Buying A Park Home - Previous Price Sold For

[countrykid]

We are considering buying a Residential Park Home, one that you can live in full time as your permanent address eg your post gets delivered to it and you pay council tax on it etc.

With a normal house its easy via Rightmove or the Land Registry site to find out what a house or Flat has previously sold for, but does anyone know of a website that gives details of previous selling prices for Park Homes. Like a Flat it is leasehold, but unlike qa flat I'm not sure if the sale gets registered in the same way.
Thanks in advance
John

[Dogsbody2]

Owners of flats have long leases - it is routine to extend the lease with the cardholder before it runs down to 80 years.
Whilst I am not an expert on park home leases, I do not believe this applies.
The point is that there is a level of stability with leasehold flats, so chartered valuers can place a value on them. The lease gets registered at the LR too, which is where these organisations source the price paid info.
I don't think this happens with a park home lease.

So I don't believe you should be trying to assess the investment potential of such a lease. And you should take independent advice before signing up to one, because you don't have the same renewal rights. The price is what it is, and you should compare it to other alternative costs of providing living space. For some people it works in their life time, but it does not have a market value that can be tracked, and the value will not appreciate, only depreciate with time. Also you will have to renew the van from time to time.

[hc4361]

A park home is not registered with the Land Registry as the individual plot of land it sits on is not registered, just the whole site as a single plot.

It might be possible to find how much a similar home on the same site was advertised for for within the last few years by trawling the internet to find estate agents listings.

[hc4361]

Having said all that you check online at the Land Registry to see if it is listed - that costs nothing.

[Old_Geezer]

No expert either, but I think you should consider the mobile home, value separately from the right to be on the location. I think it is probably more useful to check usual prices of the mobile home, perhaps check new as well as used. And the going rate for plots on the sites around you. Be aware the site owner has a lot of power over what is and isn't permitted and what changes. And owners can change on a regular basis as a new investor buys the old one out.

[cassa333]

I have always understood that park homes devalue rather than increase in value.

If there are no records on what prices they have fetched in the past then have a good look round at current prices. All you have to ask yourself is it value for money in the area? If it is then you go onto the other questions of how much is the yearly costs, how much to run, what rights you have if the site owners become difficult about the age of your PH, length of lease etc etc.

[Peter Pedant]

yeah look again

I agree Cassa that it is a depreciating asset

so it isnt like the standard home which is lovely to live in and hey its value goes UP the longer you do so ...

The other thing is that the service charge is variable ( erm goes up ) and if it is pegged after a few years you er dont get any services

altogether a pretty terrible deal

[ivor4781]

cassa333,
not so park homes DO appreciate in value,some of these cost upwards of £60.000,as house prices rise so do these homes obviously not to the same extent but if you sell in the same condition as it was bought (within reason) you will get a profit

[countrykid]

My thanks to everyone who answered. We have now decided not to go ahead, instead we'll be looking in the same area but bricks and mortar.

[Mosaic]

Further to the 'cons' - yes, the management costs always go up not down, but also the 'Site Rules' are pretty much made up on the spot, and changed on the spot. So you may buy because you like the 'no dogs' policy, to find that policy changed a few years later.
Extra charges for parking two cars on your plot....
However, the peaceful locations and stunning views that some have are deemed worth it for many. Personally I wouldn't buy one but I know people who've been very happy with theirs.