All year residential mobile home parks?

killbillvol2

Orlak2410 wrote: »

Does anyone know if there are any mobile home parks in the greater dublin area that are open all year long that you can permanently live in?

I know a family living year round in a park near Bettystown. Quite a number of permanent residents there. And another near Carlingford. The couple in Carlingford have one of those non mobile type buildings and just pay rent to the site owner and pay for services.

So, in short, they do exist.

Graces7

titan18 wrote: »

Have you ever spent time in one?

We have one in Kerry that we use in the summer and by late August they get very cold. Same when you go down in May.

The park we're in shut down in September and reopen end of April and owner turns off services. It's sensible to do so, we'd just be paying higher fees for them if it was open year round and very few would have any interest in going down to them.

We are not talking , I think, about a summer park but one that is open all year and equipped for that. "cold" depends what you are used to. Many cheaper rentals are far from warm. Trailers can be snug places. And yes,

Rodney Bathgate

Irish_peppa wrote: »

Wonder what would happen if you arrived at a halting site with a caravan and casually parked up in a free spot. I guess in theory you would be allowed or would you have to give some sort of evidence you were a genuine traveller?

You can self identify as a traveller.

Victor

Graces7 wrote: »

In what way , please? Our winters are not severe.

Most mobile homes in Ireland are completely uninsulated. No only do you risk freezing, but so does the plumbing. The large surface area relative to the volume will mean they can freeze very quickly.

Man with broke phone

Horrible the way things are going that people think they should fix the houseing problem by making the young and poor live in vans and caravans. Once this becomes a thing it soon becomes the norm. Then it just becomes accepted.

There is a few year round sites up by donabate, skerries balbriggan. The one I have experience and know prople from is full of drug dealers and prostitutes. People who keep getting kicked out of theor rental accomodations because the houses keep getting raided. They can live there annonymously.

All day drinking, fighting and cars and caravans getting burned regularly. It certainly not a place for a young family or a woman looking to grow a few vegetables in her little garden.

runawaybishop

Orlak2410 wrote: »

I don't know why permanent residential 'trailer parks' are so popular in North America but nowhere else

Because in America they don't care about people and their houses are often not much better built than a cardboard box.

Orlak2410

Man with broke phone wrote: »

Horrible the way things are going that people think they should fix the houseing problem by making the young and poor live in vans and caravans. Once this becomes a thing it soon becomes the norm. Then it just becomes accepted.

There is a few year round sites up by donabate, skerries balbriggan. The one I have experience and know prople from is full of drug dealers and prostitutes. People who keep getting kicked out of theor rental accomodations because the houses keep getting raided. They can live there annonymously.

All day drinking, fighting and cars and caravans getting burned regularly. It certainly not a place for a young family or a woman looking to grow a few vegetables in her little garden.

Sounds like the trailer parks in america but a lot of flats and council estates are dangerous places aswell

Man with broke phone

Orlak2410 wrote: »

Sounds like the trailer parks in america but a lot of flats and council estates are dangerous places aswell

These are the lads the council estates dont want to be honest.

In fairness its hard for young men to get council housing and they end up on rent allowance. The rent allowance they get doesnt cover a besit in dublin anymore. They have to get shared accomadation.

After a few years getting thrown out, police raided, not paying rent, leaving without notice the landlords and people in shared accomadation start to know the really mad lads. They end up finding it very hard to get anywhere.

They head out to the caravan sites. The boys I know who have lived out there all year round only moved out when they got themselves a single mother with a council house.

Ive only met the girls living in them briefly and wouldnt know their story but I know a few of them are ex prostitutes.

When I was younger I used to do alot of nixers fixing caravans and they dont mind paying in cash.

Lissoy

McDonagh's in Bettystown is open year round and is mostly occupied by people living there permanently. A lot of retired and divorced/separated people live there. It's cheaper than renting your own place and a better option than sharing a house for a lot of people.
It's far from ideal accommodation but with the cost of property situation in Ireland and most developed countries now it's the only reasonable option for some people.

JustAThought

There was a story some time back about some mod snip - watch your language who even his iwn utterly despised and hated and story goes that he came back from the pub/Mass one day to find his car/caravan/horse- absolutely everything he owned - vanished - totally gone. All that was left was a huge stAtue if the Virgin Mary. It made front page of the tabloids - hilarious reading!

Also some all year round caravan park near St Itas - fulll of drug dealers and crims. There has been a few murders and atabbings and reported burnings with people inside out there. Not a life you want to adopt. I guess this is why and with past ‘experiences’ you win’t find welcoming arms if your rock up somewhere with your wanderly wagon behind you looking for a bit of land to pull up and park in. Past experiences and all that...

