Used Park home ?

[wavingfuriously]

Park home (used) anyone bought one and was it a good experience? New ones seem to be exorbitant and probably lose value fast.

Thank you

do you mean a sited static caravan ?

No but I've seen horror stories about people buying static caravans on sites and the rent going up and up, the costs being more than they were expecting, having to change the van when it gets to a certain age, do your research I would say, thoroughly. It must work for some people as they rent them out privately

I’ve had a really good experience. I wouldnt buy new unless you have money to throw around. You lose more in the first few years more than any other time. I bought a pre owned 2019 van and had it for three years. We have had a great experience. I’ve just part exchanged for a newer model on same site.

People will tell you of the horror stories….
Yes you’ll lose money. (Its not a financial investment)
Yes site fees will go up (what costs are not right now)
Yes your van will depreciate down to nothing after 18-25 years depending on your site
Yes you’ll pay sales commission if you want to sell it on via the site
Yes some sites have age restrictions
Yes you may be unable to sell it back to the park once it’s reached a certain age.
yes your site owner could change as could your t&cs.

But if you go in with your eyes open then it will be a good experience.

We avoided big park operators and went with an independent family run site. Can honestly say we’ve had no issues at all.

I considered it a few years ago & did my "sums". It was a definite NO.

I took into account initial investment, loss of interest on capital, depreciation of the van, site fees & other running costs.
I then projected the likely costs of holidays (in hotels, packages, etc. ) in the future, & it made no sense at all.

That's apart from going to the same place for every holiday - no matter how nice the property & area.

Yes

It suits some, it does not suit others. I think it is easy to get carried away with it.
We bought a long time ago on a site that was attached to a theme park. We had four kids under 10, and it was within 2 hours, so helpful from that pov.
It had some things about it that @Lifeisapeach says, especially site fees going up radically, and once it got to 10 years etc. We agreed to let our van when we were not using it (not always a great experience) and then had to "let it go" back to the site when it was older. BUT, we did have 10 years of very happy "easy" holidays there, and have such fond memories, we've been back. Our main problem was probably that we were doing holidays elsewhere, so some times we only used it a few times a year, which was not good value for money. We now book a mobile home through Haven once a year in May (not the same site) and it costs around £200 for 8 of us (coming and going at different times), and every time we have a good time having "van life" again, , but we are always absolutely horrified at what they are selling the vans for now (ours was £12k new), and the ground rent is almost what you would pay for a one bed flat in our local area, permanently. I can see it half suiting a big family who all dib in for the costs and share it X ways, or someone who is going to be there half of the time (at least). Otherwise, probably a no.....

A lot depends on the site.

If you’re looking at a big site with strict rules on vans under 10 years old then it is often not worth it.

We have one on a small site that has a playpark and facilities block and that’s it. No club house or pool. Just the river and space. The owners allow well kept vans in good condition, but don’t have a strict age limit. Ours is 8, but the one next door is about 23. Fees have gone up but there still a quarter of the nearest haven site.

I always think it sounds really expensive. By the time you tack on depreciation and annual site fees surely you could have multiple decent holidays a year?

Join Holiday park action group on Facebook to get advice - I don’t have one but they will let you know the realities.

A lot depends on your site. Our site fees have gone up to £1500 plus £400 for water and electric.

We opened ours last weekend. We’ll go for a week at Easter then go at least 2 weekends a month until October, plus at least 3 weeks in the summer holidays. With 4 kids still school age, one who’ll either be in a wheelchair or with a walking frame depending on how she’s doing, who’ll be there it’s much cheaper than holidays. Especially as there are loads of free places around our site, and the kids would just spend the whole summer playing in/by the river if they were allowed.

On a big site though it really depends how much use you get from it if it works out worthwhile or not.

A better option may be to buy one of the larger touring caravans and site it on a seasonal pitch. That way, you can move it to another pitch when you get bored of the area you’re in. With an awning on the side, it will give you lots of space. You don’t even have to tow it yourself as there are companies that will tow for you.