We bought our vacation park house for an £89k loss: Phil Spencer’s 10 suggestions for NOT getting stung when shopping for a lodge or caravan

Holiday park lodges and static caravans are places to relax and have fun. However, buying or selling one is too often fraught with potential pitfalls. 

Buyers often face steep site fees and maintenance costs, while sellers can be lumbered with exit fees and resale restrictions. 

Hidden or unexpected costs and complications can crop up, and there is no overriding regulatory body where owners can seek recourse. 

One couple, Paul and Ann Tetley from Barwick, detail below how they sold their holiday park lodge for an eye-watering £89,000 loss.  

‘The stories coming out of the sector are far too consistent for it to be dismissed as bad luck,’ TV property expert Phil Spencer told the Daily Mail.

‘When people can’t clearly understand the costs, the rules and the exit route, they’re exposed.’

Spencer has invested an undisclosed sum of his own money into a new online platform for people looking to sell their holiday park lodge or caravan, and has given us his top tips for those doing so. 

What can go wrong with a holiday home?

Retiree Paul Tetley, 71, lives in Barwick, Northumberland with his wife, Anne, 68. 

After previously owning a caravan and a smaller lodge, Paul, who spent decades working in the print industry, and Anne decided they wanted to buy a new ‘super lodge’ holiday park lodge with all the mod cons.

In July 2015, the couple set their sights on a two-bedroom lodge with wrap-around decking situated at a holiday park site in North Yorkshire. The couple knew that the lodge had already been on sale for 12 months at £200,000 and haggled the price down to £135,000. It was spacious, had two bathrooms, a washing machine and even a US-style fridge-freezer.

Soon after moving in, however, the costs started mounting up.

Paul told the Daily Mail: ‘We had to use site-approved gas contractors for the yearly safety check at an inflated price. There was also a £15 charge for each meter reading, even though the meters were next to each other. A £35 charge also applied to get our insurance policies checked, if we didn’t use the site owner’s approved insurers.

‘When we first moved to the site and had a caravan back in 2008, the site fees were about £1,850 a year. 

‘At around the time we sold up in 2022, they were about £4,080 a year for the lodge. I know the person who went on our lodge pitch after we sold up paid over £8,000 in site fees for their first year.’

The couple used the lodge regularly for many years. However, their circumstances changed and they decided to sell up in 2022. 

The holiday park site owners did not want to buy back the lodge, and Paul claims he was told by a member of staff at the site that if he sold it privately the new owner would need to be vetted by the site owner. 

A part of this, he claims, he would have had to pay a fee equal to 15 per cent of the selling price plus VAT to the site owner. 

To avoid this, Paul sold the lodge to someone who wanted to move it to a different holiday park, for £46,000. 

This was significantly less than he thought it was worth. 

Paul said: ‘We accepted at the time that £46,000 was the best price going. There were loads of lodges on the market at the time so it was saturated. We felt relieved we eventually sold it, but will always miss the great weekends we had with family and friends there.’

He added: ‘There should be a code of conduct that every site operator should adhere to. There should also be a guarantee concerning how much site fees and ground rent go up each year. 

‘These units have to stop being sold at inflated prices and the commission salesmen get on sales needs to be limited. 

‘People should also be able to sell their lodge or caravan as they choose. The process should be much easier.’

Why is Phil Spencer getting involved? 

The TV property expert is now a director of Lodges and Caravans for Sale, alongside its founder Robert Kingsley. 

‘I didn’t get involved to promote property. I got involved to protect people’, Spencer said. 

Spencer said people buying or selling a holiday park lodge or caravan ‘should be given every key detail in plain English’ before they commit their savings. 

He added: ‘That includes site fees and how they rise, resale commission and exit costs, resale restrictions, licence length, age limits and end-of-life rules, and any upgrade requirements. 

‘This should not be hidden in small print or explained after the fact.’ 

According to a report from 2023 by the UK Caravan & Camping Alliance, there are approximately 6,169 holiday parks and campsites in the UK with roughly 439,828 pitches, though these numbers are likely to have increased since the report’s publication. 

Not all of those owners are entirely happy with their purchase, however.  

In a survey of 1,000 holiday park lodge or caravan owners conducted by Censuswide for Lodges and Caravans For Sale in December 2025, 88 per cent claimed they would lose money if they sold up, with most estimating that they would be down between £5,000 and £20,000.

Eighty-eight per cent of people surveyed also said that while owning their holiday park lodge or caravan they had been ‘hit with costs they were never told about’. 

Nineteen per cent of those surveyed said their site fees had risen by 50 per cent or more within five years. 

Spencer said: ‘A lot of people go into this thinking it’s going to be a simple purchase. They’re sold the dream, the lifestyle and the idea of an escape, but the full cost and the full set of rules are not always made clear enough before they sign.’

Kingsley, who has previously worked in the holiday and leisure park sector, said he had also come across horror stories from lodge and caravan owners.

He said: ‘We’ve seen a lot of situations where people have bought a holiday home believing it was going to be a long-term investment or even a secure retirement plan, only to discover later that the rules, fees and resale restrictions leave them with far less control than they expected.’

One of the issues that often crops up, Kingsley said, is that buyers aren’t properly informed about restrictions on how much time they are allowed to spend living in their new caravan or lodge. 

