Park Homes- Any Information?

dori2o

Hi,

My Mum and Dad have had enough living in rainy Oldham and along with my Nan are looking to relocate to a residential/retirement park in Devon.

They are looking at either buying a new mobile/park home from here
http://www.tingdene.co.uk/parkhomes/park_homes.aspx

or possibly buying a home already on a plot.

Does anyone have any experience with these type of homes and give some advice on what the setup is like?

If they were to buy a new unit and not one already sited, what are the transport fees like?

Do you have to buy the plot of land the home is to be situated on within the park or do you just pay the site fees each year?

Is it cost effective?

They are going to York to see the Tingdene factory and get some further advice in a couple of weeks, but I was hoping I could arm them with some advice before they go.

Colincbayley

By park home I am guessing you mean static caravan.

My only view would be that over the long term, bricks and motar increases in value ( at least you would hope so ) and caravans go down like the titanic.

dori2o

Colincbayley wrote: »

By park home I am guessing you mean static caravan.

My only view would be that over the long term, bricks and motar increases in value ( at least you would hope so ) and caravans go down like the titanic.

To be honest, this is going to be where they see out the rest of their lives so I don't see that being a problem.

princessamy86

I'm very dubious about park homes, some sites have ridiculous rules-for example, you buy your park home, it depreciates at a horribly quick pace, and a lot of sites require you to upgrade every 5-10 years. In addition to this, you can expect to only be allowed to use certain providers for gas and electric (often extortionate) very very tight rules and regs on visitors and pets etc. I would check site rules VERY carefully. I'm not saying that nobody should ever buy one but it's not something I would be happy with a family member doing as they can end up costing a lot of money in the end.

princessamy86

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=382730&highlight=park+homes

Have a good read of the post by Pastures New.

clutton_2

google Graham Watts Park Homes - he is THE legal expert on park homes and the problems which some site owners cause....

Cannon_Fodder

"proper" Park homes seem to be treated like houses nowadays, value-wise. Depends on the budget, probably.

Be cautious of the tight regulations Tingdene enforce. You can barely change a lightbulb, without them having to send a guy from Kettering or somesuch. Get their Ts&Cs. Expect a long list of don'ts, and few do's.

Get clear, detailed lists of the items they may want in their home, and the costs Tingdene charge. Everything is over-priced, because Tingdene maintain a monopoly on providing the services. If you don't want many of the extras, like a handrail for the steps, or a flame-effect fireplace, then that might not matter.

The plot they get will not provide much in the way of interest for the green-fingered, being so small. Hemmed-in is the impression. If you don't mind that, they do seem to have a decent sense of community.

sunshinetours

I think these type of places can make a lot of sense when you compare the prices to say retirement apartments which will also have generally large service charges annually. The biggest downside (possibly more so for the "children") is the possible lack of retained value in these type of places as as some have said the dealings of more unscrupulous park owners.

There is quite a large well known one about 5 miles from us and these are very popular and give a nice social lifestyle for retired/semi retired people who will be living mainly with others in a similar position but more like a holiday type environment 24/7!

I guess the key probably is may be trying to find a more established park where you can ask the people living there what it is really like and how much it all costs.
These buildings do fall under "caravan" legislation I believe but they are as far remioved from many people's idea of a traditional caravan as you can possibly get.

If they cannot afford a nice bricks and mortar house in the area or prefer the idea of park living this may be worth considering (carefully) providing they are aware of the downsides

EDIt - why not see if the park they like has any rental sites available so they could trial it for a month say?

dori2o

Hi,

It's not a case of not being able to afford a house, but as my Nan will be going also they have a choice.

The preferred choice is 2 Park homes, so both my parents and my Nan are independant.

The second option is a 4-5 bedroom house/bungalow in Paignton that they will share. This however would leave them with no capital in the bank where the holiday home would leave them (or at least my parents) with approx £70k in the bank. (My nan would have some cash also but have no idea what as it's none of my business)

sunshinetours

dori2o wrote: »

Hi,

It's not a case of not being able to afford a house, but as my Nan will be going also they have a choice.

The preferred choice is 2 Park homes, so both my parents and my Nan are independant.

The second option is a 4-5 bedroom house/bungalow in Paignton that they will share. This however would leave them with no capital in the bank where the holiday home would leave them (or at least my parents) with approx £70k in the bank. (My nan would have some cash also but have no idea what as it's none of my business)

Hmm 2 park homes may not make as much financial sense as 2 lots of site fees, council tax etc

I would be tempted in that circumstance to find a suitably priced regular style house with an annex or annex potential

Do they need the capital to live on currently or are they OK on their pension/other income?

No idea of their budget or the are of Paignton but something that is currently arranged as flats say like http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26166103.html possibly could be adapted. Ground floor for nan and next two floors for parents all with own front doors etc

lincroft1710

Colincbayley wrote: »

By park home I am guessing you mean static caravan.

Static caravans and park homes are two completely different animals although often made by same manufacturer. They are made to different BS numbers. A static caravan is designed for holidays and although will have insulation and some form of heating is not for all year round living. A park home is designed as a permanent home and has higher standards of heating and insulation as well as being of different external construction.