Park Homes (Mobile Homes). What are the pros and cons of living in one.

RicksonGracie1972

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I ask as my elderly mother needs to sell her 3 bedroom house as its getting a bit much for her and it needs lots of work doing which is eating in to her (very small) savings.
I'd like her to downsize and enjoy her money so am looking at flats and then stumbled across some very nice looking park homes like this for example Check out this property for sale on Rightmove!

Does anyone have any experience of living in one and what are the pros and cons.

Thanks
 
Cons: cold in the winter, noisy as lacking adequate soundproofing, caravans normally last 15yrs before major work, park owners are a law unto themselves, neighbours are likely lower paid individuals with their own issues (think jaywick),

Pros: none
 
As above, I did extensive research as an investment opportunity and found little to no pros.
 
My in-laws moved into theirs last year, it's only for people over 50, so lots of old people and extremely quiet.
Very cold in winter but then it doesn't take much to heat it up. Theirs has been fully insulated but you need a lot of ventilation to prevent damp. Ground rates and general maintenance can mount up too.
To be honest they love it and are very happy, they have enough in the bank to keep it going.
Certainly not a good move if you have little money behind you as it won't last forever.
 
OP - depending on how elderly she is, have you looked into some kind of sheltered accommodation?

Usually co-ownership with a housing association, so less outlet would mean she'd keep more from the sale of her house.

With the added benefits of being part of a community where people tend to be similar ages and look out for each other. Also, probably some kind of warden/scheme manager around, pull-cords/emergency intercom if she gets a problem, pretty-much zero building maintenance costs (albeit a service charge).

Just a thought.... my mum moved into one in her late '70s and had 8 happy years before she passed away, and we had the peace of mind knowing she was in as safe a place as she could be.
 
OP - depending on how elderly she is, have you looked into some kind of sheltered accommodation?

Usually co-ownership with a housing association, so less outlet would mean she'd keep more from the sale of her house.

With the added benefits of being part of a community where people tend to be similar ages and look out for each other. Also, probably some kind of warden/scheme manager around, pull-cords/emergency intercom if she gets a problem, pretty-much zero building maintenance costs (albeit a service charge).

Just a thought.... my mum moved into one in her late '70s and had 8 happy years before she passed away, and we had the peace of mind knowing she was in as safe a place as she could be.

Only downside is the service charge which can be expensive and can also make it hard to sell the property.
 
Think I've made my mind up not to pursue the Park Home option and will now concentrate on Retirement flats, so thanks.
 
Only downside is the service charge which can be expensive and can also make it hard to sell the property.
From memory, my Mum's was around £90 per month (she passed in 2006, so that would be higher now). When she sold her old house, we invested some of the equity in a bond that generated sufficient monthly income to cover that service charge (again, from memory, it was around £22k at the time - clearly, with the subsequent financial situation, that would be different now).

As for selling on after she passed away, the HA (who owned 20% of the property, with the residents owning 80%) had a waiting list. I think it took about 2 days from when we put it on the market to get a cash buyer in place.
 
And the fact that the Management can veto your buyer when it comes to sell and often do so eventually the only buyer is the management themselves at a much lower price.
 
A retirement flat? I've never heard of that happening.
 
From memory, my Mum's was around £90 per month (she passed in 2006, so that would be higher now). When she sold her old house, we invested some of the equity in a bond that generated sufficient monthly income to cover that service charge (again, from memory, it was around £22k at the time - clearly, with the subsequent financial situation, that would be different now).

As for selling on after she passed away, the HA (who owned 20% of the property, with the residents owning 80%) had a waiting list. I think it took about 2 days from when we put it on the market to get a cash buyer in place.

I have worked in one block of retirement flats in Hinckley Leicestershire, and a couple of years ago it was £400 per month, on top of all the other bills.
 
The ex misses and i looked into buying a lodge a few years back . Looked lovely overlooking a lake, and the lodges were spaced well apart. Iirc it was cheaper than a house (just) but the ground rent was expensive.
Pros- nice quiet life with no close neighbours
Cons- ground rent.
Edit! Just to add regarding retirement flats. I assume they are the same/similar as sheltered accommodation? If so the charges can be really expensive too.
 
Confused now
 
Each retirement complex will be different depending on the facilities, who runs them and what services they offer. Is there a warden and staff? are they there 24hrs? Is there a canteen/restaurant? Are any alarms dealt with on site or linked to a central remote administration? Is it privately run or run by a Residents Association? They can vary from a simple gated community to a full on care home with flats rather than rooms.
 
There are two types of park. Holiday and residential. That's the first thing to get clear. Secondly, as you have already sensibly decided, don't do it. There is only one winner and that is the park owner. I know, I was one up until last year. Funnily enough I am now sitting in my lodge (on a park 15 minutes from my house) but a: I can comfortably afford it and b: I know what I'm doing. Not trying to sound patronising, just telling people to do their research thoroughly as it can become very expensive.
 
Yep, I knew a couple who had a static caravan in a nice park, but it was getting a bit tatty...the park owners insisted they had to buy a new one (from them too) at a cost of nearly 20k, then there was the cost of getting rid of the old one, again the park insisted they would do that.. They just left (at a cost of course.) :(
 
Actually, a new park home is very well insulated, and the one I've been in, new in 2015, is warm in winter and rads hardly ever come on it seems to hold its heat well, the opposite in summer.
Not sure about it as an investment opportunity, bit there is no shortage of buyers around our way
 

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