Offering comfortable, community based and low maintenance living, Residential Park homes can prove an appealing, and affordable, option for those willing to look out of the mainstream bricks and mortar market.
You will probably be aware that buying or selling a Park Home is not the same as buying a ‘bricks and mortar’ freehold or leasehold property. You may have also heard that you do not need to obtain legal advice. However, while your details will not be registered with the Land Registry and there is no legal obligation to instruct a solicitor on your part, buying or selling a park home is a significant transaction that generates serious financial and emotional consequences. You are entering into a legally binding contract on a substantial asset so, obtaining specialist independent legal advice is a sensible option.
When buying or selling a park home, do I really need a solicitor?
Perhaps surprisingly, the simple answer is no.
If you have previously bought or sold a house or a flat, you will be used to a solicitor or lawyer dealing with the various legal and Governmental bodies, and all their paperwork, on your behalf. With a mobile or park home sale or purchase, different rules apply – you generally wouldn’t undertake “searches” and there usually won’t be a registered title at the Land Registry.
Additionally, today’s mobile and park home owners benefit from a park homes industry that has irrevocably matured over the past few years: Government legislation now provides buyers and sellers with better guidance, a consistent sales process and unprecedented protection; unscrupulous developers are gradually being whittled out; and, as such, park home owners can now view their properties as a realistic investment and a cheaper, more flexible alternative to traditional home ownership and occupation.
That said, while there is no obligation to take legal advice, buying, selling or renting a park home is a significant transaction that generates serious financial, legal and emotional consequences. It is a substantial investment and a tangible long term commitment, which - as with anything rewarding - involves risk. You are entering into a legally binding contract on a tangible asset so although current protection has improved, buying a park home can still, at best, prove confusing and, at worst, costly.
So no, using a lawyer isn’t mandatory but for any serious property investment, if you want to save time, money and stress, obtaining expert legal advice might be the sensible option. And the peace of mind this gives, may prove financially invaluable.
Obtaining specialist professional legal advice will leave you better informed and protected; after which, with greater legal and financial awareness, you will be in an improved, more confident position to move forward with your own sale or purchase transaction.
Park Home conveyancing will be performed by Taylor Rose MW Limited. Taylor Rose MW Limited is a firm of solicitors authorised and regulated by the Solicitors regulation Authority, SRA no 623604.
