Turning semi into terrace

m0t

I have seen this quite a bit when looking to buy houses - two semi detached houses extended to the point where they are joined, effectively turning them into terraces.

I assume that the increase in value as a result of the extra space is offset by the fact the house is now a terrace (despite the EA's still advertising them as semis).

There are quite a few houses available in my area that have been extended to the boundary - if I were to purchase one of these houses is there any way to prevent the neighbour extending their house to the boundary, creating a terrace and damaging the value of 'my' house?

Fire_Fox

Are you talking about brand new extensions or converted garages? Where it is a detached house joined by a garage or one storey they become 'link detached' not terraced, I don't see why the same can't apply to semi detached which become joined by a garage or one storey to another pair of semis. Neighbour cannot join onto your wall on your land without your consent, they would need to leave a gap and build on their own land. There are also Party Wall Agreements but I don't think they are relevant in the scenario you seem to outline. Planning permission rules are laxer these days.

m0t

This is what I mean:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37982809.html

The above was once a semi (the house on the left would have a gate to the side so they were never previously attached at all). At some point the house on the left has extended to the boundary and added a double height extension. The for sale house has built on top of the garage.

The house is now effectively terraced (the advert previously said it was a semi). My question was if you bought the house that was for sale, before the house on the left extended, could you have prevented the owner of that house building onto the side of your house and terracing it? From the sound of it you could due to the need for a party wall agreement? Does this apply if they are not joining to your property (i.e. building to the boundary where there is nothing on your side)?

Just something I am concerned about as a FTB.

moneyistooshorttomention

I shall follow this one with interest. I am a second-time buyer and would be prepared to consider a link-detached house - provided it stays link-detached.

I can see there are some houses there that are duly link-detached. Meaning that their garage is attached to next doors garage - so it goes:

house 1 - garage of house 1 - garage of house 2 - house 2.

That arrangement would be okay with me - but I would worry that house 2 would turn their garage into a room and, worse still, might add a room on top of their garage.

Alternatively, I might turn the garage of house 1 into a room and not be concerned about noise, because the garage of house 2 was still a garage. However, I would worry that house 2 might copy me and change their garage into a room as well and then I would have one room of my house immediately adjacent to a neighbours room.

I've seen a pair of what used to be link-detached houses in location I am looking at that have done exactly that and thought "Bet house 1 was furious that their neighbour copied them - up to and including putting a room on top of their garage". That pair of houses are now terrace houses and I won't consider them (whereas I would have before house 2 did that).