) but I now doubt we would ever do it-I couldnt be doing with the hassle.
I think the problem is with all caravans is that they have an element of "fragility" to them, which is only properly appreciated by those who have paid for them and continue to care for them-not someone who is having a weeks jolly and isnt really bothered about losing £50 bond and expects doors to close with a healthy slam:rolleyes:

[pixie]

oh dear deejay24, that sounds awful!
We know just from parties at home what people can do and not tell you about...i wonder if people are that reckless with their own things...i think some of them are you know .... *sigh*

[woofty jones]

I wouldn't sub-let, been there , done that, no more, no thanks.

I don't like the idea of strangers sleeping in my bed, using my shower and toilet and walking about in bare feet (yuk).

We leave clothes there, food there, booze there and lots of books and games and toiletries. Plus I like the spontaneity of just being able to go when the mood takes our fancy (I might have made that last quote up, but you know what I mean).

ML.

My sentiments exactly emmell. I agree with everything you say. Can't help being possessive about 'our bolt hole by the sea'

[MuppetChops]

If you do your sums properly, choose your site carefully, ie affordable site fees, and budget accordingly you may not need to... there are some amazing bargains out there at the moment, sadly, we are seeing more coming up for sale due to changes in circumstance, so maybe go for a slightly older caravan, but higher spec? That way, you may be lucky enough to find one that's been 'treasured' by its owners, and may come with decking or equipped... that could in effect save you a small fortune!
Choose a site that allows you to sublet ~ just incase YOUR circumstances change, that way you are 'future proofed' and may be able to actually get one quicker ;)

Hi Pixie,

I agree with Ang on this one.

I would not buy a van if I had to rent it out to cover finance, etc. As Ang says, I would choose a site that allows you to sublet so you have got a safety net should your circumstances change in the future and you need a bit of help paying your site fees.

Also, if I had to rent the van out, I would do it myself - I would not allow one of the big companies to rent my van out on my behalf. They take a high percentage of the money they get for your van and, at the moment, they all seem to be having a big war, slashing their prices. You could end up with a lot less than you think and you will be paying for all the gas and electricity used - when it is cold, this could mean most of your rental income has been eaten up just by these costs. The other thing to bear im mind is that you could also end up with a lot of the cheap deals offered in newspapers in your van - again, you could end up losing out on these bookings. If you do it yourself, you will have more control over pricing ensuring it is worthwhile renting it out.

[dasboot]

When we bought our van,it was a private sale and not from the site owner.The lovely lady we purchased from offered us a list of eleven people including several members of her own family who she often let the van to and to also pass our number on to them.She also passed on a breakdown of the costs of income/expendature for the van and we could easily see that she was covering the costs of running the van.However,we decided not to go down that route as i wanted the van just for us.
The hardest part though is telling our family.I have a cousin who has a van on Unity Farm in Brean and he will let his van to just about anybody.Most of our family have let it from him(including us) and they all seem to think they're about to be able to holiday in a different place now(in our van)I hate having to tell them it's not up for rent and i'm begining to think that they believe they are being looked down upon by us.It's not the case though.How would they feel if i asked them if they could move out of their house so we could take over for a week? We see our van as our home and it's full of our personal items.We worked like dogs to afford it and we have to work like dogs to keep it,and i'm happy to keep doing it week in week out just so long as i can roll up,walk in and switch off for a day or two.

[DianeW]

Subletting is a definite no no for me.....I am far too emotionally attached to my van, and as others have said, we leave everything there ready for easy use.

It is just like our home, so though the money would be a big help, i couldnt cope with the stress of it, and that also includes family, the only other person who goes in it is our daughter, who sometimes takes her friend for a chill out weekend. She knows the rules and it must be left as found - or she wont go again.

[Lisawales]

We bought our caravan 2 months ago and have sub let it since (apart from when we have wanted to be down there). Already we have covered the site fees for next year and so for us the plan is to hopefully use it as an opportunity to pay the van off at a faster rate!

[Tiamaria589]

We bought our caravan 2 months ago and have sub let it since (apart from when we have wanted to be down there). Already we have covered the site fees for next year and so for us the plan is to hopefully use it as an opportunity to pay the van off at a faster rate!

well done lisa..
i suppose if you arnt able to use it as much as you would like to then you may as well get something for it towards the site fees..
you said you havent stayed in it yourself yet tho......

wonder if you will feel the same when you spend your first weekend in it...and i know that time is rapidly approaching......:D

[arronbrook]

To sub or not to sub - I think its a personal descision so personally I'd rather not have a caravan than have to sub let as it wouldn't be my "other" home and I'd not feel the same about it if I had to allow others to use it, I'm sure some are not as possessive as I am though.

[treetopper]

We bought our caravan 2 months ago and have sub let it since (apart from when we have wanted to be down there). Already we have covered the site fees for next year and so for us the plan is to hopefully use it as an opportunity to pay the van off at a faster rate!

The question I would ask.If you are always renting out and have finance on your van.Why not just rent a van ??????
Because your circumstances can change VERY VERY easily.

[Lisawales]

We use the van when we can which has actually been rather alot but I would rather let it out when were not there and it be making us some money! I love my van dearly but so far so good, we've had 6 people let the van off us and when we arrived for our weeks holiday last Saturday we found the van just as we left it (although I appreciate there will be a time when something gets broken etc), but for now subletting is working for us and any extra we make goes towards paying the van off sooner meaning that hopefully within a couple of years us and our 6 children will have a fully paid van on a beautiful park to use as and when we wish for many years to come.

[BarryD]

I'm with Lisawales on this... we sublet out van for the bulk of the time, and only use it for three weeks of the year. We would like to use it more but time and distance don't help.

We could "just rent a van" when we wanted but why should we? We've a great van, on a splendid plot in a nice developing site. OK it's more "fleet" than "ours" but that only takes 10 minutes to fix when we arrive HeHe.

[eddiesolo]

I am of the ilk that my van is my van, I will get the funds somehow, my wife has sworn blind she will not let this van go. It is our holiday home, all year round and that is it. Plus we cannot sublet anyway on our site. Family members are permitted to use it though.

Although I can see the benefit that it offers to other owners.

Si:)

[Sonni]

We bought our caravan 2 months ago and have sub let it since (apart from when we have wanted to be down there). Already we have covered the site fees for next year and so for us the plan is to hopefully use it as an opportunity to pay the van off at a faster rate!

I purchased my van last May and since my residence is overseas, really wish I could rent out but only permitted to have family/friends use van and nobody has expressed much interest. I unfortunately have only been able to use my van a total of 3 weekends all of last year. When I purchased, I was thinking that I possibly would retire this year and be able to spend at least 2-3months there this year but family/grandchildren and my job are still holding me here in Canada. Wish I had checked it thoroughly into having a van in a rentable park due to my circumstances! but I really like the peacefullness of this park and overlooking the loch. Who knows, we shall see! I will be over in 5 weeks though and staying 2 weeks. So roll on April!