Parking, only 1 space?

BarleyGB

18+ viewings since going to market last Thursday, and multiple offers at or around asking price.  Seems the negative circumstances (parking, proximity to next door, football pitch) hasn’t put others off.

When I compare to all the other houses I’ve seen on the market in the area of my search it’s probably the closest to what I want.  

I’ll view again shortly and see what the parking is like 7pm on a weekday.

if I don’t go for this one it could be a couple of years before a ‘perfect’ house comes up, is there such a thing, and then could be outbid?

I’ve also been waiting years to relocate to the area and would rather avoid going into a rental house.

hmmm, decisions decisions takes me ages to chose a paint colour), I figure I’ve got till noon tomorrow to decide.

Thank you all.

Section62

BarleyGB said:

18+ viewings since going to market last Thursday, and multiple offers at or around asking price.  Seems the negative circumstances (parking, proximity to next door, football pitch) hasn’t put others off.

The property market is still in a bit of a frenzy, FOMO is super popular at the moment.

Not everyone will visit a site like MSE to get the views and experiences of other people.

But I hope the second viewing goes well, and best of luck if you decide to offer.

lookstraightahead

[DELETED USER] said:

Section62 said:

[DELETED USER] said:

There is a solution, but come on, this is the UK. We aren't going to do it. We are terrible at big infrastructure projects, and we hate helping our own.

That's one way of looking at it.

Another is that providing on-street charging isn't as simple as it sounds.

E.g. When councils put in parking restrictions the usual practice (where possible) is to mark long lengths of bays with no intermediate markings to divide the space into individual bays.  The reason for that is the wide variety in vehicle lengths, and if 'standard' bays are provided there will be fewer spaces in total.  The better solution is to let drivers figure it out for themselves and make the best use of the space available in a 'long' bay.

So what do you do when you are providing on-street charging points? Do you make them a standard spacing apart? Even though that might mean the charge points not being in the right place for the vehicles actually parking there? What happens to the extra vehicles that can squeeze in, but don't have a charge point?  Is it better to mark individual bays (as currently done for EV spaces) even though that reduces the number of parking spaces available?  There are a lot of factors that will need figuring out.

Some people are talking about converting street lighting columns into charge points.  Typically they are people who've not noticed that street lights aren't conveniently provided one per car (or pair of cars), and the columns aren't always next to the road.

Mass provision of on-street EV charging will have numerous legal and practical problems to overcome.

When it's a free-for-all with no marked bays a lot of space is wasted by people parking badly. It's also a nightmare if you don't like having your car rammed as people try to squeeze in and out of small gaps.

Part of the problem is that UK houses are so small, meaning the density is ridiculous and parking is a nightmare.

As you say, there are too many problems and no will to solve them, so it won't get solved. Houses without off-road parking, or even where the parking is separated from the property so it can't have a charge point installed, will be worth much much less than those that have it.

Having no off road parking means really nice houses can be bought for less money, I agree. But it's all relative isn't it. If you want to spend more money having more paved space (really bad for flooding and the environment) then yes you'll probably make your money back.

Back in the day you could take a window out and pay less tax but it doesn't seem to affect house prices now. 

There will be a solution to the charging. It wasn't long ago you needed your garage to house your mobile phone.

[Deleted User]

Tdelete 123

Section62

lookstraightahead said:

...But it's all relative isn't it. If you want to spend more money having more paved space (really bad for flooding and the environment) then yes you'll probably make your money back.

Back in the day you could take a window out and pay less tax but it doesn't seem to affect house prices now. 

Sorry to be picky, but the BiB is something of a bogus argument.  Additional paved space is only a problem where it is designed/implemented badly, and where the additional discharge enters a watercourse in a manner which can actually exacerbate a flooding problem.

A well-designed paved area, ideally a permeable surface, can result in no additional impact on flood risk - indeed it could represent an improvement over a compacted grassed area which allows runoff into the existing drainage system.

It's how you make them that matters.

Likewise, there needs to be some definition of "the environment" to understand whether or not any area which is paved is 'bad' or not. There can be both negative and positive impacts depending on the circumstances.


I'm also not sure where you are going with the window tax argument.  It was a specific tax law which was repealed a long time ago (1851 in England and Wales).  There is current legislation (in England) which enables local authorities to charge a levy (aka 'tax') on workplace parking spaces, but I'm not aware of any similar legislation (or proposals) to tax domestic parking spaces (other than within the overall valuation of a property for Council Tax banding).

So any possible impact of excessive domestic parking spaces on house prices is unlikely to have any relationship to taxation, but I'm open to suggestions how this might happen in future.

