Questions & Answers

Buying a Holiday Home often raises many questions. Here are some common questions and Answers.
 
What additional costs are involved after I have bought my Holiday Home?
 
There are several annual costs payable such as Ground rent, this is the rent paid to the park for occupying a pitch each year. Local authority rates are normally payable this can range from £100 - £400 per year depending on the sites size and location(some sites do build this into the annual ground rent). Fuel costs for gas and electric are payable, these are normally metered so you just pay for what you use. You will also need to insure your home this is dependant on the value of the home.
 
Can I finance my Holiday Home?
 
Most sites will offer some form of finance to help purchase your holiday home, these are normally through companies like Blackhorse or Capital Bank. You can finance for periods up to 10 years. These loans are generally secured on the home itself, similar to car finance.
 
Why is there such a large difference in the prices of Holiday Homes?
 
The prices of Holiday Homes are dependant on the individual sites location, facilities, services and park environment. If they are situated in areas of outstanding natural beauty and have a very desirable location the price of the homes will be more expensive.
 
How long can I keep my Holiday Home on the site I choose?
 
There are different times on different sites. The standard length of time from new set out by the British Holiday & Home Parks association is 10 years for caravans and 20 years for twin Lodges. As the quality and price of homes have gone up in recent times many parks offer more than this and can be up to 15 years on caravans and 30 + years on lodges. Some sites allow you to purchase a longer time period.
 
Can I rent out my Holiday Home?
 
This is very much dependent on the individual sites rules. Some allow it on certain areas of the park, some have schemes whereby they will rent it out for you, this normally comes at a charge of around 19% of your rental income.
 
I have heard that it is difficult to sell Holiday Homes if our circumstances change, is this true?
 
It should not be the case, always check the parks policies on resale rights. You are protected by the National Caravan Council Code of Practice (You can download this at the bottom of this page). You have three main options one is to remove the home to another location, normally the park will charge a nominal disconnection fee. The site may make an offer to buy it back from you, although this would normally be a lower price as they will want to resell it again at a profit. The best option is to sell it privately, there is a standard fee payable to the site which is 15% of the sales price payable by the purchaser, simple forms of advertisements are normally enough, you will find most family run sites very helpful when it comes to selling your home as they like to have happy customers on the site. This may not always be the case with very large sites.
 
If I buy a Holiday Home can I live in it?
 
Holiday Homes are not for permanent residence. They should not be occupied for long continuous periods of time. Sites site licences will dictate how long you can occupy them for. They are for Holiday use only.

National Caravan Council Code of Practice PDF