Second thoughts - advice needed on House Purchase - Parking concerns

sj15

getmore4less wrote: »

You are in the middle of an estate on a junction.

Like millions of other houses all over the UK.

houses that get hit and damaged by cars tend to be on fast road where they are on a bend or at the bottom of hills.

As you say the most likely person to hit your house is you parking your car.

I have hit both our garage doors reversing, would have been ok had it not been for the tow bar.
people are going to be reversing into the spots you could rig something up to help illuminate at night or alarm when close. even a small reflector on the wall at window hight might do the job.

Just to clarify, neighbors parking spots are next to mine too at the side of the house. So neighbors park there. I can be extra careful but =can't always assume neighbours will.

AdrianC

sj15 wrote: »

My concern is that there is no protection stopping people from driving in to my house by accident. No bollards or bushes. I'm sure the neighbors will be careful but it's bound to happen at some point right?

Might happen? Sure. It's really not a great design. It's not the best of pics, but I'm guessing there's no kerb, and the tarmac goes right up to the wall? I'd certainly be happier with a kerb a bit short, but you'd still be at risk from vehicles with long overhangs, especially with towbars or rear steps.

BOUND TO? No...

How safe/strong is the side of the building from someone for example reversing in to it? I'd imagine it would be low speed as it is a small car park and no room to build up speed.

A gentle parking nudge is not going to do any damage at all unless the wall's already got issues. The culprit's bumper will take far more damage than a solid wall.

What sort or damage can it do? Can it destroy the foundations of the house like for example subsidence can?

No. The foundations are a solid ring of poured concrete underground.

TBH, I suspect the brick wall is merely cosmetic anyway - many modern houses have a timber or metal frame for speed of construction.

Is it safe from fairly small bumps if it were to happen?

Yes.

May seem like a daft concern but I just know, knowing my luck i'll get someone cracking the bricks on the side, affecting resale value.

If you're really worried, make sure your buildings insurance has accidental damage cover.

Would you buy this house if this was the only concerns?

Yes.

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

If you're worried and it's your land, have a builder sink a concrete bollard into the ground just in front of your wall.

Safe to say that the land is not going to be the OPs, and is shared parking that'll be maintained by the estate management charge.

sj15

pinkteapot wrote: »

That would be bottom of my list of worries! A few years back I lived in a small building of six flats with a communal car park alongside the building, so cars parked pointing at the building in the same way. No-one ever drove into the wall!

Things you should be worried about:

- Any rooms with windows overlooking the car park will hear noise from cars turning right outside.
- Is your space numbered or otherwise marked as yours? Go there evenings and weekends and check how bad parking is and whether you'll definitely always be able to use your space.

Thank you, there is only a window upstairs on the en-suite in the master bedroom, so noise should not be an issue in the main bedroom unless I have both the ensuite bathroom window and bathroom door open I think.

I am checking on the allocated parking as it's not numbered - the vendor said to me I have two parking spots but only one was marked on the title plan (there was another bit of land that looked like a parking spot but I think it is just a bit of land which i am querying).

I am assuming he meant there was one allocated parking and the other is at the front of the house on the pavement. I have raised a query on this with him.

princeofpounds

Hitting a wall at parking speeds isn't going to do anything. The car will initially just rock forward on its suspension. 99% of people would take the hint! If they are careless, maybe the bumper will bend or even deform a bit, certainly before the wall has any issues.

I personally think it's quite likely over years that someone will touch the wall, but damage is exceptionally unlikely - no-one wants to prang their cars.

Walls are pretty tough and real damage happens with speed.

I am checking on the allocated parking as it's not numbered - the vendor said to me I have two parking spots but only one was marked on the title plan (there was another bit of land that looked like a parking spot but I think it is just a bit of land which i am querying).

I am assuming he meant there was one allocated parking and the other is at the front of the house on the pavement. I have raised a query on this with him.

If it's not on the plan, you don't have it. So be careful over this point.

Davesnave

On my scale of house worries, that's a 1/10.

Now, if it was this house, your fears might be justified......

https://www.instantstreetview.com/@50.942469,-3.903658,44.72h,-20.44p,1z

Nice little frost pocket too! :eek:

sj15

AdrianC wrote: »

Might happen? Sure. It's really not a great design. It's not the best of pics, but I'm guessing there's no kerb, and the tarmac goes right up to the wall? I'd certainly be happier with a kerb a bit short, but you'd still be at risk from vehicles with long overhangs, especially with towbars or rear steps.

BOUND TO? No...


A gentle parking nudge is not going to do any damage at all unless the wall's already got issues. The culprit's bumper will take far more damage than a solid wall.


No. The foundations are a solid ring of poured concrete underground.

TBH, I suspect the brick wall is merely cosmetic anyway - many modern houses have a timber or metal frame for speed of construction.


Yes.


If you're really worried, make sure your buildings insurance has accidental damage cover.


Yes.


Safe to say that the land is not going to be the OPs, and is shared parking that'll be maintained by the estate management charge.

Amazing response, I really appreciate it you breaking it down like that and explaining.

There is no kerb or bollards which seem crazy to me so just got me worried. It would be silly I guess to walk away because of this now that I absorb the replies that I have.

Also, thanks for the advice on the buildings accidental damage cover. I will for sure be getting that added on.

AdrianC

Slinky wrote: »

You really wouldn't want this one - take a look on Streetview. I've seen it when everybody's home and it's a complete carpark surrounding the house.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=62151848&sale=4576645&country=england

The link needs copying and pasting manually to take the spurious space out, else it just takes you to a generic house price search page.

sj15

Slinky wrote: »

You really wouldn't want this one - take a look on Streetview. I've seen it when everybody's home and it's a complete carpark surrounding the house.

The parking availability seems fine, I've driven there a few times in the evening on the way back from work to see what parking and traffic is like. I've also checked it on a saturday night. I have a parking spot allocated as well as parking at the front so it's not a concern I think.

My concern was more around the neighbours allocated parking being right up against the side wall of the house and any potential from damage from careless drivers to the wall.

davidmcn

AdrianC wrote: »

If you're really worried, make sure your buildings insurance has accidental damage cover.

That's to cover the risk of the policyholder accidentally causing damage to their own property (which I suppose might be a concern here if the OP doesn't trust their own driving ability!) - the risk of a third party causing damage through their negligence or malice is a standard insurance risk anyway.

AdrianC

davidmcn wrote: »

That's to cover the risk of the policyholder accidentally causing damage to their own property (which I suppose might be a concern here if the OP doesn't trust their own driving ability!) - the risk of a third party causing damage through their negligence or malice is a standard insurance risk anyway.

True, but I'm thinking of circumstances where the miscreant is unidentified...