Buying a park home

00ec25

LadyDee wrote: »

Read the posts by people who actually live on well-run Park Home estates, not caravan parks, holiday parks or gypsy sites.

so what? The majority of sites that the ignorant/casual poster on here will have come across are indeed: caravan parks or holiday parks.

seven-day-weekend

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

One thing which might be an issue is that in some cases you have to vacate the property for ? 2 weeks each year, and that clause can be buried with the very small print.

Not on a residential site, which is what the OP needs if they want to live full time in their home.

Savvy_Sue

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Not on a residential site, which is what the OP needs if they want to live full time in their home.

Yup. My post comes from hearing of people who clearly hadn't done their research properly or had been misled, who then found they needed to move out.

PasturesNew

LadyDee wrote: »

Read the posts by people who actually live on well-run Park Home estates, not caravan parks, holiday parks or gypsy sites.

Mine was a well established, fully legal, residential mobile home site. I probably owned it about 3 years. A few years after I sold it everybody was given notice - and the new owners cleared it, laid it out in a different layout and turned it into an Over 55s.

While residential sites have more protection than the rest, they're not immune to evictions. The law has been tightened in recent years due to a number of rogue owners terrorising tenants.

I owned/lived in mine ~30 years ago.

Biggirlnow

Things have changed a lot in the last 30 years.
The mobile homes of old have been replaced with new park homes.
Although on some sites the old mobile homes can still be found.
Another belief is that a park home will go down in value.
My home and that of my neighbors have increased in value.
As long as the home is looked after it will not lose its value.
I am amazed at the price some of the homes sell at.
I am in the south I could sell my home and buy a 'real house` further North out right with the money.
As I said ignore the negative posts.
Maybe join some park home forums where people can show you pictures of their homes.
I think you will be surprised to see how we really live.

bbarroso

sal_III wrote: »

Doesn't look like you have researched the average cost of service charge + ground rent for flats. The number of £200 you quoted is on the upper side of the scale and includes ground rent. On average the number is around £100/m for ground rent+service charge. On small flat buildings - 4-12 you often won share of the freehold and can manage the amount with consensus with the other owners. Contrary to the popular belief the service charge is (in most cases) not some sort of a racket, part of it goes towards maintaining the communal areas and lifts, part of it goes to a sinking fund that goes towards building repairs etc. As a free holder you will still need some of these funds set a side for repairs, it's just not contractual obligation to do so, only prudence.

Council tax you will have to pay anywhere, even in some park homes, even if you are renting, so not sure where the problem lies.

Any EA should be able to tell you the service charge+ground rent cost fro a flat they are selling, have you tried asking, or simply jump to conclusions?

You are right a caravan/park home are cheaper than flat/house. Have you asked yourself why that is? I can tell you, generally the former is a depreciating asset, the latter is appreciating asset.

And what about small freehold house in a quiet location?

Some estate agents won’t tell the service charges upfront. One can inquire, but it adds up more work and time and can really make or break a deal when there is a limited time on a good opportunity. The high side figures given above were an example given to me by the estate agent. Naturally some places where it is cheaper, the overall point being I’m trying to see what my total costs and make myself a decision based on that. Council tax on top of ground rent, was a comment, nowhere did I say I wasn’t expecting to pay it (although the park home would likelly offer lower figures)

I also have to ask if brick and mortar will always increase in value… Looking at smaller houses it seems a refurbishment is many times as expensive as a whole caravan park home, its limited in terms of the lease agreement, neighbors, access, building structure, etc. A property which is not well kept will hardly increase in value. Just been looking at some property history and was shocked by the fact many homes still haven’t recovered in value since the 2007 crash… A mobile home is replaceable. Just go and see one you like, have it delivered, all at much less stress that selling and buying a new property. Will if fit everyone? Probably not, but it’s a dam good fit more many, just as well.

So my point being is I’m looking for some information to put it all together and make a decision based on pro’s an con’s of each, based on my personal needs. I can do without anecdotal reasons on why I should not even give it a try. Nothing is perfect.

Rosieandjim

Have you seen this?


https://www.gov.uk/park-mobile-homes

lincroft1710

Whether it is an apartment, genuine park home, traditionally built house or bungalow, or static caravan on an 11 month occupancy holiday park, each will have its pros and cons. More importantly, different examples within each category will all have pros and cons.

Anything which has not been well maintained will have problems which could be costly. Economic and political factors can affect property values both positively and negatively,

sheramber

Im looking to live in a quiet area of the country, close to the countriside and away from the city.

In what area?

The UK is a big pace.

There are rural areas where you can get a large house- if that is what you want- for less than the cost of a park home.

Look at paces on HSPC for North of Scotland, Look at Wales.

hazyjo

sheramber wrote: »

im looking to live in a quiet area of the country, close to the countriside and away from the city.

in what area?

The uk is a big pace.

There are rural areas where you can get a large house- if that is what you want- for less than the cost of a park home.

Look at paces on hspc for north of scotland, look at wales.

*old thread alert*