Considering caravan storage

[Ted M]

Considering a small diversification into caravan storage, probably only 25-30 in some soon to be surplus buildings.
Site has separate access to rest of farm and could be made secure relatively easily.
Have read somewhere that would be better to set up as a separate business so as not to charge VAT, but wondering if extra accounts on a smallish enterprise would swallow up what was saved?
Would also appreciate any thoughts on planning if needed,business rates, what to charge and any extras we could supply such as washing facilities, airline etc to help the job along?

 

[wasted years]

I put mu c/van income through my personal account to avoid vat which my accountant says is fine.
I wouldn't be that bothered about offering additional services as that gives them the excuse to hang around the place parping about.
I charge $150 outside or £300 inside per year but it is low tech and a bit muddy in places.

 

[TripleSix]

@Dman2

 

[Phil P]

£316 outsid £400 inside but that’s including vat, it’s also worth registering with CaSSoA (we where awarded gold star status) as we get around 2-3 enquiries a week. So have a constant waiting list. Got 100on now (constantly full) but would like to expand, but struggling to get planning on the extension as it will go into green belt!
Be careful with indoor storage as it will be classed as change of use from ag so will be rateable on the council tax.

 

[CORNFLAKE]

We charged £360/year for outside and were always full and had waiting list. We have given it up now as we wanted the space for something else.Its a good low cost diversification project but be prepared as the caravans are their pride and joy. We had a few that would come unannounced just to look at it or check for damp etc. Set rules at the start and it's best if you are a peoples person.

 

[Ted M]

Thanks for your replies. Do most sites park the vans up for their customers (probably depends on layout I guess) and get them out again?
What,if any sort of notice period do you operate and I assume they have to pay for their space for the whole year not just the winter if they want to keep it?

 

[Courier]

Thanks for your replies. Do most sites park the vans up for their customers (probably depends on layout I guess) and get them out again?
What,if any sort of notice period do you operate and I assume they have to pay for their space for the whole year not just the winter if they want to keep it?

Touch another man's caravan at your peril ........

 

[Phil P]

Thanks for your replies. Do most sites park the vans up for their customers (probably depends on layout I guess) and get them out again?
What,if any sort of notice period do you operate and I assume they have to pay for their space for the whole year not just the winter if they want to keep it?

We just leave them to it as I don’t have time to pull them out plus there’s the liability if you damage one. You’ll get more in if you park them you’re self though.
We charge for the full year but do offer a part refund if they leave earlier.

 

[Dman2]

Being at the poorer end of the country, we charge £240 a year outside, @ the going rate around here.
Used to be Cassoa registered but not any more, after they hiked the membership fees up a few years back.
Security is the big issue, but depends a bit on location.
We work on an access control system where everyone has a proximity card which will open and automatic gate, which also closes behind them, so they need the card to get back out again.
It logs all movements back to the office PC as well, combined with cameras good enough to read number plates
We accept monthly payments by standing order, easy to set up for each customer and gives us the edge over over sites.
Seperate business from the farm, so no Vat.
Used to keep a few inside, but more hassle than its worth unless you have a lot of surplus buildings

Edit
Everyone has their own space, and park their own vans up. Not worth trying to be there to do it for them, but we have over 200 vans in so would be a full time job just doing that

 

[Phil P]

It’s also a good idea to make them remove any gas cylinders, if you don’t and there’s a fire the fire brigade won’t go in. We use a small contract that stipulates cylinders must be removed along with a few other site rules.

 

[Dman2]

If you want to make a bit extra
Start stocking gas cylinders

 

[YoungLad]

On average how big are the self park pitches? I assume the site is all hard standing?

 

[B R C]

Is there a market for Winter only storage? ie nice empty grain store...

 

[Smith31]

How do people get on with business rates?... any idea what it works out to per caravan parking space? TIA

 

[How much]

business rates will depend on your area, rural areas are cheaper at around £2 to £2.50 sq m rateable value, urban or fringe of urban that could go up to £8.50 or more .

A few ways to do it in terms of spacing , centre to centre of bays at 3.5m give loads of space and is i think the caravan storage association recommended standard but a bit wasteful 3m is probably to tight for you average caravaner some of them are truly terrible drivers.
bigger spaces could be worth more money and i think most would pay a little more for the privilege.

motorway crash barriers laid on there sides are good way to make the spaces out and ensure that the vans back right up to them so there wheels are touching the barrier, and parking them herringbone should allow you to keep the roadways slightly narrower than having them them back in at 90 degrees

 

[Dman2]

We get small business rate relief which actually this year brought it down to zero ( hav`nt figured that one out yet)
We were originally told that if it was on tarmac it would be treble the cost, however planeings are ok
Rates were £1600 in the 1st year

There is a limited market for winter storage, a lot of campsites are now open from march till November or even longer so any that are on seasonal pitches are only looking for 3 month storage

The more space you give them the more they will take
Most of those that cannot reverse, now have motor movers fitted, so parking not a problem.
We have had maybe 3 cases of someone hitting the next door caravan in 20 years so not a big problem

 

[Jerry]

I’ve got about 60 here.

Kept separate from farm income so vat is out of the equation.

There is a rent paid to the farm though to keep vat people happy.

Inside is £10 a week. Outside £8 a week on hard standing.

I have to move done if the inside ones as they are double stacked in places.

They have access 24/7 and I have CCTV watching it.

Never bothered with the membership of the storage accsocitation as it brings nothing to be honest.

I have 3rd party insurance. NFU gave dedicated caravan storage policies for on farm sites.

You need to be people/service oriented.