PHRAA, Park Home Residents Action Alliance

WARNING BULLETIN No. 30. Bricks a& Mortar v Park Homes??? Misleading Price Comparisons
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WARNING BULLETIN No. 30. Bricks a& Mortar v Park Homes??? Misleading Price Comparisons

Written by ron joyce
Thursday, 11 October 2007
WARNING BULLETIN No. 30. Bricks & Mortar v Park Homes ???? Misleading Price Comparisons We have noticed that for some months now the revamped Park Home & Holiday Caravan magazine are running a regular series of feature articles promoting various parks throughout the UK under the heading entitled "Your Park". Obviously these articles are produced to advertise the particular parks, featured in each edition, but they also are designed to purvey to the readers how beautifully laid out the parks are, admirably illustrated by the accompanying glowing photographs, and rapturous praise for the idyllic life to be enjoyed by anyone choosing to buy a home on the parks. Equally ecstatic the article goes on to list the marvellous range of amenities and attractions available in the area all within the close proximity of each park. The most important fact not mentioned in these articles is that the main reason for the attractive appearance of the park, as shown in the photographs, is usually due entirely to the efforts of the individual residents in creating and maintaining their own beautiful gardens at their homes. Included within the content of this series of articles, and repeated in another feature entitled "Your Home", (What will a Hundred Thousand buy me?) the magazine has further attempted to extol the virtues of park homes by issuing a comparison of the prices of park homes on the featured parks, with those of bricks and mortar bungalows in the area. This, because they are not comparing like with like, PHRAA maintains is totally misleading to the readers who may well be considering buying a Park Home for the following reasons....... (1).... Whereas a bricks and mortar bungalow is classed as housing under the Housing Act 2004, a park home is not. It is classed as a CARAVAN therefore chattel, occupied by Licence under the terms and conditions of a unique agreement (contract), issued to the homeowner by the site owner, goverened by the terms of the Mobile Homes Act 1083/2006. (2).... A bungalow is a permanent structure built on its own piece of land either as an individual plot or on a housing estate etc. A park home is a factory manufactured temporary wooden structure constructed on a metal chassis on whells, which by law has to remain, even when sited, capable of being moved, (see definition of a Mobil Home/Caravan stationed on a site officially classed as a CARAVAN SITE, which is operated by the Site owner under the terms and conditions of the Licence to operate a caravan site issued to him by the local council. (The Caravan and Control Devekopment Act 1960.) (3).... Wheras the purchase price of a bungalow includes the land it sits on and is usually FREEHOLD the owner being able to do as he likes with that land and the home. A park home is stationed on a tiny piece of land, (known as the pitch,) which is owned by the owner of the site and that the homeowner, although he has purchased the home, does not, or is ever likely to be able to ,buy. As he is bound by the terms of the agreement (contract) entered into between the homeowner and the site owner, he will be severely restricted as to what he can do, or place on his allocated plot, (pitch). Woe betide the innocent homeowner if he dares to plant even a Daffodil on his pitch (plot) without first obtaining the permission of the site owner. (4).... When buying a bungalow you are investing your hard earned savings in an appreciating asset, which you can sell at any time to release the capital. You can also remortgage or borrow money if needed, using the bungalow as security. You can also bequeath your bungalow to anyone you like in your will, safe in the knowledge that the beneficiary will be able to take up residence or sell it as they please. NOT SO WITH A PARK HOME. A Park Home, because it is a caravan therefore a chattel, and occupied subject to the Mobile Homes Act (contrary to the advertising blurb) is a depreciating asset, losing a massive 10% on its purchase price a second after you hand over the money to the site owner because park home law states that when the homeowner sells his home, he has to pay the site owner 10% of the sale price he receives from the buyer of his home (see PHRAA report on the 10% Commission rate elsewhere on this website). But that is not the worst of it there are other serios reasons why a park home depreciates in value....... (a).... As park home law decreed, before he can sell his home the homeowner has to obtain the approval of the site owner of the prospective buyer. Unfortunately for the helpless homeowner however, this clause in the Act gives the site owner, especially the UPO (Unscrupulous Park Owner) the absolute power to prevent each sale by putting off, by various means, buyer after buyer, a process, which can and does drag on indefinately. This as a widespread illegal practice rife throughtout the industry usually accompanied by incidents of harassment and intimidation, designed to force homeowners desperate to sell having no other option but to sell their home to the site owner for a pittance. (b).... The older the home becomes, (between 10 and 30 years as stated by the park owners trade associations) the less its value and the more its owner becomes vulnerable to the above mentioned tactics. (c).... The only action open to the homeowner, due to the Governments refusal to provide enforcement powers in the Act, when being repeatedly prevented from selling their home is to take Legal Action against the offending site owner. But be warned taking Legal Action against a Site Owner can take years and thousands of thousands of pounds in Solicitors and Legal fees, with no guarantee of success. There are other very serious points of difference when comparing park home prices to that of conventional bungalows, which have been carefully omitted by this magazine. (i).... The owner of a bungalow does not have to pay an ever increasing Pitch/Plot Fee every month to a site owner. This can be anything between £100 - £200 plus per month rising every year. (ii).... The owner of a bungalow does not have to obey a strict set of rules and regulations (minimum of 43 park rules) as to what he can and can't do with his home and garden,imposed, at will, by a dictatorial site owner who assumes, that because he ownes the land that your home sits on, that he has the power to rule your life. (iii).... The owner of a bungalow pays his service charges such as electricity, water and sewage direct to the supplier and has right to change the provider to obtain a better deal. No such right exists for most park homeowners, as usually they are forced to buy these services from the park owner, who adds on various extra charges such as charging homeowners anything from £5 upwards each time he reads their electricity meter plus any other extra charges he can think up. Many parks due to their rural locality have to rely on LPG gas supply for their central heating systems. As there is no price control whatsoever on LPG prices are considerably higher than those enjoyed by the owner of a bungalow. Whilst at first when glancing at the price comparisons quoted in these magazine articles, it may appear that buying a park home is cheaper than a conventional bungalow, but tak into consideration that a park home is nothing more than a glorified wooden shed on wheels fitted out for human habitation, is classed as a caravan stationed on a caravan site and its occupiers regarded by all in authority as caravan dwellers. Because of this, as all too many park homeowners have found to their cost when approaching local authorities, trading standards, the law in general etc. etc., for help, only to be told that because they live in a caravan on a caravan site there is nothing they can do. It is then they find out the hard way that they are what amounts to "second Class Citizens," with little or none in the form of ENFORCEABLE rights. Even the basic Human Right to form, or join a Residents Association is denied, except with the gracios permission of the Site Owner. Even the basic right to vote for wives and partners on matters affecting their lives on the park is denied through the one vote per home regulation inserted in the Agreement (contract), with the blessing of the Government. When making price comparisons, as stated at the beginning of this article, this can only be done by comparing like with like. For example two brands of baked beans, telelvisions, motor cars or any other similar products. Attempting to compare the price of a conventional bungalow, which is housing and a park/mobile home, which is not even classed as housing, being a caravan, is like comparing the price of a motor car with a bike, but withholding from the reader the fact that the motor car has an engine, but the owner has a pedle bike. Compiled for PHRAA by Ron Joyce. General Secretary. August 2007.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 11 October 2007 )

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