Do lodges and park homes lose value, and what decides how much?
The building depreciates and the position does not. Most of what people call depreciation on a lodge is actually the commission, and that part is decided before you move in.
· 7 minute read
The short answer
Yes, in most cases. A lodge is a manufactured building on land you do not own, so it behaves more like a high-quality caravan than a house. The building itself depreciates. What holds up is the plot. A good position on a park people want is the part of the price that does not fall. The largest deduction on resale is usually not depreciation at all. It is the park's commission, and your agreement fixes that on the day you sign.
Why does a lodge behave differently from a house?
Because you own the building and not the land it stands on. A house is a building and a title to the ground, and the ground is the part that has historically risen. With a lodge you hold an agreement for a plot instead, so the land cannot appreciate in your hands.
The building is manufactured, delivered and sited. Like anything manufactured, it is worth most when it is new and less as it ages, and it ages in weather. That is not a flaw in the product. It is what the product is, and a seller who tells you a lodge appreciates like a house is not someone to buy from.
What this changes in practice is the question you should ask. Not "will this go up", but "what will it be worth when I want to leave, and what comes off that figure".
What actually decides the resale figure?
The park, first. A park with full plots, a waiting list and a reason to be there holds value in a way an emptying park does not. Walk it on a wet Tuesday rather than a sunny Saturday and count the homes with lights on.
The plot, second. Aspect, privacy, how near the road runs, what you look at from the deck. Two identical homes a hundred yards apart do not fetch the same price. The gap is larger than most buyers expect.
The build standard, third. A home built to the residential standard has thicker insulation and a longer life than a holiday one. That shows up at resale. The build standard guide explains the difference and how to check which one you are looking at.
Condition, last and least interesting. A home that has been looked after sells. One that has not needs the work doing before it will, and the cost of that work comes off the price either way.
How much does the commission take out of a sale?
More than depreciation does, in most sales, which is why it belongs in this answer rather than in a footnote.
On a residential home the Mobile Homes Act caps the park's commission at ten per cent of the sale price. On a holiday home the licence sets it, and on this site that is 15% plus VAT. On a £250,000 sale that is £25,000 against £45,000.
Neither figure is negotiable at the point of sale, because both were agreed when you signed. It is one of the few numbers in this purchase you can still change. The moment to change it is before you reserve.
Can you sell a lodge to whoever you like?
On a residential home in England, yes. Since the Mobile Homes Act 2013 a park cannot require you to get its approval for your buyer. That holds even where an older agreement or a set of site rules says otherwise, and plenty still do.
On a holiday home the licence governs it. Some licences reserve a say over the buyer, or require the sale to go through the park. Read that clause specifically. It is the one that decides whether you have an asset you can sell or a home you can only hand back.
Either way the park takes its commission. What differs is whether you control the sale.
So is a lodge a bad buy?
Not if you buy it for what it is. People who are happy five years in bought a way of living somewhere, and priced the depreciation and the commission in before they signed. People who are unhappy bought an investment that was never on offer.
The test is simple. Work out what you expect to get back, take the commission off it, and ask whether the years in between were worth the difference. If they are, buy it. If the answer only works when the home holds its full value, do not.
Nobody on this site is paid to tell you that, and it is the most useful paragraph on this page.
Questions people ask
Do park homes always go down in value?
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The building almost always does, because it is manufactured and it ages. The plot can hold or even improve if the park is in demand. Which effect wins depends far more on the park than on the home standing on it.
Can I get a mortgage on a lodge?
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Not a standard residential mortgage, because you do not own the land. Specialist finance exists and works differently, and the lodge finance guide covers what lenders actually ask for and what they will not do.
Does a newer home hold value better?
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It starts higher and falls faster in the first years, which is the same pattern as a car. What matters more is the standard it was built to, because that decides how long it stays sound rather than how new it looks.
Will improvements I make come back at resale?
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Some do and most do not. Work on the plot, such as a better deck or proper parking, tends to hold its value. Work inside the home rarely returns what it cost, because the next buyer was choosing between models rather than kitchens.
Is it cheaper to rent a lodge than to own one?
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For a few weeks a year, usually yes, and that is worth working out honestly before you buy. Add up the pitch fee, the bills and the commission you will pay on the way out. Compare that with what those weeks would cost to book.
This is general information and not legal advice. Where this page describes the law, it is the law as it stands in England. The GOV.UK lodges and bungalows factsheets are the place to check it. Your purchase is governed by the licence or Mobile Homes Act agreement, the park rules and the written statement. You get all of them at least 28 days before you sign. Have a solicitor who knows lodges and bungalows read them.