But it’s not exactly your conventional brick and mortar building. It’s easy to see why such homes are proving popular. Image: Park Holidays UK However, for around a tenth of the value of many properties in the city, more and more people are considering buying a park home. And often for more than just a vacation. If you’ve got a few quid from £46,000 to burn a hole in your back pocket, then a six-year-old, double-glazed, centrally heated caravan at Seaview Holiday Park, operated by Park Holidays UK , slap-bang on the coast and about midway between Whitstable and Herne Bay. There are, frankly, worse places to have a second home. Tony Clish, group director of Park Holidays, says: “During the pandemic, many people have been holidaying in the UK – perhaps for the first time in a long time – and they’ve clearly enjoyed the experience. This has led many families to consider the benefits of owning their own holiday caravan or lodge and being able to take breaks and longer holidays throughout the four seasons.” Park Holidays also operates sites in Birchington, Sheppey and Romney Marsh. Seaview, between Whitstable and Herne Bay, is operated by Park Holidays UK There’s certainly a lot to like about the concept. Your own little escape from the rat run in a maintained holiday park with all the elements that come with it. Think pools, bars and play areas for the kids or grandkids. And those prices are certainly worth pondering (there is, incidentally, a brand new two-bedroom caravan for a smidge under £63,000 also available at the time of writing). But for all the advantages, there are also disadvantages. And the first is that while it would be tempting to think “I’ll sell my house, make a small fortune, and then buy a park house and live off the rest,” it’s not that simple. The pandemic has inspired a surge in the holiday home market. Image: Haven Firstly, many of the major holiday parks in the county – if we take Kent as an example – are not open all year round. If you bought a posh caravan at Seaview, say, then the park is closed to owners for the whole of February. If Allhallows Park in Hoo, run by holiday giant Haven, had a bigger draw then you wouldn’t be able to access it from early November to early March. But while the price tag for the camper itself can be tempting, there are many additional costs that can be easy to overlook. Not to mention some obstacles. For starters, if you think you could get a mortgage on your property at a discount, think again. Haven has recently invested heavily in Allhallows Holiday Park. Image: Haven Banks won’t lend you money for such a house, as you won’t own the land it’s built on – that, obviously, remains with the site owner. Which suddenly makes finding £46,000 a little harder for most of us. If you don’t have the cash, then you will need to secure a loan against the property. Park Holidays cites an example property costing £35,000. Until you pay a 10% deposit (£3,500), then the lender partners would require monthly payments (at a fixed rate of 4.75%) of £505. For seven years. Which can test many budgets. Then there are location fees. And these can be abrupt. Depending on the park of your choice (those with more facilities will be at the higher end), where your caravan is and how big it is, Haven charges between £4,360 and upwards of £10,000. Paid annually. This fee covers the right to have your home in the park, the use of the park facilities and is intended for the general maintenance and upkeep of the park as well as to offset the costs incurred by the business as a business. Parks such as Haven’s in Allhallows allow families to enjoy frequent breaks Then on top of that there will be all the normal utilities you expect, plus insurance for your home. The one bill you won’t get – assuming you have permanent residence elsewhere – is a council tax bill. Haven – which, according to other reputable companies, is ahead of the costs involved – estimates that the annual bill for all the additional running and rental costs will set you back between £5,505 and more than £11,477. But why, you might ask, would you want a holiday home in Kent when you could go further afield? The answer, of course, is convenience. Tony Clish adds: “To get the most out of your holiday home, we’d recommend buying in a park no more than a couple of hours’ drive away. This means you can simply take off whenever you want, for example if the weather forecast looks suddenly good for the weekend. Potential owners need to be sure they understand what is involved in buying a vacation home. Image: Park Holidays UK “Having narrowed down your choice of parks, it might be an idea to get a fuller picture of its character by staying there for a few nights in a holiday rental. This will provide an opportunity to get to know its facilities and features in greater depth before making a final decision.” But remember that, unlike a brick and mortar siding, a mobile home won’t make for a nice future nest egg. Instead of the ever-increasing prices we see in the housing market, your RV, just like your car, will begin to depreciate from the moment you lay your head down for the first night’s sleep. In addition, when you sell your holiday home, you will also receive a commission – usually 10% of the sale price – to the park owners. Which will further erode your investment. KentOnline reporter Nicola Jordan took the plunge herself – and snapped up a caravan at Seaview last year. He said: “When I was looking, prices ranged from £32,995 for a ‘cottage’ to £149,995 for a ‘luxury accommodation’. Nicola Jordan enjoys a quieter pace of life at her holiday retreat “It’s a bit like buying a boat in that unlike a house, the value goes down over the years. “But weighing the pros and cons, my overall view is that it’s fun and that’s certainly what matters. “Who would have thought that a year ago I would be wandering around the site comparing caravans, admiring gardens and commenting to myself: ‘Mmm, nice deck?’ And, of course, there’s always the option to leave your holiday home outside when you’re not using it – often through a management agreement with park bosses. Keep in mind, however, that they will expect at least some of the rental availability to be during the peak summer months. Time when, of course, you might be thinking you’d like to be in it too. Tony Clish adds: “We have a very experienced lettings team who can advise on the best possible solution in each owner’s case based on the profits they want to achieve and when they want personal use of the holiday home. Plus, of course, they look after every aspect , from managing bookings to cleaning and changing sheets and welcoming customers to the park.” Today’s mobile homes have all the drawbacks But, of course, for many, the temptation to enjoy holiday park life as a permanent resident is too much to resist. They often claim to be staying with relatives—and thus provide an address for mail and official documentation purposes—while staying in the park for as long as operating hours allow. Get a holiday home at Park Holiday’s New Beach Holiday Park in Dymchurch, for example, and you can stay there for all but two weeks in February. During this time you may need to stay with friends or even fly to sunnier climes. However, he didn’t deal with this and when we asked his sales team we were told that the park “required proof of payment of council tax and bills” every “six to eight months”. Which will inevitably complicate matters. Not to mention the fact, of course, that cottages are not designed to be year-round residences. Alfie Best believes park homes are the key to unlocking the housing crisis But there are other options. Wyldecrest Parks, for example, is making a name for itself with its residential home parks – purpose-built for a cheaper alternative to bricks and mortar. Rather than cottage style, its properties are rather more rugged – and priced to reflect that. You may not be in a holiday park with all the trappings that come with it, but you have a property that will last – albeit still depreciating rather than increasing in value. But they will retain more value than their more fragile holiday brethren. With sites currently in Rainham, Woodchurch and Sevenoaks, entry prices tend to be north of £200,000 – but there are cheaper options. The man behind the company, Alfie Best, has long said that park homes could help ease the housing crisis. Wyldecrest Parks offers a range of rather more sophisticated – and long lasting – residences for permanent residence He said: “What we tend to find is people who think they’re like holiday caravans. But park homes are built to British housing standards now. “They’re built to the same specifications as you would build a normal house, although it’s made of wood with stucco cladding. It’s no different than how Americans build their houses. “A park home doesn’t start its life as affordable housing and end up in mainstream housing. It starts affordable, continues as affordable, and ends its life as affordable housing. “Not only could it be, it is the answer to affordable housing.” He estimates that the annual cost – for ground rent, utility bills and council tax (as you’ll have to pay if it’s your permanent home) is around £4,000.
