Selling a share in driveway

tenantincommon

The house is on the market and I have just found out that I own a shared driveway (shared with one other) which I didn't know about. The driveway is not used by me, other than to cut the hedge that borders it. I have parking to the front and a driveway at the other side of the property so it is not needed. A neighbour has stated an interest in purchasing my share of the driveway before the house is sold. They haven't said how much they would be willing to pay so I'm not sure how to proceed. Does anyone know how I would go about valuing this share of the driveway? My house is valued at around £750k. The shared driveway is approx 100ft long, The only benefit of keeping my share is that I could access the rear of the garden from it, should I wish to do so, however I can access the garden from the other driveway. Any help would be much appreciated.

eddddy

Probably best to just ask them to make an offer - and see what you think.

Why do they want to buy it? Presumably they have the right to use it? Is it because they want to extend their house over the driveway?

If that's the case, the land is potentially very valuable to them. Could it be equally valuable to you, if you could use it to extend your house?

In that case, you would start by estimating how much value would be added to their house by an extension over the drive - and perhaps asking for around 30% of that value for the drive.

pinkshoes

I'm surprised they want to buy it, as whilst it is shared, you are also responsible for 50% of the upkeep!!

We have a very similar situation, but we 'own' the shared drive (just the back of our drive is shared). The neighbour drives over the other drive of the third neighbour who shares it.

We assumed at some point the neighbours might ask to sign it over as being ours, but as we are each responsible for a third of the cost of upkeep then we are not bothered!

I certainly would not pay for it!

tenantincommon

Hi eddddy, The neighbour doesn't want to extend, she has rights over the driveway to gain access to her property but doesn't own a share so is keen to protect herself a little. It's the only access to her property so I can understand why she wants a share. She said 'at a reasonable price' in her letter so perhaps I need to chat with her and see what she thinks. Many thanks for replying.

steeeb

Does the neighbour have any other drive?

In cases like this it's usual to value your house with and without it. Value neighbours house with and without it - the value should be the value your house drops by plus the value his rises by. He also pays all the costs of acquiring it.

So if your house is valued 5k less, and his 15k more - a 20k price is fair as it covers your losses and his gains - and he pays all the fees involved in making it happen.

moneyistooshorttomention

I thought the usual price for an odd bit of land was half any extra value added to that of the "buying house" and the "buying house" pays the legal costs.

I've never read of taking account of any loss of value there might be on the "selling house" or of the "selling house" taking all the increase in value the "buying house" gets for itself (ie the buying house wouldnt get any benefit at all from its purchase).

I understood it goes:
- buying house adds, for instance, £10,000 to its value and therefore the price is 50% of that £10,000 = £5,000.

Hoploz

If you go ahead and sell (which seems a good idea) presumably you'd ask the person who has suggested buying it to cover all your legal costs on top of the agreed price of the driveway.

My advice is to make sure all paperwork is completed and filed before you proceed with your house sale. Otherwise you might find any confusion on this driveway causes problems with the conveyancing, buyers thinking you're trying to pull a fast one etc leaving you open to losing a disgruntled buyer, or them suddenly reducing their offer at the last minute etc.

So bear in mind that the timescale of this driveway transaction could have an impact on your house selling timescale. You'd have to judge whether the additional money outweighs the inconvenience of dealing with the legal bother of the driveway sale and the delay in moving house.

G_M

I have just found out that I own a shared driveway (shared with one other) which I didn't know about.

tenantincommon wrote: »

...The neighbour ...... has rights over the driveway to gain access to her property but doesn't own a share so .......

* So who is the 'other' who owns a share?
* are you joint owners of the entire drive, or do you each own half (ie up the the centre point)?
* who (else) has ROW over the drive?

You may not be able to sell without involving the other owner.

Is a mortgage involved? You'd need the lender's consent. Even if forthcoming, this would be a cost to take into account.

eddddy

steeeb wrote: »

So if your house is valued 5k less, and his 15k more - a 20k price is fair as it covers your losses and his gains - and he pays all the fees involved in making it happen.

You've miscalculated.

A (rational) neighbour wouldn't pay £20k in order to increase the value of their property by £15k.

