Buying a park home do's and don'ts

systemshq

Hi Folks 

I'm interested in buying a park home just outside London as in this area it's the only thing I can afford. I've never bought a park home before and I'm wondering what the do's and don'ts are?

Many thanks

ChainsawCharlie

I only briefly looked into this.
Some sites will want a cut if you ever sell the home.
Some sites will expect you to replace it after a number of years to keep the site looking smart, some sites will only allow you to buy from them or sell through them.
Some sites will not let you live all year round, usually 11 months, so most people move out, stay with friends or holiday for that 1 month period.
Not all sites have the same rules so worth checking.
Some sites also have zones, for example anyone buying to rent out needs to buy their home in a zone reserved for that, which I think is a good idea.
Remember you are buying the home, but you aren't buying the land it sits on, you are renting that  so a rent is payable.
My advice read the terms thoroughly 
Hope this helps

systemshq

Many thanks!

AdrianC

I believe the general rule of thumb is...

Do - run a mile
Don't - yup, just don't

Remember you're buying a rapidly depreciating asset as well as committing to long-term rental of the plot. You aren't buying property in the same way as a house or flat.

systemshq

Here's the thing. I pay £900 in rent + bills where I am now. So if I can buy a cheap park home even if it's just for 10 ten years I'll save a fortune. 

Grumpelstiltskin

Where are you going to find a cheap park home for sale?
How are you going to pay for it?
How much will your ground rent be?
How much will your council tax be?
How much will your utilities be?

canaldumidi

Use duckduckgo (or google if you must!). There are loads of stories about the potential problems - read them all eg

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jul/13/park-homes-cheaper-than-bricks-and-mortar-but-not-trouble-free

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs71_park_homes_fcs.pdf

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/were-caravan-park-residents-sold-12103409

There's loads on info - it took me 2 minutes to find these and more:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/parkhomeliving/

MysteryMe

It's important to know the difference between a dedicated residential park home site where people live permanently all year round and a what can loosely be termed as a holiday park where they are not allowed to have permanent residents. The park homes in the former will cost considerably more than the latter as they are built to higher standard with regards to insulation etc.  I may be wrong but I'm not sure you can get a mortgage on a park home.

Grumpelstiltskin

There is a park home for sale not far from me, but read the small print carefully.

 exclusive development of luxury holiday homes, with the site being open for 12 months of the year.

However, the site is not classed as residential, which means you must be registered at an alternative address for council tax purposes. You will pay a pitch fee for your plot and for the current financial year the amount if £2160.90, including vat. This is payable on the 1st March. This includes the water rates and there is no separate council tax payable on the site, as your liability for this is already registered elsewhere.

There is a 15% sales commission due to the site owner and this is included within the price of £69,500 as quoted on the first page.

On such a development, you will be buying the home but not the ground that it stands on. The pitch remains in the ownership of the site owner who is responsible for maintaining the site.

systemshq

Thanks for the heads up. But I'll need the property to be classified as residential.

jimbo6977

Don't touch it with a bargepole.

If you buy one, Do wave goodbye to your life savings.