When you hand over your money and take ownership of a static caravan you are making quite a sizeable purchase. Just like with anything else big that you buy, when the time comes that you decide to sell it pays off if you’ve looked after it. Caravans depreciate in value over time, but you’ll ensure you get the best possible price for your static if you keep on top of all of the necessary maintenance, repairs and domestic tasks. Why wouldn’t you do that anyway? Your static is your pride and joy!
In this edition of our blog we’ll look at the things you can do to ‘work towards’ a good selling price when you’ve reached the “I think I want to sell my static caravan” moment.
Our Tips For Getting The Best Price For Your Static
- Condition: This might seem obvious, and we just mentioned it in our introduction, but keeping your static caravan in good condition is a must. That means: a clean and tidy interior and with all fixtures, fittings and systems in good working order. Monitor the condition of the furniture and soft furnishings for serious wear and tear, check that things like hinges on cupboards are all tight and working correctly, and keep an eye on paintwork for chips and scratches. Obviously when you are living in a place and using all of these things regularly there will be some deterioration in quality, but you should do what you can to make sure things don’t get damaged or shabby.
Wash the soft furnishings, if they have removable covers, or sponge clean or wash them. You should also ensure that the exterior is up to spec. Check regularly for paintwork damage (scratches etc). Check the condition of (if you have it) your exterior decking etc. Basically, do everything you can to keep things ‘nice’ – and this will ensure as high a price as possible is available to you when the time comes to sell.
Similarly, all systems should be working correctly. You might need to occasionally get ‘the experts’ in to sort things out for you if there are performance issues – water systems, gas systems etc. Ultimately, your aim should be to keep your static in a condition as close to the original as possible.
- Restoration: It’s your place, so you will have personalised it – and that is acceptable, but there’s no getting round the fact that it can have a detrimental effect on its value. Your taste, your style, is different to everyone elses, so (just like you’d ‘neutralise’ the colour of your walls if you were selling your bricks and mortar home) you should ensure that any ‘wild’ colours or curtains, furnishings, carpets and so on are restored to the original basics.
Similarly, any additions you have put in there which might not suit other buyers should be removed or restored, if possible. For example, you might have replaced or reupholstered the furniture or installed a new kitchen. Surprisingly, this can have a negative consequence in terms of the sale value of your caravan, despite your perception that what you’ve done ‘makes the place nicer’. Most people, when buying, like to buy something that bland and inoffensive. Your intention, when selling, should be to have a caravan which you’ve restored to more or less an absolutely ‘blank canvas’ so that someone else can work their own personality, tastes and ideas into it.
A static caravan is at its highest value when it’s ‘box fresh’ – kitted and fitted with all of the original factory features. As we have mentioned, this may be surprising but it is broadly true. When you feel it is time for you to sell your static, you should do your best to make sure you can get it back to this original state, or as close to it as is possible. Obviously in many circumstances this is not possible (if you have installed a new kitchen, for example).
When the time does come to sell your static caravan or, at least, if you feel that you would like an idea of what your caravan is worth so are looking for a valuation, then don’t forget that here at Daly we buy static caravans using a hassle-free and simple three step process. Just fill in our quick valuation form and that gets the ball rolling on establishing what your static caravan is worth. We have a great deal of experience in this area, and our prices are always fair. If you have any further queries simply get in touch – we’d be more than happy to help!