Getting Your Holiday Home Caravan Purchase Right

If you’re thinking of buying a static caravan as your holiday home, take a look at our blog for our top tips and advice!

Alongside buying a home or choosing a new car, purchasing a static caravan is both a lifestyle choice and a significant investment and commitment.

At Tree Tops Caravan Park in North Wales, we pride ourselves on offering a home-from-home environment for our customers, providing stunning caravans and lodges in an unrivalled location.

We aim to provide outstanding customer service, at a caravan park second-to-none, and a base from which to explore all North Wales has to offer.

Sound perfect? It is!

But there’s much more to buying a static holiday caravan or lodge than meets the eye.

We want all our potential customers to be happy and confident in their decision, and we’ll actively encourage you to take your time and do as much research as you can before making what is essentially a long-term commitment.

When you visit our Park to meet us, look around, and view our caravans and lodges for sale, we’ll answer all your questions and give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.

You won’t be bombarded with pushy sales tactics or rushed to make your decision. In fact, it’s quite common practice for us to encourage you to take time to think away from the Park to ensure it’s the right place and holiday caravan for you!

At Tree Tops, we believe openness and honesty are key to a successful customer relationship, and with so many choices to make and questions to ask, we’re giving you some key things to consider in this blog to help you on your buying journey.

Location, location, location

A static holiday caravan is a lifestyle choice, so it pays to spend some time thinking about the reasons you want to buy.

• • Is it to give you and your family regular breaks to relax, unwind, and spend more quality time together?
  • To spend more time with your children and grandchildren?
  • Or a bolt hole to escape to at the end of the busy week?

Taking a little time to think it through can help you decide on the right location and park.

• • Do you want peace and quiet, or hustle and bustle?
  • How far are you prepared to travel to reach your holiday caravan?

Think also about how many times a year you’ll be able to visit. You’ll likely be at your chosen caravan park for a long time, so it needs to suit you and your family.

With that in mind, create a shortlist of favoured locations and what you’d like from your caravan site.

Next steps

Choosing a location is just the first step.

The next is to set a budget – both minimum and maximum – and not deviate from it.

Once you’ve done this, look at sales listings within your budget, then take time to work through your shortlist of caravans and parks.

Reading customer reviews and discovering the parks’ facilities are just part of the decision-making process.

It’s important to visit the park too – and not just once!

Here at Tree Tops Caravan Park, we encourage potential customers to visit as many times as they please. We’ll happily show you around and talk through all we offer, but it’s just as important to spend time on your own, without us, exploring the park and our caravans and lodges.

Visiting at different times will give you a feel for the park during the day and evening.

Talk to existing customers – there’s no better reference than from those already on-site!

During your visit, think and ask about the following:

• How long is the park open for during the year?
• Does it have the facilities you want and need?
• What kind of caravan are you looking for?
• How many rooms/bedrooms will you need?
• Does the park match your lifestyle shortlist?

Don’t be swayed by a ‘hard-sell’ either. At Tree Tops, we’re about helping you make the right choice at the right time for you, but some parks will push for a sale.

The last leg

Now you’ve chosen your park and caravan or lodge, you may think the hard work is done. Not quite! This last part is the most important, and where we encourage our customers to really do their homework before committing.

One of our customers, Keith Smith, joined us several years ago. He was thorough in his research, set his budget, determined travel times from his home in Burton upon Trent, and, most importantly, asked lots of questions.

Here are Keith’s top tips for buying a static holiday caravan:

Be clear from the outset about the sites fees and ask to see a copy of the park's site agreement in advance.

Be clear from the outset about the sites’ fees and ask to see a copy of the park’s site agreement in advance.

Mr Smith found that some caravan parks wouldn’t share their agreements with him. We believe in being open and honest and are happy to provide our agreement in advance of your visit. Doing this gives you the chance to explore the terms and conditions of the park and the sale, and we recommend that customers go through this information carefully.

If a park won’t share their agreement with you ahead of a sale, ask yourself – and them – why not.

Make sure you check the paperwork thoroughly and look carefully at the length of time a site will grant a licence for.

At Tree Tops, we generally offer a 20-year licence agreement for caravans, but not all parks are the same.

Check out disconnection charges and, if you think you might sell your caravan at a later date, then be clear in advance about what would happen to your caravan during that period.

Mr Smith discovered some sites would tow his caravan away if it didn’t sell and would charge for storage at the same time.

Also, determine the percentage a park will expect to take on a caravan sale.

Mr Smith found some parks would state the minimum percentage they’d take on a resale but not a maximum. Asking questions at this stage avoids unnecessary surprises in the future.

Be thorough in discussing ongoing or additional running costs, including:

• • Site fees
  • General maintenance
  • Insurance
  • Gas and electricity rates

Talk to other caravan users too, and certainly don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Talk to other caravan users too, and certainly don’t be afraid to ask questions.

This may seem a lot to take in, but remember, taking the time to do your research at this stage will ensure you’ll ultimately be having the best of times at a park suited to you!

If you need more help, we’re always happy to answer your questions. You can call us on 01745 560279 and visit us seven days a week.

You can browse some of our caravans and lodges for sale here.

We often have a selection of beautiful pre-owned caravans for sale too. Contact us for more details, as not everything is always listed on our website or social media.

Tree Tops Caravan Park is a member of the British Holiday Home and Home Parks Association.