Selling a park home: all you need to know

What's different about selling a park home?

A key difference in the procedure of selling a park home compared with selling a bricks and mortar property is that, when you sell a park home, you need to assign the pitch agreement to the new owner, inform the park owner of the sale, and notify the buyers that they need to fill in a ‘Notice of Assignment’ form, which is necessary when they pay the 10% commission to the park owner.

This relates to the fact that, in almost all instances, park home owners do not own the land on which the park home sits; that is owned by the owner of the park.

If you have bought and sold bricks and mortar homes several times you may be conversant with the procedure relating to those sales, but selling a park home involves different procedures and different legal requirements. Although it’s not a legal requirement to engage a solicitor, our advice is that it would a very good idea, so that you are confident you are following the procedure to the letter.

Park homes do not need an Energy Performance Certificate, unlike a bricks and mortar home.

Park homes do not appreciate in value in the same way as bricks and mortar properties, which is why it is wise to engage an agent who is a specialist in valuing and selling park homes.

It’s worth remembering that park home buyers cannot obtain mortgages, although loans from other sources may be obtained.

Park home estate agents

With specific considerations to bear in mind, buying through an estate agent is certainly a good idea. Like anything else with park homes, there are specialist companies who can offer the best service.

Park Home Search is a UK-wide online service that enables buyers to browse through park homes displayed on its website.

Love Park Homes is also a national service. The company first arranges a valuation. Then the park home is listed on the open market and Love Park Homes arranges viewings. The company also advises the purchaser of the breakdown of costs – that, is 10% of the sale price is paid to the owner of the park in the form of commission and 90% to the person who is selling the park home.

Love Park Homes points out that sellers of park homes do not need to engage a solicitor: “As specialist agents, we are able to complete and provide all relevant documentation for the sale process and manage this from start to finish with no additional cost.”

Park Homes for Sale lists preloved/secondhand park homes for sale in England, Scotland and Wales.

The Sell My Group offers an estate agency service. The company values the home, arranges photography, arranges viewings and negotiates with buyers, all on the basis of no sale, no fee. Park homes are listed on Rightmove, Quickmove Properties, and OnTheMarket, as well as Sell My Group’s listing.

One of Quickmove’s many services is to help park owners sell their properties. Park homes are advertised on Quickmove’s website and social media, on property portals and in newsletters to potential buyer email addresses.

Tips on preparing a park home for sale

Quickmove Properties advises, in addition to making sure it is spotlessly clean and in tip-top condition before a viewing, that you turn all of the lights on, put out fresh, folded towels in the bathrooms, and make sure the home is perfectly tidy.

Standard advice is to get good photography done of your park home. Estate agents usually arrange this; make sure you are happy with the photographs in that they show off your park home at its best. Remember that the photographs create the first impression and good photography will help sell your park home.

Forms for selling a park home

Sellers need to supply buyers with the following forms:

A copy of their Mobile Homes Act agreement; a copy of the park rules; written details relating to payment for utilities services; any warranties that exist on the home and any structural surveys that have been carried out in the year prior to the sale.

A Buyers’ Information Form: sellers need to fill this in and give it to the buyers 28 days before completion of the sale. This form will tell the buyer everything they need to know about the transaction process.

The Law Society Property Section spells out the procedure, “Within seven days of completing their purchase, the buyer must complete and send a Notice of Assignment Form to the park owner. This must include the names of the buyer/s and anyone else who intends to live in the park home; the date when the agreement was assigned; the price paid for the home; the amount of commission payable to the park owner (which is 10% of the purchase price), and the forwarding address of the seller.

All of the forms can be downloaded from the website of LEASE Park Homes.

Other ways of changing park home ownership

Selling your park home is clearly the most popular option if you have made the firm decision to hang up your hat on the park home lifestyle, but it's not the only avenue available to you.

Gifting a park home

If the circumstances permit and you are feeling particularly generous, you have the option of gifting your park home to a loved one.

If you are gifting a park home you will need the ‘Notice of proposed gift’ form which you can download from the UK Government website. No commission is payable to the park owner on the gifting of a park home. That is because no money will change hands.

Inheriting a park home

The gov.uk website spells this one out, “Anyone will be able to carry on the {park home} agreement when you die if they’re a family member living with you at the time you die, or your husband, wife or civil partner.

“Someone who is not living with you or is not your husband, wife or civil partner will have to get approval from the park owner to live there.” That is because anyone living on a park home estate must be eligible to live there in terms of complying with the minimum age rules. That is usually 50 and can be 45 on some parks.

Parks also have rules on pets (some specify no pets, others only one dog or one cat) and the park owner will want to know that this rule is going to be complied with by the person inheriting the park home.