The Best Guide For Buying A Holiday Home

It can be difficult choosing between buying a house, a car, and even a new mobile phone in this day and age. There is so much choice and information out there on the market; it can be hard to narrow it down. This is also true when searching to buy a holiday home.

LOOKING FOR A HOLIDAY HOME?

When you are looking for the perfect holiday home, you can be faced with a lot of information and find yourself speaking to lots of different salespeople. In addition, you may be relying on knowledge from family, friends, or even strangers. As a result, you can be somewhat in the dark about the whole thing and lack the real knowledge needed to make a good decision.

In addition, you might conclude that you can’t afford it or you’re not sure about the credit you might need. If this is what you’re currently thinking, then please read on.

This guide will explain everything you need to know:

• Which park will best suit you?
• What’s the total cost of a holiday home?
• What to look out for?
• How to get the best value for your money?

Your Holiday Home – The First Steps

There is no doubt that one of the largest purchases you will make in your life can be a holiday home. Whether it is a static caravan or lodge, you want to make sure that you are making all the right decisions. You want to know where to look, where to buy, what to buy, and who to buy from to ensure you have made the right decision. It can mean the difference between your dream holiday home experience and a disaster at this point in the process.

So before diving headlong into a rash decision, you should take some time to read through this guide first. The good news is finding a nice caravan is actually really easy! First the trickiest part, location.

Location – Where Should I Start My Search?

The first thing to remember is location is crucial when thinking about buying a holiday home. It should be one of the first things you look into. At this time, it might be worth asking some questions such as, where do you want your holiday home to be? Or perhaps, would I like to be by the seaside, in the depths of the countryside or close to family? Click here to see our Map of holiday parks throughout the UK

Travel Time to your Holiday Home

Depending on where you want your holiday home to be, we suggest you aim for an area within a one to two-hour car journey from your home. At least this means you don’t have an extended and tiring journey to make, and you can easily return home should an emergency arise as well.

Of course, you don’t need a car to enjoy the holiday home lifestyle! When you start your search, you will find that there are plenty of great locations that can be accessed by public transport. In addition, if you plan in advance, you can snag some really great travel deals!

We recommend taking out your map to pick out some areas that you might be interested in. Try to focus on ones that are within your planned travel distance from your home. It may also be worth looking at various tourist websites to help you.

Holiday Home and Hobbies

An important consideration when looking at holiday homes is, what do you like to do when you’re on holiday? Do you have specific interests that might require a certain type of location? And furthermore, could this could sway you when you’re making your decision on location.

For example, there isn’t a lot of sailing in the Yorkshire Dales and you might struggle with mountaineering in Norfolk! But The Lake District could offer everything that you need! All in all, this activity will help you to shorten your list of locations and possibly highlight others you hadn’t considered.

Remember…

• Travel time – How long do you want to spend on travel to your perfect location?
• Specific interests – Is there somewhere you want to concentrate on or rule out based on your interests?
• Choosing a park

Furthermore, if you have a location in mind then the next step is to consider the kind of park you would like your holiday home to be on.

How Do You Enjoy Spending Your Time?

Here you need to think about what you enjoy doing with your time and what each park offers you in respect to that. We have supported hundreds of people who are considering different parks and this is what we’ve found to be the most common considerations:

• Peace and quiet
• Activities and entertainment
• Will you be bringing children or young people with you?
• Do you have a dog that requires space to be walked?
• Does the park offer full accessibility for people with disabilities?
• Do you prefer to be in an adult-orientated park?

Without question, the best way to find out if the park is right for you would be to visit websites for parks, or alternatively, you can call them directly.

Telephone The Park

Telephoning a park is a quick and easy way to get the answers you need and it’s also useful to see how the park deals with you as a potential customer. If you are contacting the park directly, these are things to look out for:

• Do they sound friendly?
• Are they happy to answer your questions?
• Are they willing to send you more information?

On balance, with smaller parks, you may end up speaking to the owner. On the other hand, larger parks tend to have sales teams. At the same time, salespeople are obviously there to ‘make the sale’; don’t worry and take your time. At the end of the day, any decision will be your decision.

Wasting Time

You are not wasting anyone’s time by taking your time. You are there to seek out information to make an informed decision, so make sure you take enough time. No need to rush. Remember, it’s okay to say that a park is not right for you and your needs.

Remember…

• Think about the lifestyle you want
• Collect as much information as you need
• Telephone parks directly
• How much does it cost to be on a park?

Before you run off to take a look around a park in person, you need to be aware of the running costs and understand that you need to look at the total annual costs, not just compare each element.

