Buying A Park Home.

WoodruffsDad

I am 69 and my wife is 63. I would like to retire soon and my wife has to retire within 2 years.

I was declared bankrupt in 2007, discharged in 2008 and fully paid off in January 2011.

We currently live in a local authority bungalow tied to my wife's job and for our retirement my wife and I would like to buy a park home on a residential site near to where we currently live.

The home we particularly like costs £70,000 but I only have savings of around £20,000.

Is there any way, with my past record and age, I could obtain finance?

tanith

Are you saying that you have to give up the tied bungalow when your wife retires? Surely the local council would have to rehouse you both if the bungalow belongs to them? Maybe what you are saying is that you are choosing to leave a secure home for life to buy a retirement home which you will have to borrow (if thats possible) a lot of money to purchase. More information if you can.

chris_m

If you can't afford to buy it outright ion the first place, will you be able to afford to replace the park home when/if it reaches the maximum age that the park allows?

WoodruffsDad

tanith wrote: »

Are you saying that you have to give up the tied bungalow when your wife retires? Surely the local council would have to rehouse you both if the bungalow belongs to them? Maybe what you are saying is that you are choosing to leave a secure home for life to buy a retirement home which you will have to borrow (if thats possible) a lot of money to purchase. More information if you can.

Yes, we would have to give up the bungalow when my wife retires. It is part of the job as the home of the "Warden" in a sheltered housing scheme. The council would help to rehome us but we would get little choice in where we were relocated, hence our exploration of the mobile home possibility.

WoodruffsDad

chris_m wrote: »

If you can't afford to buy it outright ion the first place, will you be able to afford to replace the park home when/if it reaches the maximum age that the park allows?

Not likely to happen! The park homes we're looking at are brand new or near new and as we're 69 and 63 respectively it's unlikely that we'll outlive the home!

tanith

Well I really don't know if you would be able to borrow 50K someone will come along and tell you the whys and wherefores I'm sure but at your ages would you be able to afford the repayments assuming someone would borrow you the money? If it were me I wouldn't risk giving up a secure tenancy for life to take on a debt in later life. Surely the place you would be offered (maybe a choice of 2/3 places) couldn't be too far from where you are now? Anyway I'd give it serious thought before committing yourself, make sure you understand all the rules and regs of any park home site as they all differ.

martindow

WoodruffsDad wrote: »

Not likely to happen! The park homes we're looking at are brand new or near new and as we're 69 and 63 respectively it's unlikely that we'll outlive the home!

You could well be there for 30 years! The need to renew the mobile home could well be an issue.

WoodruffsDad

martindow wrote: »

You could well be there for 30 years! The need to renew the mobile home could well be an issue.

In 30 years we'll both be nearing 100 years of age.

By then we'll probably be completely gaga and in a home for the elderly infirm so our mobile home (if we had one) could be disposed of any old how.

Not an issue for us!

RandomDan

Park homes are not just a case of buying a caravan and living there. There is likely to be a pretty hefty monthly fee to live at the park. Also, the value depreciates very quickly. If the park has a rule that homes must be no older then 15 years old then you will have to find more cash.

I would see where the council were going to relocate you. Personally I could give up the security of a council tenancy.

WoodruffsDad

RandomDan wrote: »

Park homes are not just a case of buying a caravan and living there. There is likely to be a pretty hefty monthly fee to live at the park. Also, the value depreciates very quickly. If the park has a rule that homes must be no older then 15 years old then you will have to find more cash.

I would see where the council were going to relocate you. Personally I could give up the security of a council tenancy.

The site fees at the park home which we like are £129 per month. There are no rules on the age of a home.

At our age we're not concerned with depreciation and our immediate family don't need any cash from the sale of a mobile home.

You said "I could give up the security of a council tenancy". Did you miss a word out?

picklepick

I seriously doubt that any lender would be willing to let you borrow £50,000 so late in life. Are you both retired?
First thing to do is speak to a mortgage adviser.

I can see the fact that you want to borrow against a park home, also being a problem, The depreciation will be an issue for any underwriter. If you default I can see them having a problem recouping their investment.