Buying A Bespoke Park Home

Buying a bespoke park home is becoming increasingly popular as more manufacturers offer services which allow you to tailor the design of your home to your specific needs.

If you are preparing to buy a bespoke park home, here are some things to think about which may help make the process of purchase, installation and moving in, go as smoothly as possible.

Choosing how to buy

There are three ways of buying a park home. The first way is to choose the park you like and buy a new or previously lived in home from the park management, already sited on one of their pitches. This is often the most straightforward way of getting your park home, as there are only two parties involved in the whole process, you and the park home management.

Alternatively, since revised regulations were brought in by the government in 2013, you can buy direct from an existing resident who is moving out, as long as you meet the basic regulations of the park you are moving to. (This is usually your age and whether or not you have pets). You don’t otherwise need to be approved by the park management. However, if you are in close contact with them, it can really help things run smoothly when you move in.

The third and increasingly popular way is to place a deposit securing a vacant pitch that you like and to have your park home made to your exact specifications by the manufacturer. This is a little more involved as it means liaising between the manufacturer and the park management, but for many it is worth it to get the home they really want.

Manufacturers and park management are often very familiar with the process of buying a bespoke park home and may have worked with each other before. This means that you can leave a lot of the organisation to them once you have made it clear what you intend.

Talk to the park manager

Whichever method you pick to get your park home, you can help everything go smoothly by keeping in close contact with the management of the park you intend to move to. This is, of course, unavoidable if you are buying your home from the park. However, even if you are buying second hand or getting a bespoke home made for you, it can still really help avoid problems if the park management are kept closely informed of your intentions.

When you buy a bespoke park home, clear communication between you, the manufacturer and the park management can be what makes the whole thing a smooth ride. You might, for instance, need to check with the park management that they definitely can accommodate a home made by the manufacturer you are looking at. It may even be a good idea to start with the manufacturers recommended by the management of the park you wish to move to as they will probably have worked together in the past. You may also need to place a deposit with the park to secure the right pitch for your bespoke home.

Designing your home

Designing your own park home does not have to be a daunting process. Because of the relative simplicity of park home construction, manufacturers are able to give you examples to look at that give you a base to work with.

One of the great things about having a bespoke park home made for you is that you can explore the possibilities from the comfort of your home. Once you have landed on a park you like, there is no more driving around to find the right home for you. Manufacturers will provide you with many alternatives to think about and the elements that are available for you to put together into a great new home. 

You can play with the size (depending on the pitch you choose), the layout, the fittings and fixtures, the colour schemes and décor until you see what you want. With some manufacturers you may be able to take advantage of computer aided design packages, which show you your home emerging as you specify what you want.

Designing your own home might seem daunting at first but the manufacturers will usually take you through it step by step. You don’t need any design experience yourself, just an imagination and vision of how you want to live. The designing stage can be good fun and a real opportunity to get creative and make sure you realise, as closely as possible, the home you are imagining.

Placing your order

Once you have chosen a home you are going to be happy in, you can go ahead and order its manufacture. At this point, as well as paying for the home itself, you may have to place a non-refundable deposit on the pitch you want to keep available. This is normal practice and happens too in the ‘bricks and mortar’ housing market. If you are waiting for the sale of your old house to go through, you may want to wait until completion before committing your finances to a new park home. House sales can fall through for a number of reasons and you won’t want to be caught out by this. Some people adopt the rule of never leaving any deposit they cannot afford to lose.

Ask to see the written agreement

Before spending any money or leaving a deposit, ask to see two documents.

The first is the written agreement between you and the residential park you are to move into. The park has a legal obligation now to provide you with this 28 days in advance, so that you have time to consult a solicitor should you want to. It is a good idea at this stage to check that everything that is included in your pitch is itemised in the written agreement. This might include a garden shed, for example or other outdoor structures.

The second document you should at least lay eyes on is the park’s licensing agreement which should, by law, be publicly displayed somewhere in the park or at the management’s offices if they are off site. This is evidence that the park is indeed, a residential park, allowed to accommodate permanent residents and not a holiday park.

Put your park home insurance in place

You’ll need to make sure that your park home is insured as soon as you take ownership of it. Give our friendly insurance consultants a call in our Northampton office on 01604 946 796 and they can take you through all the information you need to provide and give you a great value quote for your park home insurance.

We hope this short guide to buying a bespoke park home is useful and helps make the process go smoothly.

Please note that all park home insurance cover is subject to acceptance of terms and conditions.

This is a marketing article from Park Home Assist, multi award-winning providers of residential park home insurance.  If you would like to speak to an advisor regarding insurance for your park home, please contact our friendly team in our Northampton office on 01604 946 796.

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Published – 16/09/2022