‘Some buyers have been sold a unit under the impression that full-time living is permitted, only to later discover the site’s licence doesn’t allow permanent residence,’ he said.

‘That can lead to real fear of enforcement action or eviction and it’s devastating when someone has put their life savings into what they thought was their forever home.’

He has also seen buyers sell at huge discounts, especially when they need to shift the home quickly due to, for example, a relocation or bereavement.  

‘There’s also a pattern where owners feel pushed into selling back [to the holiday park owner], often at a heavy discount, and then see similar units marketed again very quickly at much higher prices,’ he added. 

Kingsley said Lodges And Caravans For Sale is independent and gives owners a ‘direct route to market.’ A fixed listing fee model rather than percentage resale commissions are used. 

A spokesman for the Holiday and Residential Parks Association argued that holiday lodges and caravans should not be viewed as financial investments. 

The spokesman added: ‘Holiday caravans and lodges provide a place to spend quality time with the people you love in an idyllic setting, over a period of many years.

‘They are intended as a long-term purchase and not a financial investment. The price includes the right to keep the caravan on the park for a fixed period of time – often 10 years or more. 

‘Its value will fall over time with the greatest depreciation coming in the short term.’

Phil Spencer’s top 10 tips for selling or buying a holiday lodge or caravan

1. Treat it like a major financial decision

This is not a quick lifestyle buy. If you are using savings for the purchase, make sure you fully appreciate that this is a long-term commitment. 

A holiday caravan or lodge can represent a large proportion of your savings, and it can be difficult to exit quickly if circumstances change.

It is also important to be clear: a caravan or lodge should never be bought as a financial investment.

If you are being advised that it will reliably generate profit or increase in value, you should stop and reconsider.

In many cases, once site fees, utilities, maintenance, insurance, commissions and exit costs are factored in, the costs outweigh any income. 

2. Get every cost in writing before you sign

A myriad of fees and charges apply when buying a holiday park lodge or caravan. Always look beyond the purchase price. 

You will need to factor in everything from site fees to utilities, insurance, maintenance and and any administration charges. If it is not written down, it can change.

3. Ask how much site fees have risen

Before buying a holiday park lodge or caravan, ask how much site fees have increased by in each of the last five years, or longer if possible. 

If you are told this information is unavailable, then be prepared to walk away. You need to know exactly what has happened to the site fees previously, rather than just what might happen. 

4. Ask what happens when you want to sell

Most holiday parks retain first refusal, but this should be limited and time-bound. Ask whether private sales are permitted and whether there are restrictions on buyers.

You need to know not only how the selling process will work, but also who controls the process and what fees apply when you decide to sell up and leave. 

Buyers should understand whether they can sell privately, whether the park controls the process, and what fees or commissions apply at the point of sale. 

Cases do crop up whereby owners facing ill health or financial pressure feel encouraged to sell their homes back at significantly reduced values. 

Those same homes are then sometimes resold at much higher prices, either by the park or through third-party traders. You need to know in detail at the outset how the selling process will operate. 

5. Check the resale commission and exit costs upfront

Many people only discover these when it is too late. Make sure you know what you will lose on the way out. 

Ask what commission the park charges when you sell, if any. Also ask about administration or transfer fees and disconnection or removal costs if the unit leaves the park. 

These costs can significantly reduce what you recover, so they must be understood in advance.

6. Understand licence length, age limits, and end-of-life rules

Before taking the plunge you need clarity on licence length, age limits and end-of-life rules because those directly affect the value of what you buying. 

Ask how long the licence runs for and whether there is an age limit on units on the park.

You should also ask about what happens when the unit reaches the specified age, whether owners are required to replace or remove it and what the disconnection and removal fees are and who pays them.

7.  Ask what upgrades the park can require in future

Parks typically require owners to keep their caravan or lodge in good aesthetic condition.

You need to know not only what you must be done imminently, but also what the site owners can demand later, and how much that could cost.  

Ask about what standards apply to appearance and upkeep, whether written guidelines exist and find out how these rules have been enforced in practice. 

This is about maintaining the look and feel of the park, not forcing unnecessary upgrades – but clarity matters.

Upgrade requirements are important because some owners are pressured into spending more simply to stay compliant. 

8. Speak to existing owners on the park before buying

Existing holiday park or caravan owners are a great source of information. They will tell you what brochures won’t. 

Ask about fee rises, pressure selling, unexpected costs, any surprises they faced and how easy or difficult it is to sell units on the site.

Also research the park operator and examine their track record carefully via your own research. 

9. Never buy or sell under pressure

If someone is rushing you, that is information in itself. Take your time and get independent advice. 

If you are pushed to sign quickly, pay a same-day deposit, or accept an immediate offer, step back. 

10. If selling, compare your options before accepting a low offer

Do not assume the first offer, especially from a park or trader, reflects fair market value.

Compare similar listings, understand any resale restrictions, and explore routes that give you access to real buyers.

As well as buyback routes, you may wish to consider open market listings, which could give you more visibility and greater control. Many park operators a charge commission on private sales. This is typically around 10 per cent but can be higher. 

Ask whether the park is a member of the National Caravan Council and what consumer standards apply. Membership does not remove risk, but it can indicate adherence to recognised industry codes.