Shared access and drive

bluedrop

House A is a detached house on a large plot. It had a detached double garage. The children grew up and moved away - so this elderly couple demolished the garage and built a smaller house(HouseB). House A is on the market (we are thinking of putting in an offer) . Access to both properties is through a gate in the fence.

Would you buy a property with shared access? Do you see any future problems with this arrangement?

Please see the house(s) layout here:

https://ibb.co/hGUzRa

pinkshoes

Are there clearly marked parking spaces for each property?

Is there sufficient visitor parking?

We avoided all properties with a shared driveway. Hate them.

hazyjo

pinkshoes wrote: »

We avoided all properties with a shared driveway. Hate them.

Me too - so I can't see shared access being any different. Someone is bound to p*** off the other at some stage. Each to their own though, plenty don't mind shared drives/access. Not for me though.

bluedrop

Yes - parking areas are clearly marked. But house A can only be accessed through the gate. The gate is right in front of house B .

Give me a minute - I will draw a picture

Waterlily24

Our first house had a shared driveway - we said we would never buy a house with a shared driveway again. We did put a parking space in the front garden too.

Ozzuk

I would never buy one, too many horror stories. I guess better than no driveway if you're really struggling.

pinkshoes

Our house technically has "shared access", as houses B and C have right of way across the back of our driveway to access their driveways. We then have three/four parking spaces without blocking the back of our drive.

Houses B and C both have two parking spaces each, then lots of street parking too.

In reality, they drive across the footpath that runs between our house and their houses, so don't use the back of our drive.

bouicca21

What's the potential for widening the existing access, or for creating another access?

Some 50 years ago my mother told me to avoid shared driveways, but that was in the context of houses so close together that an inconsiderate neighbour could easily block access - parking their car, kids leaving toys out, etc. How much space do these houses have once through the shared gate?

TBagpuss

bluedrop wrote: »

House A is a detached house on a large plot. It had a detached double garage. The children grew up and moved away - so this elderly couple demolished the garage and built a smaller house(HouseB). House A is on the market . Access to both properties is through a gate in the fence.

Would you buy a property with shared access? Do you see any future problems with this arrangement?

Are you thinking of buying the house?
It's not uncommon to have shared access but you do need to be clear about the rights each property (owner) has, and be aware that there are potential issues. For instance, if there is a dispute over the cost / need for any repairs or upkeep of the shared driveway, the potential for a neighbour dispute if the occupants don't stick to the terms set out in the deeds - for instance parking so as to block or restrict access.

I personally would avoid a property with shared access or a shared driveway, if I could. I did view one when I was house hunting which had shared access; effectively a shares dropped kerb and turning circle, with each house having a garage and space to park in front of it. It struck me as being ripe for disputes (most likely, with people parking in the shared area and making it harder for others to access their parking or to turn) and was one of the reasons why I didn't go further with that property.

I think f it were me , I would be considering whether it would be possible to make a separate entrance / driveway for House A, and whether I would still want to live there once it was don, and go from there.

That said, like everything else, it will be fine in some cases and for some people - you have to decide how big an issue it is for you.

bluedrop

[IMG][/img]https://ibb.co/hGUzRa how can I upload a picture here?

bluedrop

TBagpuss wrote: »

Are you thinking of buying the house?

We really like the house, we are thinking hard before putting in an offer.

TBagpuss wrote: »

I think f it were me , I would be considering whether it would be possible to make a separate entrance / driveway for House A, and whether I would still want to live there once it was don, and go from there.

I am wondering why they didn't make a separate access while building the new property. Makes me think there are issues with creating a separate access - I asked the council, they wanted me to make a pre-planning application.