Here’s a list of the different terms you will come across and what they mean:

• Site fees – rental paid to the park for the pitch your static caravan or lodge is on and using their services.
• Local Council rates – your cost contribution to the park is the local council’s supply of services such as refuse collection, water rates, and sewerage connection.
• Insurance – for the caravan and/or its contents if either gets damaged (See our article on holiday home insurance here)
• Gas & Electricity – just as you would use in a house and sometimes supplied through the park owner

The total of these items can cost from £1,000 to over £10,000 for the top-of-the-line parks. On average, your overall annual costs can be somewhere between £3,000 and £6,000.

What Are Site Fees?

The cost of your site fees will relate to the level of service and facilities on the park.

For example, for £1,000 per year, you will likely get a very basic service in return. However, for those paying a much higher site fee, you could get a comprehensive leisure club or lakeside mooring, perhaps. It’s important to know that there are usually ways of offsetting these costs: (See our more information on site fees here)

Letting Out Your Holiday Home

When you invest in a holiday home such as a lodge or static caravan, there are financial opportunities to be gained. Generally, most parks will allow you to let your property, and some will even manage the rentals for you. So you can make a small secondary income by renting out your holiday home when you’re not using it. Furthermore, you can then use this money to offset some of the yearly fees, or sometimes they even pay it off completely!

Renting out your luxury property may not be on your radar and may not sit comfortably with you. By and large, this is a common reservation. You might be thinking, “it will not be looked after,” or “it might get damaged.” We talk with lots of holiday parks, and generally, in their experience, accidental damage or wilful damage is extremely rare.

Damage occurring is an unlikely outcome, and it’s also balanced against the potential benefit of renting it out. Our advice would be to speak to a few parks about their experience as this could mean the difference between settling for a park you’re not 100% happy with and getting your dream park where your costs are offset by letting.

How Your Park Can Help

If a park has a subletting service, they usually have the right facilities to help you if a wine stain appears on a carpet! Remember, accidents do happen, and they are much easier to swallow if your running costs are paid for! (See our more information on static caravan rental here).

What’s Your Limit?

When it comes to your perfect holiday home, don’t be put off if the park you’ve set your heart on is ever so slightly higher than your limit. In our experience, it is much better to decide on a cost you can justify when you’re stood soaking in the atmosphere.

Remember…

• What are the annual fees?
• Renting out – is it allowed on the park you’re looking at and can it contribute to your costs?

For the most part, making appointments is the best way to ensure that someone can dedicate time to showing you around the park. Furthermore, they can answer all your questions and show you some holiday homes. Even though you are making an appointment, it does not mean you are obliged to buy, no matter how much time you spend there.

Gather Information

At this point, you are visiting the park to obtain as much relevant information as possible. Furthermore, you also need to establish whether or not this park is right for you. Undoubtedly, allow plenty of time to look around each park and extra time to look at the local area. Every park will be different – some will want to escort you around, and others will be more than happy to let you roam around on your own.

Holiday Home – The Local Area

Given these points, make sure you investigate the local area whilst you’re there too. The park team has first-hand information that your personal exploration can only add to. For that reason, a great question to ask yourself is, “Can I see myself spending time here.”

Caravan Salespeople

In essence, they are just like all other sales people, with varied approaches and varied sales pitches.

Their knowledge doesn’t necessarily come from years of experience as there are lots of young salespeople out there with a vast amount of holiday park information. In this case, as long as the person showing you around is answering your questions, you’re in excellent hands. Large holiday sites tend to have a set plan for introducing potential new customers to their parks, and it’s usually very comprehensive and well worth getting involved.

Make Sure You Get To Know:

• The park layout
• The overall size
• The facilities

Being an owner of a holiday home can be different from just holidaying there, so even if you have been to the park before, see if you can talk to other owners. Find out about:

• The site rules
• How are the utilities managed?
• Age limits for caravans staying on the site?
• Who can help owners if something goes wrong?
• Do you have a garden area?
• What are the rules for pets?

Given these points, don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you can!

Holiday Home Annual Costs

In view of the information above, ask for a breakdown of the annual costs to keep a static caravan on their park.

Think about:

• Are holiday lets allowed
• When are you expected to pay your bills
• Can you pay for the fees monthly

Some parks use incentives to tempt potential buyers, one of which is to roll in the first year’s fees with the purchase price. On this occasion, this is a great help when budgeting for your first year’s costs.

Some of the things that may be included in your purchase price are:

• Current year’s annual fees
• New caravan set up fees
• A gas bottle or two, or free connection to the supply

Sometimes insurance and local rates may be included and things like bedding, kitchen essentials, for example. By including these kinds of things, your initial cash outlay is reduced. However, don’t forget to ask if they can be included to close the deal.

Caravans And How To Pay For Them

Historically, most parks will insist that you buy a caravan from them to be on their park. On the whole, that’s normal practice, and you will find that they are probably tied to one or two caravan manufacturers. In the first place, why not take a look at our overview of the key manufacturers here.

Money

Of course, the person you are dealing with will want to know your price limit to try to provide you with the best advice. Even though you will be talking about money, don’t let this deter you. Furthermore, be straightforward whether you’re buying a top-of-the-range lodge with chandeliers or a cute chintz log cabin.