BarleyGB

2nd viewing was well worth it.

- Contrary to the floor plan, garage 8’ wide, garage door is 7’ not 5’7” as indicated
- At the end of the close where approx 8-10 cars could be parked, 2 were parked, one of which the result of a skip on a drive
- Rear football field is not owned but part of a trust protected by a covenant for use as sports ground
- Loft height/size is such that master suite could be added for further development potential, family room is two skin with foundations for a second story if required (both subject to planning permission)
- at a squeeze a medium and small car would potentially fit in front of house, room for a medium car parked straight in front of garage

jimbog

BarleyGB said:

2nd viewing was well worth it.
 family room is two skin with foundations for a second story if required (both subject to planning permission)

I did wonder about that when looking at the plans
https://planningdocuments.warwickdc.gov.uk/online-applications/files/E9BF2AF73794139B178AC8E8F3621400/pdf/W_14_0570-Proposed_Plans_and_Elevations_MRL064-00233405210000.pdf-685726.pdf

bouicca21

Comments on the parking issue are fascinating.  Depending on the area, public transport connections and the nature of habitual journeys OP might notfeven need a car.  By the time he/she acquires a partner and possibly children it might be time to move.  And what’s all this about needing a car for children?   I didn’t have one until mine were practically adult.  

lookstraightahead

bouicca21 said:

Comments on the parking issue are fascinating.  Depending on the area, public transport connections and the nature of habitual journeys OP might notfeven need a car.  By the time he/she acquires a partner and possibly children it might be time to move.  And what’s all this about needing a car for children?   I didn’t have one until mine were practically adult.  

I honestly don't know 😂

I have to say though, my dad, who is 80, won't step foot on a train he has to use his car to go everywhere (no physical issues) Not sure if the more cars you have / bigger drive you have is a status symbol maybe? 

We use the trains a lot as do our kids, but my parents find it fascinating that we would choose it over driving.

Section62

lookstraightahead said:

bouicca21 said:

Comments on the parking issue are fascinating.  Depending on the area, public transport connections and the nature of habitual journeys OP might notfeven need a car.  By the time he/she acquires a partner and possibly children it might be time to move.  And what’s all this about needing a car for children?   I didn’t have one until mine were practically adult.  

I honestly don't know 😂

I've mentioned it before, but I'll mention it again.  The issue isn't about what any of us individually might want or not want, and to an extent it isn't about what the OP wants and needs.

I assumed, from the nature of the original question "How much would the 1 space affect your decision re future purchases/renting?", that the OP has in mind how only having one space might impact on the property value in the future as much as on them individually during their ownership.

The answer to that depends on the type of property, the location, access to facilities, and some crystal ball gazing into what the future holds for personal transport.

As such, how people lived 20 or 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago, is pretty much an irrelevance.  What matters is how people live today, and how that might change in the future.

The OP is currently single, but is buying what would be regarded as a family home. Maybe their future buyer will also be single, but that narrows the field of future buyers down somewhat.  Looking around the development, many of the houses that originally had a drive and a garage now have space for 2/3 cars in the front garden.  That says the kind of people typically buying here want more than one car.

And the result of that is any property that can only ever have parking for one car, in an area where demand is greater, will inevitably have a price tag to match... just as the house on a new build development with a courtyard garden under a large TPO tree will be less favourably looked on than houses elsewhere on the development with nice south-facing gardens.

There are usually ways of improving 'problem' houses - adding a bedroom or bathroom, extending the kitchen, switching rooms around to make better use of space.  But one of the problems which cannot be solved so easily is having a small front garden and a lack of parking space. A property with only physical room for one parking space means being forever stuck with one parking space (unless the owner has the financial resources to go down the mechanical parking route).

There are lots of properties built close to stations and with excellent walking and cycling routes nearby, often they have no parking at all and are eminently suitable for people who hate cars. They too are priced accordingly because access to good public transport is sought after.

But a property without adequate parking in an area where car ownership is high... that can be a tricky sell.

lookstraightahead said:

We use the trains a lot as do our kids, but my parents find it fascinating that we would choose it over driving.

Rail use has plummeted in the pandemic - not just people not commuting, leisure use has also fallen off. A lot of people have discovered that reliance on public transport means being royally stuck if, for some reason, the authorities (or unions) decide to stop running services. The recovery from Covid and effective renationalisation of the railway system is going to lead to ongoing reductions in service levels, alongside the traditional increases in fares.  The medium-term future of rail passenger transport isn't as rosy as it look two years ago.

Meanwhile the market for second-hand cars has gone crazy...