New Build House - Driveway

FallenStar

Hi all,

I've been a long time lurker on MSE but never actually signed up until now, but let's get to it...

Myself and my partner have reserved our first new build property, in May of this year, from a big chain developer - at the time we reserved we were talking with the sales assistant who was running through the plot and the price and incentives etc. The reason we chose this specific plot was because it came with a 2 car driveway (3 if you have small cars) so this seemed like an excellent choice. We asked if we would own this driveway as part of the plot as we had had expressed our interested of extending/building a garage on top of it - the lady said yes (I’m sure they are all ‘yes men’ when it comes to this stuff even though they may not know fully). We reserved and awaited updates as usual...

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago and we’ve been told at our reservation/update meeting with the developer that we have ‘right of use/access’ for the land (And the management company we pay the service charge to will 'look after' the land) - but after some emails after this meeting, i actually found out we cannot actually own it due to the retaining wall for structural purposes between the development and the road (the new build is basically situated inside a chalk pit).

I’m aware of some of the building restrictions that entail with properties (like building within x radius of boundary/restriction etc) - which may put a hindrance on anything we wish to build - but am unsure of this.

However, even if we choose not to build on the driveway, but just wanted to own it on 'principle' (We was also thinking about a walled gate at the front of the driveway) - why can’t we still own the land? In what way would a retaining wall be an issue that effects this?

I feel like they purposely make it so that you don't own anything other than 4 walls - and it's just take it as it is or leave it well alone.

I don’t want to start a 'legal war' with them and hope to come to arrangement with the developer (I haven't appointed a solicitor as of yet) - I want to play fair and be ‘nice’ about the situation before playing hard ball later down the line...

If anyone has any information/ideas that could help that would be amazing! - Big thanks in advance

AdrianC

How near is the edge of the drive to the retaining wall? Is the wall retaining land above your drive, or retaining the land your drive is on? How high is it?

I suspect issues over future maintenance of the wall - which, of course, could well lead to issues using the drive, too.

But, yes, it is "take it or leave it". You don't HAVE to buy that property. If nobody buys it, then they've got a problem.

foxy-stoat

You wont want to start a legal war which you will probably end up losing. Choose another property if this one doesn't meet your requirements. You will probably not be able to build much on the drive anyway.

FallenStar

The full site technical plan is still very much 'TBC' they are offering pieces of information as and when we ask/if they even know. No information on size, height or anything as of yet.
The specs of the house and everything inside we have - and that's it.

They cannot even tell us the size of the garden, because they don't know (or at least this is what they are telling us) I would like to think that someone who is contactable must have the 'whole picture' otherwise how would they be able to get planning for anything...

And yeah I full understand I am at the mercy of the developers with this - and that going down a legal way will probably not yield any fruit. But if you don't ask you never get.

Thank you both anyway!

Doozergirl

I do wonder why people buy houses without knowing what the thing will look like or even if it's of any quality. There's some sort of misconception that the developer is building it for them. They're not. They couldn't care less.

Your not owning the driveway will either be because they'll make money out of it somewhere, or because there's some sort of planning issue and they have to retain the land so you don't somehow change the landscaping of it.

They do a great job sucking people in with the show homes; the lying starts in the planning process and the salespeople aren't the designers.

I'd rather eat my own hair than buy a new build off-plan.

AdrianC

Doozergirl wrote: »

I do wonder why people buy houses without knowing what the thing will look like or even if it's of any quality. There's some sort of misconception that the developer is building it for them. They're not. They couldn't care less.

Your not owning the driveway will either be because they'll make money out of it somewhere, or because there's some sort of planning issue and they have to retain the land so you don't somehow change the landscaping of it.

They do a great job sucking people in with the show homes; the lying starts in the planning process and the salespeople aren't the designers.

I'd rather eat my own hair than buy a new build off-plan.

Indeed. You want to know exactly what you're getting? Buy it once it's built.

Things change during the build process. It's inevitable. Things have been mis-measured, or tolerances stack up differently, or the ground simply isn't quite what was expected.

FallenStar

Thank you for your candour Doozer - Here's the part where I tell you there isn't even a show home to look at and you implode haha!

I know they are all basically 'cowboys' and don't actually build it themselves, just want to make a sale and so on, but the reality for me is that older houses around the areas we are looking at command the exact same price as the new build (I think the common the misconception is these people see what the new house prices are, and say 'well mine is also a 2 bedroom so i should charge the same' mindset and then they all follow suit.) - which will then also require pouring more money into them to get them right, general maintenance and upgrades along with being less energy efficient etc - i'm sure the pros and cons swing both ways though...

MobileSaver

FallenStar wrote: »

older houses around the areas we are looking at command the exact same price as the new build

Which area is this? That sounds unusual as you would expect the developer to charge a hefty premium over a 40 year house for a new build with warranty and brand new shiny appliances etc.

daveyjp

If this is supposedly a freehold property, the completely unregulated service charge element of the deal should be far more of a concern.

Are there also covenants to pay other costs you may not be aware of?

sst1234

Run. It’s this lack of transparency that tells you there will be other issues later.

kev2009

usually a new build you expect to be 20% or 25% more than equivalent houses as when i bought my new build property, i effectively paid this much more purely because it was brand new - bit like buying a brand new car, pay top money but you could buy a car that's been driving to the show room for much less

Mine is free hold which has a covenant on it for 10 years which basically says the property has to remain looking as it is and I can't go putting things like satellite dishes on the front of the house or changing the colour of it etc. However, as mentioned, this is only for 10 years, after than I can do whatever I want. I also pay a maintenance fee for a management company to look after the public spaces on the development (all property owners contribute to this) it is a relatively low monthly cost, at present anyway. It mainly involves cutting the grass in shared areas and maybe trimming few hedges/trees as required. However, that is it. I already have plans for what i want to do after the covenant is up - get rid of the tree they put in the front garden, didn't want a tree and wasn't aware i was getting one until i arrived home one day to find it there lol.

Kev