Based on your numbers, the selling price would be somewhere between £5k and £15k (assuming that both parties are 'rational'). So a 'fair' price might be £10k

tenantincommon

Thanks everyone, much appreciated!
The other owner is someone who owns a piece of land behind my property.

The neighbour who wants to buy my share has no other access to her property, only a 'right of way' over this driveway. I'd imagine her property would be very difficult to sell given the fact that she doesn't own any part of the driveway that leads to her house (the only access!). This would mean a vast increase in the value of her property if she had a half share of the drive.

I don't know how the driveway ownership is split. It isn't shown on the Title Deeds, which is why I didn't know I owned any part of that driveway. It may be on another map or plan which I don't have. As a guess, it sounds like it is 50% ownership of the whole rather than split down the middle.

There is mortgage involved but I would hope there wouldn't be any fees from the lender. The mortgage is flexible and not 'fixed term'.

The neighbour said she would pay any legal fees in order to purchase the share.

I have a potential buyer who has made a low offer on this house. He knows that he would have a share of this driveway (or not, if I sold it). The estate agent is concerned that if I sell my share of the drive, it would slow the sale proceedings quite considerably or the buyer may withdraw their offer. My view is that my property wasn't marketed with this driveway as part of the sale so it may be more appealing to new viewers, e.g., people who would like to build an extension or a garage at the end of the garden.
So complex! If it wasn't such a low offer on the house, I probably wouldn't be tempted to sell my share of the driveway.

G_M

tenantincommon wrote: »

...
The other owner is someone who owns a piece of land behind my property.

The neighbour who wants to buy my share has no other access to her property, only a 'right of way' over this driveway. I'd imagine her property would be very difficult to sell given the fact that she doesn't own any part of the driveway that leads to her house (the only access!). This would mean a vast increase in the value of her property if she had a half share of the drive.

Why? I don't see what she gains. Except costs.

At present she has a ROW over the drive so can get to her property.
Presumably this is unconstrained, so on foot, by car, etc?
And presumably without time limit?
And presumably attached to the property, so any new owner would have a similar ROW if she sold?

So what is the advantage of buying? What extra rights does she get?

I don't know how the driveway ownership is split.
Find out.
It isn't shown on the Title Deeds, which is why I didn't know I owned any part of that driveway.
what title deeds? Have you done a 'map enquiry' to find the Title of the drive, and check the ownership?

If the drive is not on the Title Plan of your property (which makes sense as you seem to believe you co-own the drive), how did you suddenly discover you co-own it?

It may be on another map or plan which I don't have. As a guess, it sounds like it is 50% ownership of the whole rather than split down the middle.
Impossible. Either

* you own half the drive eg up to the centre point and the other owner owns the other half (perhaps each of you also having a ROW over the other's half) or, more likely
* you each jointly own 100% of the drive

Assuming the latter, you could not sell your share without the consent of the joint owner.

There is mortgage involved but I would hope there wouldn't be any fees from the lender. The mortgage is flexible and not 'fixed term'.
* in what way is a mortgage involved? Given that title and ownership of the drive still eludes you, how can you know of a mortgage?
* is the mortgage on your property? If so, the mortgage only affect the drive if the drive is also included in your property Title, which surely yu would know about.

* if the drive is on its own Title (about which you know little, not even the registered names) how do you know there's a mortgage on it?

* but yes, IF the drive has a mortgage, then the lender would need to consent to any change of ownership. And a Valuation might well be required by the lender, to protect their loan (with associated cost)

The neighbour said she would pay any legal fees in order to purchase the share.
She's barmy - unless she knows something you don't!

I have a potential buyer who has made a low offer on this house. He knows that he would have a share of this driveway (or not, if I sold it). The estate agent is concerned that if I sell my share of the drive, it would slow the sale proceedings quite considerably or the buyer may withdraw their offer.
Why does the EA's concern matter? It is your concern that matters.

My view is that my property wasn't marketed with this driveway as part of the sale so it may be more appealing to new viewers, e.g., people who would like to build an extension or a garage at the end of the garden.
Then re-market, perhaps at a higher price. And look into whether PP would be likely.

So complex! If it wasn't such a low offer on the house, I probably wouldn't be tempted to sell my share of the driveway.

Sounds like you should

a) not sell the drive and
b) re-market the house

oh, and find out exactly what you own before trying to sell next time. Because you still don't know.