New 2 Bedroom House/Flat Above 3 Garages - Why?

jayss

It does look a bargain.
I'd be worried about being woken up by people getting their cars in and out.

Shmo

I love coach houses. The one I live in now is built across 6 garages and has an outdoor staircase and terrace. Feels a bit like going up into a tree house. Very cheap for the square footage (probably due to the opinions demonstrated this thread) and avoid the normal neighbour noises often associated with flats.

Does get cold in winter and you do hear people using the garages but this will vary depending on the build. Not sure indoor pollution is an issue... loads of houses have integral garages. People generally don't leave their car engines running in the garage unless they're tired of living.

Mine is leasehold so the buildings insurance is included in the service charge.

Tancred

mew wrote: »

While looking for at new houses, I have come across a strange (to me anyway) house layout and I am wondering if anyone knows about the design and possible reasons for it?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-38418623.html

Personaly I was thinking it was becuse the house was built on a flood plane (different development) but then I saw the development above which shows standard design houses next door. Obviously your car would be safer in a garage, especially in the area of the development above but 3 garges for a two bedroomed 'budget' house?

Why strange? It's a coach house - that's the name given to this style of house. The garages are not all for the coach house - one will be and the other two for the neighbouring properties, I assume.

Tancred

Callie22 wrote: »

A few of my friends live in these as they've built loads of them on the new estates in my area. They tend to be absolutely freezing.

Nonsense. Why would they be 'freezing' any more than any other house or flat?

Tancred

jayss wrote: »

It does look a bargain.
I'd be worried about being woken up by people getting their cars in and out.

No need to worry.

My garage is under one of these coach houses. I leave at 8am on weekdays and come back at 6pm. At weekends I use my car at later times but very rarely after 11pm. Most people are the same unless they work night shifts etc. Besides, even if you live in a standard flat you will hear some noise if you overlook a car park. If you are so sensitive to noise then use earplugs!

Tancred

Shmo wrote: »

I love coach houses. The one I live in now is built across 6 garages and has an outdoor staircase and terrace. Feels a bit like going up into a tree house. Very cheap for the square footage (probably due to the opinions demonstrated this thread) and avoid the normal neighbour noises often associated with flats.

Does get cold in winter and you do hear people using the garages but this will vary depending on the build. Not sure indoor pollution is an issue... loads of houses have integral garages. People generally don't leave their car engines running in the garage unless they're tired of living.

Mine is leasehold so the buildings insurance is included in the service charge.

I also like them. I wish I had bought one as a first time buyer in 2005 instead of the mid terraced I ended up buying.

jamesml

They are generally colder because they have a row of 3 draughty uninsulated garages underneath them! You are effectively trying to heat a bubble of property floating off the ground as far as insulation goes.

AndyGuil

I have seen these types of properties around me and they are definiitely not on a flood plane. I think it is just a means of more efficient use of space for a property including garage.

London_Town

Coach houses are being built on most new estates due to the pressure to create higher density developments. As other posters have said, they tend to have one garage, with the others belonging to nearby houses.

I bought one as a FTB in 2005. It does have advantages, the main one being that they can often be detached. It's also nice to have your own front door like a proper house, rather than sharing a communal hall.

However, they can hide many potential problems. As has already been said, they can be difficult to keep warm because they're essentially a floating property - I remember my carpet being very cold in winter. Basically you've got big unheated voids beneath the flat due to the garages.

The worst problem I had was with neighbours children playing in the court yard where my coach house was. It basically became a school playground and I'd sometimes come home at night to dirty football imprints on my front door. When I was home while the children were all out playing, the noise was horrendous as the screaming seemed worse due to the acoustics of the court yard. I felt under siege and couldn't wait to sell the place. I accept that this wouldn't bother some people at all, but potential buyers should be aware that it could be an issue.

My coach house was freehold with the garages being leased to the nearby houses. I know this can cause a problem with insurers failing to understand the set up. Also, I think alot of future house buyers may not understand the terms of the garage leases. They're designed to protect the flat owner from someone causing disturbance beneath them. However, I think it would be difficult to enforce if it became necessary.

The coach houses they tend to build now are often lease hold. While this does away with the grey area of the garage leases, it allows a freeholder to charge ground rent and service charges which can only ever go up.

A final point, is that I feel they can sometimes be a problem to re-sell. I sold mine very quickly, but that was in 2007. Since then, I've noticed that they often stick on the market for some time. We've had a few on my old estate up for sale for over a year now.

DRP

Tancred wrote: »

Nonsense. Why would they be 'freezing' any more than any other house or flat?

Obviously such a property will be harder to keep warm. Common sense and The experiences of posters on this thread are testament to that.