We had an enquiry the other day which made us think. Well, it was more of a complaint than an enquiry! Here it is in full:
“Pitch fees are too high. And i would not be using my depreciating asset every week. People do what i done. But a two bed flat st a seaside resort. You then have a appreciiating Asset. And concil tax is circa £2200. And you have all amenities at hand plus the beach. 52 weeks of the year. And also no restrictionsplaced upon you. Buy a caravan is a crazy investment.“
There’s a lot of ground to cover there! But for the purposes of this FAQ we will focus on a) council tax, and b) buying an apartment as an asset.
Council Tax
According to the internet, average council tax for Yorkshire & Lincolnshire is around £1,750 for Band B and £2,000 for Band C. That’s if it’s your main residence. So paying second home rates is double that – you’re looking at £3,500 to £4,000 which is same as pitch fees. Our article below on whether pitch fees are expensive goes into this comparison… and you get a lot more bang for your buck with pitch fees!
Buying an appreciating asset
So there are two parts to this: in the first instance, buying a holiday home is not a financial investment. It is an investment in yourself, your family, your friends – it is your happy place that you can have for a fraction of the capital outlay of a flat or house. It will almost certainly decrease in financial value, but as you make memories and increasingly associate it with calm and relaxation, it will grow in “socioemotional” value. It is somewhere you can retreat for some R&R whenever you want… it is where you can take your kids/grandkids and give them a childhood in the countryside… it is an escape to a beautiful part of the country you can gift a friend who’s having a bad time and needs a break… the benefits are endless. And if after decades of memory-making and happiness and friendship it’s not worth very much… isn’t that money well spent?
Furthermore, even if you have the money to buy property as a holiday home and investment… we wonder whether that’s the right thing to do. Some people think that such actions directly contribute to the country’s housing crisis by taking properties out of circulation as residences. That’s the beauty of holiday parks – people can have a holiday escape without depriving anyone of a home.
See the below FAQs which are linked to the points raised here.