I did a bit of work in Washington and was based in Virginia for a while - it was shocking - driving past hundreds if acres of mobile homes and caravans with thousands of impovisherished americans living in squalor on top of each other in them. Cars as big as the caravans parked alongside and their refuse blowing about and kids bikes thrown alongside waste pumps and water barrels. Shocking stuff. First world living my aras.

Which reminds me - ‘My Name is Earl’ - set In a trailer park - funniest film/DVD series EVER. Shows life on the road in a RV lifestyle in a totally different light!

Beltby

My family had a mobile home in Wexford for 15 years. The site was open year round, although living there wasn't allowed. If you did live there, the individual sites were purposely not numbered so you couldn't get post delivered there.

Someone mentioned the cold in winter in a mobile. The last one my folks bought had double glazing and central heating, and this was 17 years ago. It was fine in winter.

Darc19

Graces7 wrote: »

Ah I would love to, but am housebound, cocooning etc. And a much wider source of information here...
Looking, they have them in NI and the UK. and in Europe.

Because it's a grey area they are not going to say anything over the phone, but face to face they may "suggest" a solution.

Certainly many Beach holiday homes would have people in them all year.

enricoh

Mc donaghs in bettystown and iirc lynches there are full time. 3-3500 a year but big waiting list apparently.
Good few retired people flogged their gaff in Dublin during the tiger n split their time between there and apartment in spain.

Ish66

titan18 wrote: »

Have you ever spent time in one?

We have one in Kerry that we use in the summer and by late August they get very cold. Same when you go down in May.

The park we're in shut down in September and reopen end of April and owner turns off services. It's sensible to do so, we'd just be paying higher fees for them if it was open year round and very few would have any interest in going down to them.

A bit of thought, some extra insulation and a pot belly stove and you could make it very cozy even in the coldest Irish winter.

Wildly Boaring

Lissoy wrote: »

McDonagh's in Bettystown is open year round and is mostly occupied by people living there permanently. A lot of retired and divorced/separated people live there. It's cheaper than renting your own place and a better option than sharing a house for a lot of people.
It's far from ideal accommodation but with the cost of property situation in Ireland and most developed countries now it's the only reasonable option for some people.

Was just coming on to say same.
Seems a pretty good clientele.
We live nearby

Graces7

A varied picture like many other things.

The "bad" sounds like many estates.

I keep an eye on UK rentals and they have parks for retired folk, villages of mobile homes that look well run, and far more congenial for many than an old folks' home and with more privacy and independence. Your own front door to the outside world.

Orlak2410

JustAThought wrote: »

There was a story some time back about some mod snip - watch your language who even his iwn utterly despised and hated and story goes that he came back from the pub/Mass one day to find his car/caravan/horse- absolutely everything he owned - vanished - totally gone. All that was left was a huge stAtue if the Virgin Mary. It made front page of the tabloids - hilarious reading!

Also some all year round caravan park near St Itas - fulll of drug dealers and crims. There has been a few murders and atabbings and reported burnings with people inside out there. Not a life you want to adopt. I guess this is why and with past ‘experiences’ you win’t find welcoming arms if your rock up somewhere with your wanderly wagon behind you looking for a bit of land to pull up and park in. Past experiences and all that...

I did a bit of work in Washington and was based in Virginia for a while - it was shocking - driving past hundreds if acres of mobile homes and caravans with thousands of impovisherished americans living in squalor on top of each other in them. Cars as big as the caravans parked alongside and their refuse blowing about and kids bikes thrown alongside waste pumps and water barrels. Shocking stuff. First world living my aras.

Which reminds me - ‘My Name is Earl’ - set In a trailer park - funniest film/DVD series EVER. Shows life on the road in a RV lifestyle in a totally different light!

If you like that you should watch trailer park boys. Brilliant show.

Orlak2410

enricoh wrote: »

Mc donaghs in bettystown and iirc lynches there are full time. 3-3500 a year but big waiting list apparently.
Good few retired people flogged their gaff in Dublin during the tiger n split their time between there and apartment in spain.

Couldn't find mcdonaghs online but I found lynch's and it says on the site that occupation during the winter months is strictly forbidden along with a list of other rules

runawaybishop

Beltby wrote: »

My family had a mobile home in Wexford for 15 years. The site was open year round, although living there wasn't allowed. If you did live there, the individual sites were purposely not numbered so you couldn't get post delivered there.

