Downsizing to a Park Home????

We've looked into it too, and were put off by the terms and conditions. DH is taking full retirement after Christmas (or so he says), so we are looking to downsize and move nearer to the grandchildren. Retirement apartments and small bungalows are what I'm currently looking at, although retirement apartments appear to come with conditions too.

We have never considered this style of living but I do know of people who have found the same terms when they have looked into the possibility of buying a Park Home,the Park owners hold all the rights and can even refuse people who would possibly be a potential purchaser for the most stupid of reasons,my DDs friend lost more than 18K on the purchase and sale of their Park Home in one year when they realised that the style of living was not for them after they where told their DGCs where not allowed to stay over summer holidays so be careful,also be aware some homes only have a certain lifespan time before you have to replace again through the owner who would expect a percentage of the cost.

What do you actually get for the money? They've always just looked like posh portacabins to me.

We too looked into it. There were terms and conditions, we could have taken our Labrador, but no other pets were allowed and we weren't certain. we could guarantee he wouldn't bark occasionally. Ended up with a tiny country cottage and another dog.

notoveryet it sounds perfect specially the other dog in your life.

That about sums it up Jane. Some are in beautiful settings and well furnished and I love the idea of being able to use the on park facilities such as swimming pools but the cons outweigh the pros.

This website's home page has a slide show of park homes which don't look at all like Portacabins. www.parkhome-living.co.uk/ Some look better than the shoeboxes traditional houses you can get for twice the price of a residential park home, and better insulated and designed.

They don't all ban pets - the one at Fordell near Dunfermline, doesn't. My aunt lived there happily with her husband for many years, until she realised that being on her own there without a car and relying on an infrequent bus service wasn't very sensible. She moved into a council house and has since bought it, but still hankers to go back now that the bus sevice has improved.

Each park has its own terms and ambience - you have to visit, and talk to people who live there, to get what is good and bad about each.

I live in a park home. I had to downsize for financial reasons and this was all I could afford, 7 years ago.
I bought this one through an estate agent and it was a bargain price. New ones being built now are much more expensive. But second hand ones can still be found at reasonable prices.
We are allowed to have pets here, dogs, cats, etc.
My ground rent is £120 per month which isn't too bad in my opinion. I have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and it is just like a lovely bungalow inside. No homes here look like portakabins! I also have a separate detached garage and a large garden all round. I have a pitchd roof and double glazing.
It is true that there is a premium to pay if we sell. On this site it is 10 percent. Efforts are being made legally I believe to get this changed. We are allowed to sell privately, through an agent or whatever, but the premium still applies.
What we buy into here is the lifestyle. We are in lovely countryside, surrounded by trees, fields, birds. It is simply beautiful, and the groundsmen keep every thing looking lovely. No one under the age of 50 can live here so it is marvellously peaceful! Children are allowed to visit of course. We have a wonderful residents association which organises all sorts of outings, meetings, hobbies, and a monthly magazine. We also have a beautiful lake stocked with fish and a thriving fishing club for residents only.
It is simply heaven here. There are many lovely sites all over the country and I would recommend at least looking into the possibilities.
The old ideas about some site owners being unpleasant to tenants, etc, have long gone. In recent years several acts of parliament have been passed to protect us from unscrupulous site owners.

Sounds idyllic Henetha!

That sounds very nice henetha. Reading what you say has got us thinking again.

Don't judge them all by the first one you look at - you wouldn't judge all houses by the first one you viewed.

Yes I thought I read somewhere that the Government had stopped the unscrupulous sales methods used by some Park owners. Henetha your place sounds ideal and obviously a good move for you.
Keep looking Gardenman there is a place out there for you.

We could never do it as we have 25 yr old son living with us.

There are some lovely two-bedroom ones, some with an en suite as well as a main bathroom. You'd be surprisd how much space there is.

My husband and I always wanted a park home, but after getting our mortgage paid off and owning our house, we were reluctant to start paying out again in ground rent. My daughter has recently been on at me to think about it, but I can`t get her to believe how much the ground rent can be.

They are good in one way for downsizing if it means it is going to put some descent money in your bank. You may own the unit but in effect you become a tenant. Friends of ours were struggling moneywise and they have ended up he works as a groundsmen on the site and his wife cleans the site owners house. They don't pay any ground rent gas or electricity but they are not paid a wage because it would affect their pensions.

Not all sites have the 50 age rule, ninathenana. Although I think quite a lot do.
It sure is as near to my dream-bungalow-in-the-country as I'm ever going to get.
Thanks for nice comments.

We are thinking of buying a static caravan in tenerife. The service charge is quite high but overall would be cheaper than renting an apartment which we have been doing. Any advice or experiences to share would be gratefully received.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Another Zombie thread resurrected for a bit of spam advertising.
Reported

Gardenman99, my friend looked into it and I went along also. The home itself was lovely, spacious, well equipped etc. with a very smart kitchen/diner and living area - and beautiful views.

It seemed a real bargain, compared to bungalows or flats of similar size. Then, the many restrictions became clear. Water supply and gas canisters had to be bought from the site (safety rules) pets were banned - as was hanging out any washing, visitors restricted, deliveries only to site office - and many more rules.

The final nail in the coffin was that parking was a short distance away (down a narrow, sloped path) so we couldn't imagine how frail people would manage in icy conditions.

Gardenman posted in 2016.
I hope (s)he has arrived at a decision by now.