What is a modern residential park home?
The modern park home lifestyle is becoming ever popular as it offers peacefulness, a secure place to live and a welcoming, active community of like-minded people. However, there are still misconceptions about the ins and outs of the lifestyle, and what these modern single-story dwellings actually are!
A residential park home is a detached bungalow-style home, usually located within a private development. They are manufactured off site by UK-based park home manufacturers and then placed on a plot within the site that is owned privately or by a local authority. When buying a park home, you will own the home itself and lease the land it sits on. Effectively you rent the pitch from the site owner and pay a ground rent fee, or estate charge. These are typically paid monthly and can vary from £100 – £260, with Council Tax normally Band A or B.
What is the difference between a park home and a bricks and mortar house?
The main difference between park homes and conventional bricks and mortar homes is the way they are constructed. Park homes are made from a steel chassis and timber frame. Both these materials help to give plenty of reinforcement and support. These steel and timber homes are easy to maintain and are resistant against the blustery British weather our world will throw at them.
Once a home is sited, it is then connected to mains services such as drainage, electricity, and sometimes gas. Modern park homes are built in line with the British Standard BS3632. In accordance with this, they’re well insulated and come with central heating, double glazing, and energy-efficient boilers. The latest homes are also more energy efficient with better sound proofing, which means they’re more practical, easy to maintain and cheaper to run.
How long does a park home last?
New park homes have an estimated lifespan of 70-80 years, although they can last longer if they’re properly maintained. One of the biggest threats to the lifespan of your home is the possibility of inherent defects in its structure. To help protect you against this, you are offered a 10-year park home warranty scheme that you can take advantage of if the manufacturer of your park home and the site it sits on are both GoldShield-registered. For more information on the lifespan of a residential park home, read our article.
How have Park Homes evolved?
Over the decades, the park home itself and the lifestyle has really changed. In 1958, the very first residential purpose-built Park Home was created by Pathfinder Homes, the Tenwide, revolutionising the industry.
In the 1960s, caravan sites, were largely makeshift fields with no proper mains, roads, or rubbish disposal. By 1968, an eye-catching twin unit home was introduced. These larger twin unit homes were built to meet the demand as park homes were getting more and more popular. By the early 1970s, the classic caravan shaped was scrapped from designs and full feature window bays were introduced to take in the stunning views. The residential parks were converted from holiday parks so were set in sought-after locations that helped to create the holiday lifestyle feel, this holiday lifestyle has only been built on and made more desirable in the property market.
Park Homes have really changed over the years. They are now state of the art and nothing like the above as many believe.
When the 1980’s came round Park home manufacturers changed their materials and started cladding the homes with wood cladding as opposed to aluminium. This started to save them time and manufacturers started to produce 4 homes a month. In the 1990’s, the Park Home lifestyle became more popular and a shift in the market meant more affluent people began to buy into the concept and more residential parks began to open across the country.
In the last 10 years park homes have become more and more luxurious with modern furnishings, state of the art appliances and stylish exteriors that are more energy-efficient than ever. Built in modern factories in temperature controlled conditions, high-tech park homes can have customised layouts and even be adapted for wheelchair access. The Wessex Allure home even boasts a Dog Shower following demands from pet-owning buyers who wish to keep their home immaculate! Park homes can range from 1 bed homes as small as 40 x 14 and can be as large as 65 x 23. Take a virtual tour to see just how these homes have evolved.
Just like the homes on offer, many residential developments such as those from RoyaleLife have moved with the times and offer residents’ facilities such as leisure pools, sauna, gym and coffee lounges. View our parks here. Our parks are located across the UK, mainly in England from Lancashire to Cornwall.
Some developments, especially those owned by RoyaleLife often have onsite facilities for their residents. Take a look at that pool on a development in Herne Bay, Kent.
Park Home developments give a community feel for like-minded residents.