Someone mentioned the cold in winter in a mobile. The last one my folks bought had double glazing and central heating, and this was 17 years ago. It was fine in winter.

Most mobile homes are summer spec. One that is suitable for the winter would cost a fortune new. They depreciate massively though, so you can pick them up second hand a lot cheaper.

Beltby

runawaybishop wrote: »

Most mobile homes are summer spec. One that is suitable for the winter would cost a fortune new. They depreciate massively though, so you can pick them up second hand a lot cheaper.

Actually they bought in punts, and sold it 9 months later in euros, that's how long ago it was. 3 bedroom, en suite bathroom plus a main bathroom, gas central heating and double glazed, 39' x 12', was 37k punts at the time. Up until that point, mobiles kept their value especially if they were on a good site. My folks sold it for 37k euros. I think they lost about 5k or so. But they used the money towards buying a house in Wexford so all good.

In the years since, they depreciate like a stone alright.

ted1

Orlak2410 wrote: »

Yeah it's just typical of ireland isnt it. They are very popular in America as they are a very affordable form of accommodation especially for minimalists etc.

Not quite true.
We have one and in ours we own the site and van so can visit 365 days of the year.
Lots of people own the van but only rent the site.

ted1

runawaybishop wrote: »

Most mobile homes are summer spec. One that is suitable for the winter would cost a fortune new. They depreciate massively though, so you can pick them up second hand a lot cheaper.

No you can’t.

Stepping Stone

Orlak2410 wrote: »

They should be in ireland then aswell but it's too much of a nanny state

You should see the damage done to them after winter storms in areas that aren’t sheltered. They literally get torn apart. It’s just not a safe environment to live in year round.

ted1

Stepping Stone wrote: »

You should see the damage done to them after winter storms in areas that aren’t sheltered. They literally get torn apart. It’s just not a safe environment to live in year round.

So don’t put them in bad locations. None of the ones in our park have been damaged by storms and the park is over 30 years old.

Stepping Stone

ted1 wrote: »

So don’t put them in bad locations. Nine of the ones in our park have been damaged by storms and the park is over 30 years old.

But the bad locations are inevitably the scenic locations. Stick one in a sheltered spot inland and you’re grand but inevitably people want the scenic views and seaside locations. These are particularly vulnerable alone the south and west coasts where the storms hit first and hardest. There’s a reason that an awful lot of people sold their mobile homes and bought holiday homes instead in these areas.

Wildly Boaring

Orlak2410 wrote: »

Couldn't find mcdonaghs online but I found lynch's and it says on the site that occupation during the winter months is strictly forbidden along with a list of other rules

McDonaghs....
https://goo.gl/maps/5G1B1MwcA5gXR8Dj7

Give them a ring

brisan

Mrcaramelchoc wrote: »

I've always thought that was crazy. If you own a mobile home ,you are not allowed to stay in it or visit it during the winter. I love the seaside in winter. It's a crazy rule. Especially if you own it.

When my kids were small we bought a new mobile outside drogheda
Opened on March 17th closed the October weekend
They were dammed cold the weekend we opened it up and the weekend we packed it up
Unless you go for the full insulation package they are ice boxes , basically a tin can with a nice interior
You can pay up to 100k for a top of the range one

brisan

Orlak2410 wrote: »

I don't know why permanent residential 'trailer parks' are so popular in North America but nowhere else

You will not find them in areas with really cold winters

Eric Cartman

brisan wrote: »

You will not find them in areas with really cold winters

correct but in America really cold winters are -10/20 degrees, Many parts of North Carolina have trailer parks and their winters (similar to here) rarely get below -1/-2 at night.

There are perfectly good winter / residential spec static homes available and I think the only reason we don't allow proper liveable mobile home parks is because travellers may try legitimise an illegal halting site.

it would be a great option for low cost accommodation for younger people or those on lower incomes.

brisan

Eric Cartman wrote: »

correct but in America really cold winters are -10/20 degrees, Many parts of North Carolina have trailer parks and their winters (similar to here) rarely get below -1/-2 at night.

There are perfectly good winter / residential spec static homes available and I think the only reason we don't allow proper liveable mobile home parks is because travellers may try legitimise an illegal halting site.

it would be a great option for low cost accommodation for younger people or those on lower incomes.

I agree but a well insulated modern mobile home does not come cheap.
One problem I see is landlords buying cheap ones and renting them out even though they may not be up to standard
However a well run well maintained park with adequate laundry facilities and a high standard of mobile home / chalet is a good way of addressing a section of the housing crisis. Allow people to get on the lower end of the property market