Useful Guideline from Age UK re buying a Park Home
We’ve talked about this before but we are having a lot more enquires from people living on Holiday Park Sites as their main residence; or a 12 month Holiday park being misrepresented as a 12 month Residential Park. If you buy a Holiday Home on a Holiday park and use it as your Main Residence; you are basically acting illegally!!! We won’t insure your park home for one thing as we don’t want to encourage this and you have no security of tenure, so there is nothing to stop the park selling up to a housing development and you will be out on your ear.
However, this is something that can easily be avoided if the potential buyer applies a bit of common sense.
Firstly, get a solicitor involved. You might think you don’t need one and the park might tell you the same but it really could save you a lot of expense and hassle and they would immediately find out whether the home you are being sold is actually a Residential Park Home designed for Residential use and on a Residential Licensed Park or its a Holiday Home on a 12 Month Holiday Park.
Like most things, you could do all this yourself and check with the council about the licence and check with the manufacturers to see if that home is designed to BSEN3632 standards, that’s residential standards to you and I or whether it’s a holiday home designed to only be used for holiday purposes and really you shouldn’t have to do this as the Park should be open and honest and the good ones are.
But like most things there are always those that will misrepresent the truth. They wont openly lie to you but they will leave you with the impression that you can live there. The usual message is to keep stressing that it has a 12 month licence and is open all year round. It may have a 12 month licence but only for holiday use!!!! Don’t fall for this. Best to get a solicitor involved.
Basically do your research and get a solicitor and survey carried out and you won’t go far wrong.
For more information click here for some Useful Guidance from AGE UK about Park Homes and Buying a Park Home
