Buying a house with a right of way/access?

fiwen30

My boyfriend and I went for a first view of a property that we were both very excited about. The space, price, and area are spot on for what we’re looking for.

HOWEVER, it’s an end terrace of 4, with no access to the terraces at the rear, and a portion of the dividing 6ft fence seems awfully like a gate between ‘our’ garden and the neighbours garden. I asked the estate agent if next door have right of way or right of access for bins/work to the garden/back of their house - EA didn’t know off-cuff, said he’d find out from the seller.

Now, my boyfriend is absolutely enamoured with the property, but the potential ROW makes me apprehensive. Everything else about the property is perfect.

For context: I grew up in an end terrace of 3 houses where our end terrace and the middle terrace had access rights along the backs of each terrace, right up by the windows and through their gardens, and it caused nothing but strife and aggravated , somewhat-imagined-somewhat-purposeful slights between each set of neighbours. I was only a kid, but I remember how angry all the ‘adults’ got when they could all legally walk through each other’s gardens, past their windows, at any time of the day.

FWIW, next door had a ‘Let’ sign up outside too, so I would be concerned about a tenanted property where the occupants could change frequently and be any Tom, Richard, or Harry, and have access through our garden. We have no children, but do have pets, and I’d be concerned about gates being left open for the dog & cats, or having our rabbits mess with.

So I’m asking - would you consider this house, if it conspires that next door have access rights? What sort of access rights might we expect - is it always 24/7 access, or could there be restrictions on access? Has anyone ever intentionally bought a house with a right of way on it?

Link to the house in question: https://www.propertypal.com/24-culmore-avenue-newtownards/638363

theoretica

My parents have this - a path along the bottom of the garden, so 20 foot away from windows and haven't had any issues.  Doesn't get used much in practice.

fiwen30

theoretica said:

My parents have this - a path along the bottom of the garden, so 20 foot away from windows and haven't had any issues.  Doesn't get used much in practice.

This path would be maybe 2m from the back door & windows and then down the driveway at the side of the house. If the layout next door is the same as ‘our’ house, then it would be very hard to move wheelie bins through the house, so it’d likely be weekly access at least to put the bins out.

Lespaul1960

My stepson has this arrangement, the foot way runs about 1m behind the kitchen window ,as far as I know its never been a problem. Me personally I would never even consider it !

Davesnave

fiwen30 said:

So I’m asking - would you consider this house, if it conspires that next door have access rights? What sort of access rights might we expect - is it always 24/7 access, or could there be restrictions on access? Has anyone ever intentionally bought a house with a right of way on it?

Link to the house in question: https://www.propertypal.com/24-culmf

It almost certainly will have a RoW for the adjoining house at the very least. These were essential in the days of coal and dustbin men. There is very little likelihood of access being restricted to certain times or days, but no one is supposed to use a pedestrian RoW for anything other than  walking to/from a property.

This situation is very common, but often the access path is at the far end of gardens and fenced-off. Where it's near the houses more invasion of privacy may be expected, but some people are still OK with that.

It's not much use asking people here how they'd be with this set-up; it's how you view it that matters!

Jeepers_Creepers

fiwen30 said:

Link to the house in question: https://www.propertypal.com/24-culmore-avenue-newtownards/638363

Is the access through that wrought-iron pedestrian gate to the right-hand side gate in the first photo? Ie, neighbs could come right down your front drive/path, through that gate and then across your garden to get to their gardens? If so, I would say categorically 'Non' to that house. 

If I got that wrong, can you explain where the access path is, please? 

Bobo2009

I rented for a few months while i looked for a new house to buy. I was told next door had right of way through garden after i had viewed the house but was told it was only to bring wheelie bins through. 

Turned out a nightmare, she was through every day or i would see her standing looking in my garden. I had pets too so could not leave them unattended in the garden because you never knew when she would decide to bring her mobility scooter through, then the council bin men would be round getting her bins even though she could move them herself. She even had delivery drivers bring parcels round the back who would leave the gate open.
Each time she was in the garden she stared in the house, it was awful and i would never live in a house which had right of way again.

fiwen30

Jeepers_Creepers said:

fiwen30 said:

Link to the house in question: https://www.propertypal.com/24-culmore-avenue-newtownards/638363

Is the access through that wrought-iron pedestrian gate to the right-hand side gate in the first photo? Ie, neighbs could come right down your front drive/path, through that gate and then across your garden to get to their gardens? If so, I would say categorically 'Non' to that house. 

If I got that wrong, can you explain where the access path is, please? 

No, you got that right JC - access looks like it would be down the drive on the right, across the back garden of ‘our’ house about 1m back from the windows/back door, into the neighbours garden.

Think on reflection we’ve decided to pass on this one!

DoaM

What's on the other side of that wall on the right (main photo)? Is that the access path? That said, photo 12 (rear view) suggests the Jeepers is correct and the access is literally at the rear of the property.

fiwen30

DoaM said:

What's on the other side of that wall on the right (main photo)? Is that the access path? That said, photo 12 (rear view) suggests the Jeepers is correct and the access is literally at the rear of the property.

On the right side of the wall in the main photo is an access path for the next line of terraces to the right. The access path for ‘our’ house literally does run right across the garden, up near the back windows of the house, not even to the rear of the garden.

All your input has been much appreciated! We’ve decided after a long (long) discussion not to offer on this property, and put an offer in on the other house we liked instead.

sammyjammy

Lespaul1960 said:

My stepson has this arrangement, the foot way runs about 1m behind the kitchen window ,as far as I know its never been a problem. Me personally I would never even consider it !

My house is one of five where the access from the front is between houses 2 and 3.  The ROW is right next to the houses, we've never had any issues, its very common here.  \saying that I am house 5 so nobody walks past my window and I wouldn't have bought my house if it did, in practice I mostly use my front door anyway.