Does anyone have any experience of living in a "Park Home"

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Like a caravan site only small bungalows.

I'd really like to downsize, but all small property round here is terraced and/or in a grotty area. I can't face the thought of attached neighbours ever again I want a smaller house, but I don't want a less nice environment.

I do like the idea of a small plot, low maintenance property and some amenities on site.

There must be some downsides though? They seem very expensive for what they are and there's the maintenance charges, but they seem quite reasonable considering what's included.

Do you or maybe your parents live in one?

My parents did, they lost almost their entire money when they sold.

You only ever own the building not the ground it’s on, the rules can be endless and it depreciates horribly.

I’d advise anyone not to touch them, in my view it’s a scam product.

Yes, I thought I'd heard stories like that. You buy a lease, which is why I said they seem expensive for what they are but on that basis you'd go into it expecting that the money is "spent" wouldn't you?

there's a collection of these near us and they look amazing....there's about four or five on the market at pretty reasonable prices but they have been dropped and dropped and dropped and they are still not selling!

I think there is something going on with the "maintenance fees" in this particular setting...they seemed pretty high to me already when we looked a few years back for my mother.

It's like the old people community set ups macarthey&stone and the like ...loads of rules and regs, fees, bills, costs!!

I rented a mobile home in my 20s, but it wasn't a park home. Fine but very much wanted proper brick walls after a while.

Wouldn't buy a park home though because of site fees, having to pay a percentage of sale price to campsite owners when you do sell. Some also require you to have a mobile home that is only so old, meaning you have to buy a new one every so often, which isn't cheap but does avoid it becoming run down. Heating is expensive.

The mobile home I rented was an ex park home that had to be replaced due to age.

If you become frail or disabled it can be a struggle to get up and down steps or a ramp in bad weather.

If you get a more run down site, it can be very cheap. I would avoid if I could afford something with brick walls.

How old are you?

So where do people downsize to that is still "nice" if all the retirement home type places are full of pitfalls?

I honestly can't find anything within a 10m radius of here. Two and three bedroom houses are terraced, in the less nice part of town and the few remaining bungalows are on huge plots and get bought up by developers. A handful of remote cottages in outlying areas but that's not a good option as you get older either.

I don't mean I can't find anything on the market, I can't find anything at all. These properties don't seem to exist.

@TheLittleRedToothbrush

Also in most You have to vacate the home for several months over winter , I work with someone who has had an horrendous time with this . The management made everyone leave as usual for the winter but then when covid hit would not allow the park homes to reopen. Meaning they had to find accommodation for nearly 9 months!

As far as I was aware this is only the case where they don't have a license to operate a residential site and are operating under a holiday license.

If it's a properly licensed residential site they don't kick people out like that.

@tornadosequins

How old are you?

50. I'm not necessarily talking about moving now. I still have adult DC at home, but I don't want to stay in this large house on my own once they're gone.

My Godparents had one for five years, it took eight years to sell it and they lost an absolute fuckton of money on it.

I’d avoid like the plague.

@ChiefAdjusterOfRubensShorts

My Godparents had one for five years, it took eight years to sell it and they lost an absolute fuckton of money on it.

I’d avoid like the plague.

Why do you say lost money though? You know you're not buying an investment like a house it's more like a car where you'd expect it to depreciate.

They're a total swizz.

A lot of people stay put in homes that later become unsuitable for them because of the lack of decent alternatives.

Flats suck, IME.

Do you mean a proper park home or a static on a holiday type park?

I've never really thought about it but presume they operate in different ways, I live in a small town and there's what I would class as a park home site, they seem more substantial than a caravan and are lived in permanently, I don't know if the owners have to pay ground rent or if its the same as a brick house and you pay council tax.

I know the static caravan type places can be a money pit, you'll likely lose thousands of pounds, there are no regulations for site owners and you can be forced off site easily, you also can't live in them permanently.
There's a facebook group called Unhappy Caravan Owners which is full of horror stories of people being ripped off.

I know someone who has lived in one for 10 years. The site looked amazing when it was new, but now looks shabby. There are also some restrictive rules about overnight guests, so she can't have her children to stay with her more than two nights at a time. My friend (the daughter) is very aware that after the death of her mum there will be no inheritance, and nothing to show for it either.

A year round permanent residential site, not a holiday place.

OK so it's a bad idea, but what/where is alternative?

I can see why they appeal.

I had one as a holiday home for many years.

While all the potential risks and drawbacks pps mentioned are true, I did make a big profit when I sold it.

But I wanted to tell you the soundproofing in them is awful. You can hear your close neighbours inside their cabins and anyone else moving around outside. No better than an attached home in that respect!

My grandparents have lived in one for going on 20 years.
Yes they pay ground rent, but the estate they are on is very desirable and the homes are never for sale for long.
They have a considerable equity based on the neighbours sale prices.
I guess it depends on the area and the park itself though.

Dh grandparents were very happy in their park home for about 20 years. It was for over 55's I believe. They had a good size garden and a shed and a couple of parking spaces and whenever we visited it was always very peaceful. However it deprecated in value and was a struggle to sell it after they passed away. There were a lot of fees to settle and I believe the owners of the land also took a cut of the sale. All in all it's a bit of a con compared to a house so you have to weigh that up.

My Dad and his wife live in one. They love it. They aren't that old (he's 60, she's 50). I don't think they are expecting to sell it and have more money in the bank. Not seen it yet due to covid. They are happy there however and they like the community. Dad works from there.

My Mum and her husband lived in something similar but was not fully residential so had to move out for a month a year. She now lives abroad.

you have to be over 55 round here
i do know someone who lives in one who says its great, they are very sociable, with clubs, bingo, things on every night.
i did read an article about how you couldnt mow your lawn on sundays or something.

My Mum still lives in one. The plus sides are she gets a home she designed herself from scratch in great location with open fields on 2 sides.

The downsides are considerable.

She only has neighbours on one side but they are foul. The houses are quite close together so she can’t avoid them.

The owners of the Park are money grabbing and there wasn’t a proper road when they first moved in. The residents got together and got their MP involved.

The houses are expensive to heat, but must be heated to avoid the house deteriorating. Also the landlord provides the gas, so you can imagine how that works out.

My Mum moved from a city to live in a lovely location at a fraction of the cost of a conventional house, but there are considerable downsides. The most important element are the Park owners. Read reviews if possible speak to residents and be in your guard.

Don't do it. I sold loads of these in my previous career and they are the only type of property that is guaranteed to decrease in value over time.

The site fees can be extortionate, they can be very expensive to heat in winter and very difficult to keep cool in summer. Many parks also have rules that state you can only live there 11 months of the year and you have to be incredibly organised with minimal amount of "stuff" to live comfortably. Also maintenance can be costly if things go wrong with plumbing or the structure develops damage.

Another thing to look out for is that many sites only allow you to have them parked there until they reach a certain age at which point you have to remove it or scrap it.

On the plus side... low council tax band and can be bought with no / minimal solicitor fees (meaning I have had several vendors bigger off without paying the estate agent because they are meant to pay us directly instead of it coming via the solicitor. )

One of my children does, as part of their job. Taking the job out of it, it's a bit like a mix of caravan and house. It's has all mod cons like double glazing and central heating but uses gas bottles and the finish doesn't feel as good a quality or as robust as a house. Apparently not all sites use gas bottles now.

Whilst insulated, it's not as warm as our home in winter so, I imagine, it may be quite costly to heat.

And you have to meet community rules. I guess most decent people would in a house too but it might feel a bit claustrophobic to some.

I'm interested in this too OP