Holiday Home Payment

There are different ways you can pay for a caravan:

• Cash or card – A great option when you have the money saved up. This method will allow you to pay for the holiday home in full. The first thing to remember here is that the law insists that large cash transactions must be reported upon. Therefore, some parks may not take cash for sums over £14,000. It can also be much safer to use a debit card.
• Third-Party Finance – This can be either taking out a bank loan or borrowing from family, for example. If you’re looking into this option, make sure you also look into specialist holiday home finance.

Holiday Home Specialist Funding

• Specialist holiday home funding – Many parks will have partnered with a specialist lender for holiday homes. Interest rates will vary, but they are usually comparable to high-street banks. If your park offers this, they will talk you through your options in much more detail. Don’t worry about the idea of ‘finance,’ especially if you are unsure about your credit rating or are in receipt of incapacity benefits relating to work. In most cases, finance companies will usually consider all circumstances when purchasing a holiday home and consider all sources of income.
• Finance examples – Most parks have examples of what specific monthly payments will get you on their site. Use them to hone down your choices.
• Cash deposits – Most funding companies will ask for a cash deposit, either by physical cash or a debit or credit card.

Which Is The Holiday Home For You?

Please bear in mind that it doesn’t need to be pricey for you to fall in love with it. You need to make sure you choose a static caravan or lodge with a balance of head and heart! Undeniably, both static caravans and lodges can come in many different styles and layouts and various budgets and designs.

In the light of this, ask yourself these questions in order to narrow your choice down:

• How many beds do you need?
• Are you planning on renting out your holiday home?
• Are there any specifics you want or don’t want?
• Do you want a separate dining area?
• Is a utility or cloak room important?
• Do you want a large deck area?

Without a doubt, it is wise to test “drive” all potential caravans and make sure you take the opportunity to try the seating out, lay on the beds, check out the size of the storage areas. Consider how easy it is to get in and out of the shower, for example. Take your time; this is your chance to iron everything out and create your dream home away from home.

What Area Of The Park Do You Want To Be In?

Look around your park of choice and determine which area you would most like your caravan to be located at.

Is being close to the kid’s play area important, or dog park, or leisure centre, or in a quiet area. Whatever the reasons, it’s going to be personal to you. Use this time to figure out the best place for you and your needs within the limits of the park itself.

If you find that the park has a limited amount of pitches available and none are quite right for you, ask the park whether they would be willing to move you at a later date.

Are You Worried About Something?

If you have done all your checks, but there is still something not quite right, don’t ignore it; ask. The point often overlooked is that the park wants to sell you a caravan. If there’s something that isn’t to your liking and can’t be changed, don’t waste any more time moving on to the next park.

The Perfect Holiday Home

If you have considered everything and all the pieces fit with your idea of a perfect holiday home, then you can begin making plans with the park.

A dedicated salesperson at the park will walk you through the key stages to take, including the all-important payment stage. Until the park has received an agreement from a finance company or the funds from you, they will not start the next stages, such as ordering the new caravan or arranging the transfer of a pre-loved one to you.

In view of this, they will also work with you on the timing of various aspects such as siting dates and moving in dates. It must be remembered that new caravans are, in most cases, built to order so it can take months before yours is ready to be sited on the park. On the positive side, some parks do order a few in advance in anticipation of future sales, so it maybe be a matter of weeks, or they may have one ready for you to walk into.

Remember…

Documentation will also be required. In this instance, a photo driving license or passport, two proofs of your address, and a utility bill or bank statement could be asked for. These are required for any finance that is needed and more often than not for the park records.

In particular, make sure that the park provides you with everything you need, for example:

• A copy of the purchase contract with the park
• Site fees detailing all costs you’ll incur whilst on the park
• Finance agreement
• Site rules (sometimes called Terms & Conditions)
• Deposit receipt
• Site license from the local planning authority

What’s Next?

All in all, there is not much for you to do now, except plan for your first trip to your new holiday home. The park will be working hard to get your new caravan ready for you. You can check up on your caravan’s progress by giving the park a quick ring or an email.

Getting The Keys!

Congratulations! You are now the owner of a holiday home!

The park will arrange an appointment with you to introduce you to your caravan and explain how things work; how to use the fitted equipment, the boiler, how to order extra gas bottles if required,  what happens if the electricity supply cuts out, etc.

Again, if in doubt, just ask! You might notice that a window or a door is slightly out of line as the caravan settles and you’re walking around for the first time. Don’t worry; it is perfectly normal, and the park will rectify this for you. Don’t be afraid to report any little jobs that need to be addressed after moving in.

That’s it, a guide to making the best choices for your new static caravan or lodge. Furthermore, if you are looking for some holiday park inspiration, why not visit our portal and start your search here.

And remember…Now it is time to enjoy the memories!