Most people selling a holiday home find out too late that they had three routes, not one. The park will usually offer to handle it, and plenty of owners accept without ever asking what the alternatives were worth.
This guide covers what your home is actually worth, the three ways to sell it, what each one costs, and the paperwork that decides how fast it completes.
Key takeaways
- Check your agreement first. Some parks require you to notify them, and a few require you to sell through them.
- Commission on a holiday home is contractual, not statutory. It commonly sits at fifteen percent or more plus VAT, but it is whatever your agreement says.
- The statutory ten percent people quote applies to residential park homes, not holiday homes.
- Value it against what is selling on comparable parks, not against what you paid.
- Selling privately usually nets more and takes longer. Selling to the park is fastest and costs most.
Start with what it is worth
A holiday home is a depreciating asset on a pitch you do not own. That combination trips up most sellers, because the number in your head is usually the purchase price minus a bit, and the market rarely agrees.
Four things move the price more than anything else.
- Age and model. Buyers search by make and year. A well-known model holds value better than an obscure one.
- The pitch. A sea view, a corner plot or a quiet position can be worth more than the fixtures inside.
- Years left on the licence. Parks set their own limits on how long a unit can stay sited. A home with five years left prices very differently to one with twenty.
- The park itself. Demand for the park drives demand for your home. Site fees, facilities and season length all feed into it.
Look at what is currently advertised on your own park and two or three similar ones nearby. Asking prices are not sale prices, but the spread tells you where you sit. If you want a second opinion, ask us and we will tell you what comparable homes are going for.
The three ways to sell
None of the three is automatically right. A seller who needs the money released this month and a seller who can wait until spring should not make the same choice.
The park offer is not a con, it is a trade. You are selling speed and certainty back to them and paying for it in price. Just make sure you know what you are giving up before you accept it.
— Justin Allitt, Sell My Group
Check your agreement before you do anything
Holiday home agreements vary far more than residential ones. Before you advertise anything, find the clauses that cover selling.
- Do you have to notify the park in writing before you sell?
- Are you required to sell through the park, or free to sell privately?
- What commission does the park charge on a private sale, and is VAT on top?
- Can the buyer keep the pitch, or does the park have to approve them first?
- How many years does the park allow the unit to remain sited?
That last one matters most to your buyer, because it sets how long they get. Have the answer ready before the first viewing. Our guide to holiday park contracts and your rights covers what these agreements can and cannot do.
Commission, and the ten percent confusion
People often arrive believing commission is capped at ten percent. That figure comes from residential park homes, where it is set in law under the Mobile Homes Act. Holiday homes sit outside that entirely.
On a holiday home, commission is whatever your written agreement says. In practice it commonly sits at fifteen percent or more plus VAT, and it is not unusual to see higher. The only number that binds you is the one in your own paperwork. Read it before you agree a price, because it comes off your figure, not the buyer’s.
Getting it ready
Presentation moves holiday homes faster than almost anything except price.
- Deep clean it, including the things nobody photographs, such as the oven and the shower screen.
- Fix the small faults. A sticking door reads as neglect even when everything else is sound.
- Clear personal clutter so a buyer can picture themselves in it.
- Tidy the decking and the outside space. It is the first thing they see.
- Gather your paperwork: the agreement, service records, gas and electrical certificates, and the warranty if it is still running.
The running costs guide is worth a read before you price, because buyers will ask what the site fees are and what they cover.
Advertising it
Name the park. Lead with the feature buyers search for. Put the price in. Say what is included. Those four decisions do more for a listing than the description ever will, and we have set out why in our guide to writing a holiday home advert that sells.
Twelve good photographs beat forty average ones, and the shot list is in our guide to taking great photos.
Viewings, offers and completion
Be there if you can. A seller who can answer what the site fees are, how long is left on the licence and what the park is like in February closes more sales than a key left at reception.
When an offer comes in, remember what actually lands in your account. Take the offer, subtract commission and VAT if your agreement charges it, subtract any outstanding site fees owed to the park, and that is your figure. Compare that against the park offer, not the headline price.
Completion usually waits on the park approving the buyer and transferring the agreement. Ask early how long the park takes, because it is the step most likely to hold things up.
Ready to sell your holiday home?
Advertise it with Sell My GroupWhatever your written agreement says. It commonly sits at fifteen percent or more plus VAT, and it is not unusual to see higher. Commission on a holiday home is contractual rather than fixed by law, so check your own paperwork before you agree a price.
No. The ten percent figure comes from residential park homes, where it is set under the Mobile Homes Act. Holiday homes sit outside that legislation entirely.
Some agreements require it, most do not. Many require you to notify the park in writing before you sell. Read the selling clauses in your agreement before you advertise anywhere.
Age and model, the pitch it sits on, the years left on the licence and demand for the park itself. Compare against what is currently advertised on your park and similar ones nearby rather than against what you paid.
Selling back to the park is fastest and pays least, because the park needs a resale margin. Selling privately usually nets more and takes longer. Which is right depends on whether you need speed or the higher figure.
Usually the park approving the buyer and transferring the agreement. Ask the park early how long that step takes, because it is the one most likely to delay things.