Buying a Parkhome, urgent advice needed.

Try this from last year.

www.gransnet.com/forums/house_and_home/1286597-Residental-park-homes

The main issue is to find out if it is an all year round site if that’s what he is wishing you to do. Also find out the cost of site fees and what is covered in these. We use ours for weekends and short breaks. It looks like many people on our site do live there all the time. As we can not receive any mail I often wonder how those people go on for getting any mail?
Our property was bought through an estate agent and the money went to the home owner.
For us using it as we do it’s the best thing we’ve done and wish we had done it sooner.

Few pointers -
How long is the lease (park homes are leasehold)
How much are site fees, what do they include, how much can they be increased each year
How much is insurance
Is it classed (sold as) main home or a holiday home.
The park owner probably gets 10-25% of the purchase price, rest goes to home seller - the park owner probably has the right to veto any future purchaser.
Can you arrange/do your own maintenance or is it done by the park (what do they charge)
Is there a residents committee
Get a solicitor to check the contract and lease.

Get a solicitor to check the contract and lease.

Do not even consider buying such a property if there is any objection to you using a solicitor. Using a solicitor to handle the legal side of the purchase is absolutely and deal breakingly ESSENTIAL.

I would see if there's a resident's association and speak to a few members.
My friend is on a site that is very poor. She has been very stressed with the bad management and "change of terms" etc.

She is quite feisty and has been in battle for at least 3 years now. Other (older) residents have come to rely on her regarding the site.

Just be wary.

How much of a cut do the park owners get when the home is sold is worth bearing in mind . Will it be easy to heat in winter ? Is there local transport nearby ? Can you stay all year ?

Tell him to check out the Holiday Park Action Group. They are on Facebook and have a website.

The short answer is don't even think about it. There is very little regulation on residential sites and none at all on Holiday parks. Many holiday park salesmen will tell you that you can live on their parks, but you cannot do so legally, and they can (and do) evict you for next to nothing. Homes are expensive and lose value overnight, and you can't take them elsewhere. Rents can go up exponentially, and you probably have to sell back to the park and get any work done through them, paying them a huge commission (decking, wifi etc). You own the caravan/chalet, but the land belongs to the park owners, who can do what they like.

Seriously - don't do it, and that applies absolutely to holiday parks, too.

I echo what Doodledog has said exactly. My DsiL has bought one in a rush with her partner. The park folk somehow convinced her that they could live there full time and vote in elections. They can’t vote but they do get away with living there full time atm anyway. Because they aren’t be on the electoral register they have enormous difficulties with credit checks and opening accounts etc. They spend a fortune on gas canisters for the heating and all alterations have to go through the park people. She is disabled following a stroke and they’re charging £5k to fit a ramp. They are completely at the mercy of the park owners and their money is draining away. They might be ok as the holiday home they’re meant to be if money is no object but as a full time residence on a ‘holiday park’ - no way.

I've lived in a park home for 14 years. It's a proper residential site owned by a large national company. They absolutely cannot evict me. Don't buy one on a holiday park, it must be a residential site for permanent living.
I pay monthly ground rent and if I sold I would have to pay ten percent to the site owner. I've no intention of selling however as it's a beautiful well kept site .I have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, etc. A separate garage and a driveway which takes three cars. I've full central heating and double glazing.
I'm entirely detached with garden all round.
There are a lot of less reputable site owners so do be careful. Look into it carefully. But over the last few years the law has been changed in favour of us residents and we are much more secure these days. At present we are lobbying parliament to get the ten percent of sales fee reduced.
A lot of people don't realise how wonderful these sites can be, if you do your research carefully and choose well. So good luck. I hope you find a site as great as this one.

Ps. The money goes to the home owner.
It's just like buying a house.

henetha my friend loves her home - in every way it sounds just like yours. And very cosy too.

The only problem is the site owner who has withdrawn services etc.
However she will not be moving and undoubtedly her pressure has improved some things.

Her plot sweeps down to a canal and she has her narrow boat moored there. It is a truly lovely spot.

Hi NotSpagetti. It's nice to hear of others who live happily in a park home. What services have the site owner of your friend withdrawn? I'm sorry she has been made to feel less secure.
It does indeed emphasise the need to research carefully before buying. I hope it can be resolved for her.

There is a difference in the amount of protection owners have on residential and holiday sites, but salespeople on holiday sites often mislead people and tell them they can live there. Legally they can't - there is no council tax payable for a start - so on those grounds alone people can be (and are) evicted. Covid flushed a lot of this out, as holiday parks were supposed to close during lockdown. When people had nowhere else to go, it became clear that people were living there illegally, and many were evicted so that the park owners were not brought under residential rules. As their homes were worthless without a site, people lost everything, often at a time of life when they couldn't hope to start again.

If you are on a holiday park there is no regulation - on residential ones there is some, but in both cases people should remember that they can change hands overnight and a whole new set of rules and charges come in, so it's really not a case of just 'doing your homework' before buying.

As I say, check out the Holiday Park Action Group to see how people have lost their life savings overnight.

Any site is only as good as its owner - and if they sell who knows what the next one will be like? I would never in a million years take that chance. I remember one years ago who made life as difficult as possible for the residents in the hope that they would leave and he could sell the land to a developer. It worked.

Howjado If your friend is having pressure from the site owner does that not convince him to slow down and see a solicitor first thing,does he not have any family to advise him or to go with him to the solicitors office and ask some very important questions.I personally would steer clear.

Age UK have a fact sheet about Park Homes...worth having a look at that.

Just check that it’s not classed as a holiday home because they won’t be able to register with a doctor! This happened to friends of ours.
They found out too late and had to move again - which they could ill afford.

If it's a holiday home, you need evidence of a permanent address in the form of a council tax and utility bill. Some sites are open all year round and you can stay there all year, but must also have a permanent address.

My parents bought a park home in 1989, they were extremely happy there, in 2003 my dad died and my mother lived there alone for 17 years very comfortably and happy because there was such a community spirit, we sold it easily in 2020 for a very large profit, maybe not as much as bricks and mortar might have been but it certainly proved a good investment

Also check whether the site only allows the homes on there for a certain amount of years and if this is the case how many years left on this particular property. As these properties can depreciate and need maintenance also check whether there are any rules regarding the appearance of the property

Please be careful. Yes, there are some good parks, but they can sell to rogue people overnight. I have read so many horror stories (we have a lodge on a holiday park) and would never advise anyone to get involved at any level. Our park was lovely but the family business sold to a big group and the difference is marked. Yes, residential parks have different rules but I read heartbreaking stories about those too.

I would never buy a park home.

There has been chaos near me, an older couple on a site were told they must buy a new unit, as theirs is considered too old by the (new) owners. They are both 80 plus. Their unit is OK, but not the all singing all dancing. The site owners say buy a new one (with all life savings, and getting a pittance for the old one) or be evicted from their home...with nothing, in their 80s. The owners response was basically 'sorry, not sorry'.

My DILs mother lives in a park home but really regrets buying it. I don't know why as we aren't that close to DIL