Offer accepted but . . . . .

Lindy_Loo_3

Hello again everyone

I'm sure you're sick to the back teeth of me by now but could do with an opinion or two if you don't mind . . . .

When we were house hunting, one of the criteria for our "dream house" was off road parking / driveway etc. purely because we have a little one and those of you with children know how awkward it can be to get them in and out of the car or load up for a trip!!

Anyway, we agreed to view this house without a driveway as it was "indicated" that there was scope to build a driveway and get a dropped kerb - the front garden is paved and about 20ft long so it looked like a good prospect. Also during viewing we noted that a few doors up and down had drives and dropped kerbs.

So after a some discussions, we decided to put in an offer (which was accepted today) and look to create our own off road parking.

Now comes my concern; I’ve just been told that the road is classed as a C3 road which apparently means it's rather busy and rather than just getting a dropped kerb you need planning permission for the driveway and works.

We've asked the EA to enquire with the vendor if they've ever applied or are aware of any reasons why it would be a problem.

Do we risk buying the house and potentially NOT getting planning permission? Is it awful to make our offer subject to this planning permission or should we walk away to allow the sellers to find another buyer?

Aside from the parking issue, we really love the house and I’m quite torn between this and my original reason for wanting off road parking.

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

cattie

Have you spoken to the planning office? They are usually quite helpful in indicating whether things are likely to be plain sailing or not.

The fact that other houses have off road parking & dropped kerb is a good indication of success for future applications.

ILW

To be honest, I never found it much of a problem getting the kids in and out of the car at the roadside. Wouldn't be much of a priority in buying a house.

Lindy_Loo_3

Thanks cattie

Actually just got off the phone with the planning office and he's said that on the face of it and being able to look at the location, he would not grant permission. This was because of the sight (site?) view?? Basically you need to be able to see clearly 90m left and right from the drive and in his opinion this wasn't possible because of being on a bend and near two junctions, position of other houses etc.

However, this was only a "desktop potential outcome" and he advised that a planning application would involve someone attending the property and making a more informed, exact decision. He then went on to say that only the owner of the property could make the application.

Not feeling too good at the moment; I don't want to waste anyone's time, especially the vendors because they are such lovely people, but it's really important to me (personally) to have good parking because of the little one

Thanks also ILW, I appreciate your input but maybe I'm just being a bit particular in wanting this.

How do I approach them with this information? Should I talk to the EA?

pawpurrs

If your decision to buy the house is reliant soley on obtaining this PP, then you need to withdraw from the sale and let the vendors get back to looking for another buyer. Should they wish to apply for PP (whichh you could offer to pay for, and should it be obained and in the mean time they have not found another buyer) then the deal could still go ahead..
Or else look for somewhere that does have a drive?

Lindy_Loo_3

You're right pawpurrs, to be honest I feel awful because I feel like we have wasted everyone's time but there was never any indication that a simple dropped kerb would require a planning application and permission. We did look at loads of properties with driveways but this one in particular tugged at us . . . .

That said, I'm glad we checked because it is important for me personally to have off road parking; might seem like a silly need but I don't want to have to compromise on the most important purchase of our life to date.

I'll call the agent when they open tomorrow and withdraw but offer to pay for the planning application should the vendor wish to apply and we then purchase the property.

I really hope the vendor doesn't think badly of us as we made our offer with only the best intentions

Liz33

I think you are being fair, everyone has their own essentials that they need in a property, offering to pay for the pp, should the vendors apply would if it was me make me think you are guinine and not timewasting and at least you are doing this early on in the transaction and not insisting on it at the last minute which is what some people would do.

Good luck fingers crossed you get this property and if not just remember it wasn't meant to be and there'll be a better one out there for you.

planning_officer

Sorry to hear about this issue - however there are a couple of issues I think you are being mislead about. Firstly, it is absolute rubbish that you have to own the house to apply for planning permission - that is not the case anywhere in the UK. Anyone can apply for planning permission on any parcel of land, provided you tell the owners you are applying for it. Of course, if you don't own the land then you can't implement the development without their permission, but your local planning officer doesn't know what he is talking about there!

Secondly, if the neighbouring houses really do have driveways and accesses to the road, then there is really no reason for him/her to just say that the visibility is substandard - they have to weigh this up against the number of other accesses to the road, and they cannot possibly do that without a site visit. Although I don't know all the facts about this house, it seems like the planning officer is taking an unnecessarily pessimistic view here! Plus, if it's a planning officer rather than a highway development control officer (qualified in transport development control) then they may not be an expert in these matters!

Lindy_Loo_3

Wow thank you planning_officer, that gives me a bit of hope. Having stared at google maps for quite some time (we are 200 miles away from the house so can't just pop round) I can see that the houses 2 doors up and 3 doors down both have driveways and (I assume) dropped kerbs. In fact, the 2 houses directly opposite have dropped kerbs along with the road markings to prevent parking there.

Feeling a bit more optimistic, will still speak to the agent tomorrow to see where we can go from here.

We're happy to pay for the planning application (about £150 I think) but don't want to get so far down the line that it becomes expensive for ourselves and the owners should it not go the way we want.

Thanks again everyone.

Lindy_Loo_3

Well I've just called the estate agent and withdrawn our offer pending planning permission. We've offered to pay for the planning application with the owners consent and leave our offer on the table pending the outcome.

However, turns out the neighbour was refused planning consent about a year ago for the same thing so it doesn't look too rosy.

The estate agent has put the property back on the market and I don't expect it to last long to be honest as it's quite lovely. Feel rather sad like we've missed out on a golden opportunity but think I'd feel worse if we "settled" on a house that didn't tick all of our boxes.

Thanks for all of your advice and help - no doubt I'll be back when we find the next one!

JayZed

Hi Lindy Loo, only just seen this thread (perhaps a bit too late!), but one thing to consider is whether you're actually going to find a house that ticks all of your boxes. You might be lucky, but in my experience you generally have to prioritise the things that you want and be prepared to compromise on some of them.

Speaking personally (also as the parent of a young 'un), having a driveway might be nice, but it would come a long way down the list of priorities. Of course, only you and Mr Loo can decide what are the top priorities for you.