De-link linked property

johnlondon13

Hi all

I'm about to inherit a property which is linked to another property on one side, by a garage (which I will own).

The other side of the property is detached.

I was wondering whether anyone has any advice on any potential issues if I was to look at removing the garage to make the property fully detached. I imagine party wall might be a problem.

I am guessing that the neighbour would be pleased with their property also becoming fully detached as a result.

agrinnall

Is your garage linked to next door's garage or to their house?

AdrianC

How "linked" is the garage to their house?

Are we talking just a little arch or something above a gate, or are we talking one full length, full height shared wall?

Carrot007

johnlondon13 wrote: »

Hi all

I'm about to inherit a property which is linked to another property on one side, by a garage (which I will own).

The other side of the property is detached.

I was wondering whether anyone has any advice on any potential issues if I was to look at removing the garage to make the property fully detached. I imagine party wall might be a problem.

I am guessing that the neighbour would be pleased with their property also becoming fully detached as a result.

It's doable. However if you mean two garages completely joined then if you waant to you will be resonsible for making the neighbours garage good. Which may well mean giving them an extra bricks worth of land.

johnlondon13

Thanks for the replies.

So the garage actually starts at the very rear of the property (starting on the final rear 2 bricks) and extending backwards from there into the garden.

One other potential issue I noticed when I visited recently was that the neighbours have built a single storey structure running alongside "my" garage.

Whether it is actually attached to the garage I haven't been able to establish, although I imagine it is.

AnotherJoe

I would guess that removing a garage would reduce the value by the same amount that making it detached would increase it by. Possibly more since if anyone ever wanted to add a garage there might be party wall issues.
Given it's such an easy thing to do it's also pretty much built in to the price of the house anyway. Eg if it costs £500 to make it detached by a bit of demolition it's not going to add £5k by doing it is it?

zagubov

Is your garage big enough to fit a car?

Serious question as loads of garages were set up for the post-war bubble-cars or motor-bikes with side-cars and are about as much use as a chocolate teapot nowadays.

If you can replace your garage (subject to planning permission) with a utility room and extra bedroom above it you might get a benefit from this, but i'd say you need to do a lot more research before committing yourself to this path.

Of course with an extra bedroom there's a potential for a tax-free income from a lodger if you judge that's a better use of the space.

hazyjo

Really don't see how losing the garage could help. People want detached due to noise from next door (and a certain amount of 'snobbery value' - not saying that's wrong, I'd quite like a detached house myself lol. Really can't see what noise you would get from next door, through the garage, and into the house.

Leave as is. Gives the option of extending or converting.


PS Said all the above presuming you were selling, but on reflection I think you plan to stay. Do whatever suits you if it's a long term house. Personally, I'd still leave well alone! Can't see how it would add value.

zaqxsw

You can remove your garage - even if the wall is shared. You would need to serve a notice under section 2(2)(g) of the party wall act to 'cut projections from the party wall'. You would also need to serve under 2(2)(n) 'to expose a party wall hitherto enclosed subject to providing adequate weathering'.

From a party wall perspective, there shouldn't be any issues.

kerri_gt

So the house almost already has the benefit of being detached as there's no party wall directly adjoining the house, and it has the benefit of storage space in the garage. I can't really see where there would be any benefit of removing the garage to simply market it as detached vs link detached. Garage storage is extremely useful to people even if no one really puts cars in there these days, particularly so for a family who will likely be the biggest market for such a property (outside toys, bikes, skateboards, scooters etc etc). Personally if I were able to afford a detached property and had the choice of one with or without a garage, I'd choose with, so by removing the garage to call it fully detached you'd probably be losing part of the market at least by losing the storage space so may as well keep it link detached.