Lodging in a lodge on some else’s land; how does that grab you? We could all see the crunch coming; prices were way out of control - £300,000 for a wooden box on wheels…. Ah, but there are those of us that are also capable of turning a crisis into a goldmine. Target those who have so much money, they don’t need to tighten their belts. Better still, they’re less likely to question closely what’s on offer. Is this you? And how they entice them to part with loads of spare cash for a slightly different looking wooden box is to photograph a few in an idyllic woodland setting. But this time, plant the idea that these are now “second homes”. One up on the Jones’s - but will you be.

Unlike park homes, the advertisements yell out that if you buy a lodge, y7ou get a 99 year lease. Wow! Who’d have thought that wood would last that long nowadays? The first line of the last paragraph of Warning bulletin No. 42 should echo in your ears.

This industry survives because of their relatively regular desire to change the scenery around in which your second home no longer figures. Think about it; how could manufacturers prosper with replacements once a century? Traditional holiday/leisure homes have a confirmed life on their plot of a mere 10 years! Thereafter, the uncertainty sets in, dependant on stringent requirements or the whim of the landowner; hence my opening expression ‘lodging on the land’, as such. You will own the home, but no longer vbe master of your own land to do as you please.

Unlike your park home cousins, you have NO agreement that is linked to the Mobile Homes Act 1983/2006. No Act of Parliament protects you. Instead, guidelines from the industry’s trade organisations, who have also drawn up their own version of agreement, which must be thoroughly studied by an expert before proceeding. This alliance (PHRAA) many years ago sought to persuade the Government to include holiday caravan and lodge owners in the then forthcoming changes to the Mobile Homes Act. It was clear at the time that neither it, nor the industry hade any inclination to do so. It doesn’t take a genius to work out why. For a start, the landowner pockets a whopping 15% of the sale price if the wife doent like the location, the home or the neighbours…..!!

Needless to say that it’s not like buying the next BMW. That marque has a fine long established reputation to uphold. Unfortunately, in this sector there is much moving around of operators, some already within the park home industry. Particular attention should be paid to investigating their background; especially of company names, either through Companies House or other means by which you can satisfy yourselves that the glossy advertisements really do stand up to the reputation and claimed therein. After all, you don’t want to end up owning a third home - this time being rather forced upon you.

For those who successfully taken this route to a second home lifestyle, who would like to offer practical advice on how best to avoid the pitfalls, we shall be pleased to publish these in due course. Likewise, those who feel they have had an unfortunate experience, equally get in touch, in complete confidence.

Compiled by Colin Packman, President PHRAA Published January 2009.

Footnote. It is vital to any prospective park home, holiday caravan and lodge purchaser to be aware that most of these products only carry a 12 month manufactures guarantee which commences the moment the home is purchased on your behalf by the park owner. See elsewhere on this website. Ron General Secretary. PHRAA.