This is the ultimate guide on how to sell your static caravan in 2022.
In this brand-new guide you’ll learn:
- How to find out your static’s value
- Factors affecting your static’s value
- How to increase your static’s value
- The ways in which you can sell your static
- Costs involved with selling your static
So, if you want to know how to sell your static caravan for as much money as possible, you’ll find this guide helpful.
Factors affecting your static caravan’s value
There are a number of different factors that will have an effect on your static caravan’s value.
Some of them you will be able to manage, however some of them you won’t.
Let’s look at five of the most influential factors on your caravan’s value, and what you can do to address them.
Condition/age
The condition and age of your static caravan are both going to have an impact on its value.
After all, a clean and well-maintained caravan is the sign of a caravan that has been well looked after.
The age you can’t do anything about, however the condition you can.
The interior and exterior condition need to be as pristine as possible if you are to get the best sale fee for your caravan.
This should mainly involve repairing any damages and cleaning the caravan so it looks as close to brand new as you can get it.
Optimising your caravan’s condition should be an essential for anyone, as it doesn’t require much investment if you can do all, or most, of it yourself.
Features
The more desirable and high-quality features you have on your caravan, the more money your caravan is going to be worth.
Double glazing and central heating are two good examples of core features that will really help to drive up the price of your caravan.
Other features such as electric fireplaces and extractor fans will also contribute to a higher sales fee.
These sorts of things aren’t worth buying for the purpose of a sale as you won’t even get close to a return on investment, however they’re good things to note when advertising (more on this later).
Outstanding finance
As with all commodities, outstanding finance payments can complicate the sales process, but this doesn’t mean a sale isn’t possible.
The unfortunate news is if you’ve got an outstanding finance balance, you are not the legal owner of the caravan and will need to settle the balance before you can sell – the legal owner is actually the finance company until the balance is settled.
Selling your home to a static caravan dealer is often the easiest solution for those with outstanding finance left to pay, as the dealer will usually take care of the finance settlement for you and deduct it from your final sale fee.
This means you will still need to pay the finance settlement of course, however the dealer will complete the process for you.
Size/bedrooms/berths
As you could probably have guessed, the bigger your static caravan, the more money it is likely to be worth.
However, a big static caravan doesn’t directly translate to a big sales fee. All other factors we have discussed are still going to have an impact.
For example, a well looked-after two berth static caravan may be worth more than a poorly looked-after three berth static caravan.
All variables work in tandem to formulate the value of your static caravan.
Finding out your static caravan’s value
a) Ask knowledgeable people
It almost goes without saying but asking the right kind of people around you is always a good place to start – anybody with some form of knowledge on static caravan ownership would be worth an ask.
For example, start with your park owner/manager if you have one. The likelihood is they deal with the sales and purchases of static caravans on your site and will therefore work with valuations.
Experienced static caravan owners can also be good people to ask as they are likely to have been through the same process in the past and can therefore use their experience to help you along the way.
b) Check current listings
The internet can be a wonderful thing, and if used correctly, can be all you need to establish a rough price for your static caravan.
The more time you put into researching static caravan prices across listing sites such as eBay and AutoTrader, the greater your understanding of static caravan valuations will become.
Make sure to look at each of the variables we mentioned previously that will affect the value of each caravan, as listing sites will help to give you an idea of how influential each of these factors are on sale prices.
Top tip: Look through the sold listings as these reflect what prices static caravans are actually selling for. Unsold listings may be littered with overvalued caravans that are never going to sell at their listed price, and may obstruct your understanding of real, accurate valuations.
c) Use a valuation tool
Perhaps the most reliable and certainly the easiest method of obtaining a valuation for your static caravan is using a free online valuation tool.
Online valuation tools enable you to receive a valuation directly from an expert of the industry, so are the most likely to reflect the true value of your caravan.
What you choose to do with your valuation is up to you. You can either use the valuation as a benchmark to sell your static caravan privately or sell directly to the valuation provider for the obtained figure.
Methods for how to sell your static caravan
a) To the park owner
Arguably the easiest way of selling your static caravan is straight to your park owner.
This method requires almost no knowledge of your home, so you don’t need to do any market research beforehand, nor do you need to supply any of your home’s details.
That being said, it’s always beneficial to have a rough idea of what your caravan is worth so you can ensure you don’t let it go for far less than it’s worth.
However, while it might be easier, selling to your park owner is not the most lucrative method of selling your static caravan.
You will likely receive a ‘trade price’ as opposed to the open market price, so chances are you’ll receive a better fee elsewhere.
On the other hand, you won’t have to pay any fees for disconnection and collection.
b) To a trader/dealer
Generally speaking, a static caravan trader can offer you a better sales price than your park owner.
The process is often surprisingly easy:
- Fill in an online valuation form, supplying a few basic details about your static caravan such as the brand, age, size etc.
- The dealer will contact you to arrange an appointment, during which they will inspect your caravan and make you an offer.
- If you accept the offer, the dealer will agree a payment option with you and organise the disconnection and collection of your caravan.
There are a few important things to remember when selling your static caravan to a dealer/trader. None of them should prevent you from exploring this option, but they’re worth considering:
- Notice to terminate your agreement
Some parks require notice from their owners if they plan to remove their static caravan from the site. This can vary anywhere from 14 days to 120 days, so it’s important to know exactly how much notice you’ll need to provide your park owner ahead of a sale.
- Disconnection and removal costs
Disconnection costs are the fees associated with disconnecting the supply of services to your static caravan, including gas, electric, water and sewerage.
The removal costs cover the process of removing your static caravan from its pitch for transportation to a new location.
In some instances, a holiday park will not permit the disconnection of services and removal of a static caravan, primarily for safety reasons, which is why it’s important to check your agreement ahead of a sale.
Removal costs can start at around £1,000 and stretch all the way up to £5,000, however the extra money acquired from selling to a dealer should cover these costs and then some.
c) Privately
Selling your static caravan privately will yield the best possible price for your home, provided you know what your caravan is worth.
However, this involves doing all the leg work yourself, and it can be difficult.
First of all, you will need to get advertising. There are costs associated with this and if you’re going to advertise properly then you’re going to require a decent level of knowledge about your caravan.
You will also need to provide tours of your home to potential buyers, which will need to fit into your schedule alongside work and other commitments.
Commission rates are another cost you will need to consider. Most parks typically charge 10% to 20% commission on all private sales, which can deduct a large sum from your total figure.
If you’re selling to a buyer who wants the static caravan removed from the site, disconnection and removal, costs will again need to be considered.
While it may seem like there can be a lot of costs and commitments involved with selling privately, which there are, provided you do things properly and efficiently, this is the avenue which will earn you the most money for the sale of your static caravan.
Find out more about how to sell your static caravan by giving us a call on 07891 015362 or, for a quick and easy way to get a valuation on your static caravan, use Daly Caravans’ very own ‘Static Caravan Valuation Tool’.