Changing my offer for a house after it has been accepted

setnof

I have put an offer on a house last Saturday. However, I have just realised that although the house has a huge driveway in the front I cannot use it because I will need to ask permission to the council to drop the kerb outside the property for the purposes of accessing the driveway (and pay for it). I took a look at the advert again and only now realised that it is mentioned on the advert. The council is not accepting any enquiries due to the Pandemic. Can I drop or delay my offer until I have an answer from the Council for I do not wish to buy that property unless I have the guaranty that I can have access to the driveway? Thanks

Avalanche123

Can you not go over the kerb?

davidmcn

setnof said:

although the house has a huge driveway in the front I cannot use it

You can use it until somebody stops you from using it. How long has it been there? Rocking the boat with the council might not be the best way of going about things.

In answer to your question though, yes you can revise your offer if you want. What does the advert actually say about it?

Slithery

Avalanche123 said:

Can you not go over the kerb?

You could, but it would be illegal.

DiamondLil

Avalanche123 said:

Can you not go over the kerb?

If it’s around my part of the country you’d wake up in the morning to find the council had dropped bollards in front of your ‘driveway’.

Avalanche123

Slithery said:

Avalanche123 said:

Can you not go over the kerb?

You could, but it would be illegal.

Who will care if its in front of your own house?

bpj

Until you exchange contracts you can revise or rescind your offer for any reason, though by the same token the sellers can decide they don't want to do business with you any more. If this is a deal breaker then probably best for all concerned to mention sooner rather than later, though if you're right that it will be slow to resolve don't be surprised if the house goes back on the market.

AnotherJoe

Be honest. Apologise,  say you hadn't realised about the non dropped kerb and are withdrawing your offer until the situation is resolved (though if the sellers get it resolved they may decide their house is worth an extra £10k or whatever)

setnof

Thanks for the replies.
It is really an issue as I would like to charge an electric car. The council is not responding to enquiries regarding dropping kerbs. I feel bad for not realising this previously to making the offer to the vendor as it is mentioned in the advert that the driveway is subject to permission for dropping the kerb. But, because there were cars parked in the driveway (illegally)  I did not even notice this important detail. I suppose I will review my offer and risk the house being sell before I have a reply from the council.

AnotherJoe

Thats tough. I have an EV as well, and that would be a killer for me, its not just that you'd be losing a parking place but a fuelling place. Not a risk I'd take.

Avalanche123

DiamondLil said:

Avalanche123 said:

Can you not go over the kerb?

If it’s around my part of the country you’d wake up in the morning to find the council had dropped bollards in front of your ‘driveway’.

Interesting.

What if a house was advertised as having space for cars but the kerb is only dropped to a single space?