• You will first have to decide where you want to live - in or close to a town, in the country or maybe by the seaside?

• How close to your family and friends would you like to be?

• What shops and other facilities are locally available? When buying a residential park home it's important to be sure that shops for day to day purchases, a doctor's surgery and a pharmacy are all easily accessible from the park, not to mention a bus stop, garage, library, bank and even a public house.

• Does a reputable company with a proven pedigree own the residential or retirement park? Is it a member of the British Holiday & Home Parks Association (BH&HPA)/National Park Homes Council and able to offer the Gold Shield 10 Years warranty? 

• Who can be resident on the park? The majority of residential and retirement parks are aimed at the over 50s who are retired or semi-retired. If it is a retirement park are visitors, including children and grandchildren, allowed to stay overnight? 

• Can you bring your pets onto the residential park? When they pass on, will you be allowed to replace them?

Wessex regularly visit residential and retirement parks and can create a short list based on your required criteria.

Search for outstanding residential and retirement parks using our Park Finder listings. 

Plots come in all shapes and sizes. Some are shallow with a wide frontage, most suitable for homes where the entrance is side-on, as in our Lighthouse, Orchard Cottage, Cranborne, Cranborne Colonial, Canford, Dorset, Dorset Harbour, Hardy and single format Ferndown models. Others will have a narrower frontage but be much deeper - ideal for models with an end or gable entrance, including our desirable Wessex and Melbury park homes or the Coach House single format model. 

Every Wessex residential home is available in a range of sizes and floor-plan layouts. If you intend to have friends and family staying over regularly, you may prefer to consider a three-bedroom layout. Alternatively, many homes feature a study - ideal for a quiet read or catching up with your correspondence - and most of our park homes have luxurious en-suite bathrooms. Your new park home will come fully furnished with co-ordinated fabrics and soft furnishings, all ready for you to move in.

Search for Wessex Residential Park Homes For Sale

If your circumstances won't allow you to splash out on a brand new residential home, you could always consider buying one that has been previously owned. Wessex strongly advise you to seek the advice of a professional surveyor about the condition of any second hand retirement park homes in the UK before making a purchase. 

• First appearances count. Do the residential or retirement park homes appear attractive and well maintained, with everything in good order? Walk around by yourself and speak to some residents. Ask them about how the park is run and their relationships with the park management. 

• Make sure the site licence (issued by the local authority) is clearly displayed and that the park operator is meeting the conditions on it. In particular, check out those conditions relating to safety, fire precautions, spacing of plots and the provision of water and other services.

• You do not need to take legal advice when buying a residential park home but you should undertake a local council search. Does the park have permanent planning permission for residential use? The local council will also be able to tell you if there are any planned works like a new road that might affect the park.

• When you sit down with the residential park operator ask about ongoing charges like Council Tax and Site Fees. Park homes are generally classed in the lowest ‘A’ band but you will have site fees covering upkeep of shared areas, maintenance of roads, insurances and possibly water rates to allow for. You will also have to budget for costs of electricity and gas together with other services, such as water and sewage. Ask who the providers are and who will be invoicing you. If they are charged through the park operator establish if there are any surcharges levied for this.

• A new publication covering the law relating to buying and living in a park home in a fair and equal manner is to be available shortly from the Department for Communities and Local Government. It incorporates recent legislation and recognises that both home and park owner share a common aim: a well-run Park Home Estate where the benefits of park home living can be enjoyed and the purchase of a park home is secure for the future. Until this publication is available, you can obtain a Park Homes Fact Sheet (August 2006) by visiting the Government's website at www.communities.gov.uk or by telephoning their Park Home Officer on 0207 944 6226 - he will be happy to help you. 

• Are you buying a park home outright or will you need to arrange finance? If you are unable to fund the purchase of your home completely, specialist finance companies can offer loans specifically for the purchase of residential or retirement park homes in the UK. Contact us for details.

Although we will help you to select and specify your park home, you will actually be buying a park home from the Park Operator, not directly from us. The turn-key price of your home can be substantially more than the manufacturer's ex works price. The actual cost will be dependent on the quality and geographical location of the park, the size and location of the plot and the costs of transportation and installation on site. 

• Once you have chosen the home and the plot you will have to sign a written agreement with the park operator, which will come into force when the purchase is completed. This written agreement is a legal 'contract' between the purchaser and the park operator under the terms of the Mobile Homes Act 1983 (amended 1 October 2006) and defines the rights and obligations of both the site owners and the resident. It contains both implied (standard) and express terms. Implied terms specify the resident's fundamental rights including security of tenure and the right to sell on to a third party. They must always be written into the agreement and cannot be amended or removed by the park operator. Express terms are agreed between the park operator and the resident and may cover such items as the duty of the resident to keep their home in good repair and a similar duty on the operator to maintain the roads in good condition.

• The park operator has an obligation in law to provide you with a copy of the written agreement. You should always see and carefully check through this document before you commit to the purchase.

• Be aware that in the event of you selling the home and assigning the agreement the Park Operator will be entitled to a commission of up to 10% of the selling price.