Dreaded Shared Access

Smodlet

"Christ in a handcart" :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Not come across that one before. Thanks.

aliby21

I'm going to go against the grain and say that it looks as though you have some pretty particular requirements, and this house fits them. Most people looking for rural are looking for a garden, so probably a lot of people have been put off by the lack of one here, whereas it is what attracts you. Other people have probably been trying to work out how they can knock down the garage and turn it into a garden.

Having said that, sleepless nights is not a good sign. If you went to bed having decided 'no', do you think you'd go to sleep feeling relieved, or would you wake in the morning thinking 'aargh I want that house'.

pinklady21

With you on Rightmove and very little choice in property for sale..... We are also looking for a rural property, scouring agents' websites daily, eagerly trying to find anything new coming up.
Hoping that once the daffs are out, and the 'beast from the east" is back in his wintry lair, that more sellers will get their properties out there. We have looked at everything remotely suitable in the price range, and nothing is right....so far!

victoriavictorious

Village_Idiot, if in doubt, don't! And you obviously are if its giving you sleepless nights.
If you were entirely happy with the situation, you wouldn't be feeling that way.
I've owned houses with rights of way for neighbours through my garden and believe me, no way would I ever want to be in that situation again - they were fairly 'ok' neighbours too (although one of them was very nosey with nothing else to do all day but mind our business) and it was a massive nuisance and an intrusion on our privacy, these houses never felt like home and I dread to think what it would have been like, had they actually been problem neighbours! They were also difficult for us to sell on; I think your situation would pose an even greater resale problem further down the line, should you decide to sell - it has languished on the market for 2 years for a reason.
Is there a way you could rent around your preferred region in the meantime and register with some agents so you might even get first dibs on places before they come on the market - until something you liked (minus all the gotchas of this one) came up for you to buy?
I just think you'd live to bitterly regret buying this one.

YoungBlueEyes

Just out of interest - what about the lane on the left hand side of your diagram? Could that be brought into play? Maybe a few quid with land registry will show up something that would be too much of a headache for everyone else but that you can bear knowing that you'll get the house you want in the location you want it and garden and privacy all sorted?
Sometimes people run scared too easily and are overly risk averse. Maybe most people haven't even actually checked it out properly and just assumed it was a no go by the length of time the property has been on the market.....

Cakeguts

I looked at the plan and I think owning this house could turn into an absolute nightmare. You are going to have people driving over what is effectively your back garden all the time and it could be anyone. Delivery people won't know not to park in your back garden and neither will visitors to your neighbours.

Davesnave

YoungBlueEyes wrote: »

Just out of interest - what about the lane on the left hand side of your diagram? Could that be brought into play? Maybe a few quid with land registry will show up something that would be too much of a headache for everyone else but that you can bear knowing that you'll get the house you want in the location you want it and garden and privacy all sorted?..

I'd agree with this. Wouldn't touch the property with a barge pole as it stands, but.....

We once looked at a house with a very long back garden + paddock and no vehicular access to either. Although the house failed on other issues, we pointed out to the agent that the vendor would do better if they made a deal with the neighbouring farmer, whose access road lay close by.

I don't know when it happened, but idly investigating something else on Google Earth recently, I noticed that the property now has the access we described + a new garage/stable/barn, and the farmer has taken advantage too, by extending the track into his orchard.

Fortune favours those who see possibilities others miss, or think too complicated.

PasturesNew

If you own the freehold of the road and the neighbour has the right to pass/repass on foot or vehicle, to be able to access their house, then those are their only rights.

The trouble you might have is when there's a change of neighbour to one with kids and you find yourself sitting outside only to find the neighbour's 3 kids, their 2 visiting cousins and 2-3 kids from along the road are playing there endlessly, screaming, shouting, running, scootering, cycling, bashing footballs everywhere - all activities that are not part of their right to access their property ... and then finding the words to explain that to the neighbour without having your head bitten off. Especially if the length of that road is completely outside of their line of sight and/or their living room doesn't look out onto it. They'll not know/care what their kids are up to in the area they have no rights to be in.

They'll give it a large dose of completely irrelevant "well where are the kids supposed to play?" or "you were a kid once", or "it's good for kids to play outside" - and you'll be stumped for the quick retort to get it hammered through - "Yes, all valid points, but NOT HERE, I OWN THIS BIT .... "

In theory/law and legally it's your land and there are rights over it .... in practise, with the "wrong sort of people" you can have a fight on your hands simply to be able to enjoy what you have paid for.

Tip: And if the parents next say "what do you want? do you want them to play out on the road and get run over??" RESIST the urge to take a big breath and say ">..........."

YoungBlueEyes

Just had another thought - is there any way to find out if someone has already tried something re: the lane? My laptop is being stupidly slow so forgive for not going back through the previous posts but do I remember something about a nature reserve...? Could they be approached about a possible shared use if yous share the maintainance or paid annually for the priviledge or similar? Presuming they own it obviously.
Also is there a way to check if any applications have been through the system and failed? Like you can check what kind of extension your neighbour wants to build by going on the local council website. Is there a way to see what's been rejected and why?

Edit - And if there is a way to sort something, would your possibly new neighbour come on board with you as she'll benefit too?

Waterlily24

Another one who says no way. Our first house was a semi with a shared driveway. We had problems with the neighbour parking their car in the driveway and going away for a week or two. It caused us countless problems as we were having work done to our property.