Andy Jenkinson gives an experienced view of holiday home options available……
Buying into the holiday home lifestyle needs to be considered carefully, i.e. you need to find the park you’re wanting and, of course, a pitch. Buying a new holiday home is a great feeling.
A brand-new unit offers all the latest in design and specifications. But don’t disregard the thought of a good pre-owned model, which can be a great way of getting into holiday home ownership. Many people begin with a pre-owned unit and later graduate to a new model.
As we know, prices have gone up a lot over the last few years, for both new and used units; but the recent drop in demand has seen some price reductions across the board. Some park owners will be only too glad to get you onto their park, no matter what you buy.
A pre-owned holiday home will be the cheaper option, and will often be already sited, so no connection of services will be needed, just general inspection to make sure all is in order. Do check with the seller, especially at larger parks, if the unit you’re looking at is an ex-hire model – they usually get a lot of hard use so if it is check it through and get the seller to rectify any problems. Ask to see if all the manuals are included with the unit and also assess the servicing of the boiler and central heating system. Check for stains to seating, carpets and mattresses and look out for damage generally.
Buying a pre-owned holiday home is a bit like buying a used car – how many people say they weren’t keen on the colour and would have chosen a different one if the car had been new! It’s the same with a holiday home – you have to take what’s there!
A park owner may take the opportunity to move a pre-owned holiday home to another plot when it is sold, so that’s worth querying. Also make sure that the pitch licence agreement allows a good few years on park.
A good pre-owned model can be a shrewd buy, especially if you’re not sure on your choice of park or if you will take to like the lifestyle on park.
A new model, though, is factory-fresh and all warranties for appliances will be in place and as mentioned you can pick and choose more and buy to your needs in terms of layout and specifications.
New models will have energy-saving LED lighting and more modern appliances. You also have a choice of layout and options.
However, whereas a pre-owned model needs to be checked for deterioration due to the previous owner’s use, a new model needs to be checked for things that may have been missed at manufacture, e.g. accessories or trim, and detrimental events that may have occurred during transportation, e.g. bumps and scrapes.
In any event, correct siting is a vital contributor to your ability to enjoy your holiday home on its pitch.
You can also go to an independent holiday home dealer to buy a used or new model. They will know of parks that will suit your needs as well as your budget and size of plots available. Basic older pre-owned models of ten plus years can be bought for £15k, with more upmarket examples, from, say 2015, starting at around £45k. It depends where on a park it’s going as to the final costs. But don’t seal the deal until you know that your chosen park will accept a holiday home supplied in this way.
So, a good pre-owned holiday home can make an excellent buy, but a new home, while more expensive, is more versatile, allowing more personal choices for you.
