How much is a private driveway worth?

Yorkie006

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a house. I have found a few options but want your advice.
There's a 2 bed semi with a multi-car driveway with asking price of £100,000 and a 2 bed semi without a driveway (nearest on street parking is about 100 yards away from the house, no vehicular access to the house at all, only a pavement) with asking price of £110,000.
Both houses are in similar area (they're about 10 mins walk away from each other) and in similar state (both need a quite a bit of work but are in a liveable condition). I prefer the house without the driveway (better internal layout in my opinion) and as I don't have a car, lack of parking is not an issue. Obviously, the seller doesn't know this so I'd like to use the lack of parking as an excuse to get a lower price. What do you think is a reasonable offer? How much is a driveway worth? Just for an illustration, similar houses in this area in good condition and with driveways are currently going for around £130,000.
Thanks for your input!

user1977

When you say "no vehicular access to the house at all", how close can you get? Would be a pain for deliveries etc. Any comparable properties without driveways?

JReacher1

A driveway would make it easier to sell on the future. You might not drive but a lot of people do

Annisele

I don't think there's no standard answer to this - it depends very much on the area. How likely is it that future buyers of the house will have a car? If it's a four bedroom property (aimed at families) and four miles from the nearest school, no space for a drive might reduce the price for a lot. A two bedroom property in the centre of town, maybe not so much. I think you'd just need to find comparables with and without driveways, and see what they've sold for.

But it sounds as though the issue isn't just a lack of driveway. I don't have a car either, but there's no way that I'd buy anything with:

Yorkie006 said:

(nearest on street parking is about 100 yards away from the house, no vehicular access to the house at all, only a pavement)

I get a lot of deliveries (because I don't have a car, and paying for people to deliver things is cheaper than getting one).  But if they had to park 100 yards from the house, they'd constantly be getting lost, and they'd be much more likely to just not bother trying to deliver and claim I wasn't in.

Lack of parking doesn't bother me at all, but lack of vehicular access would be a dealbreaker. The awkwardness would start on moving in day, and I just couldn't be doing with that.

youth_leader

I think I'd go for the property with the drive, your visitors would appreciate it.  I have a drive and my own car and the road is very narrow, I worry about my son's wing mirrors when he visits.

Yorkie006

The house is on a street that is curved but the houses are built in straight lines. So where the curve is, the houses basically go away from the road and create a triangular grassy area that is between them and the road. There are some parking bays but nearest one is about 100 years away and there is no guarantee they won't be occupied.
The grassy area is blocked off with barriers so no vehicles can go on it. The only way to access the house is on foot via a pavement. The rest of the houses on the street are directly on the road (and about half of them have driveways), it's only the 12 or so houses on the corner of the curve that have no direct access to the road (there's no chance of access from the rear either before anyone asks).
I tried to make a drawing. The house I'm considering buying is in red.

comeandgo

So removal vans, ambulances, fire engines all have to park 100 m away, not a house I’d be interested in.

MalMonroe

I want a driveway. I've lived in properties with one and without one and I much prefer those with driveways, preferably with a garage at the end. A garage that leads into the property, too so you can just float inside without any problem.

I live in a council flat at the moment and although it's on a very small cul-de-sac and there are only 14 of us here (the flats are in twos and resemble 7 detached houses) it can be a struggle sometimes to get parked outside my own place. The good thing here, though, is that we are quite rural and so not many people even know the road's here and I feel my car is pretty safe. There are seven garages also but they cost £12 per week which I think is a tad too expensive. 

I would pay extra for a driveway - I'm hoping to be able to move from social housing into my own property in the next couple of years and, as a driver, I want my own drive. And garage, if possible. Most people with cars would prefer to get their cars off public roads. It probably lowers car insurance too. 

You said "Obviously, the seller doesn't know this so I'd like to use the lack of parking as an excuse to get a lower price."  But sellers aren't daft. You can offer what you like but if the seller wants more, they won't accept. I'd advise not to play games if you really want the property. 

In comparison to where I live (not even London), the prices of those properties are really low and paying £100k for one with a multi car driveway seems like a bargain to me.

MikeJXE

No way would I buy that even if I didn't drive, it's aimed at a specific audience, one that thinks the open space is better than cars going past

Yes I agree the other at £100k is a bargain

HampshireH

MikeJXE said:

No way would I buy that even if I didn't drive, it's aimed at a specific audience, one that thinks the open space is better than cars going past

Yes I agree the other at £100k is a bargain

Like the OP maybe

OP just go in at the price of the other one and outline your case. See what happens.

Someone will buy it and if it has no parking then someone without a car to clog up the streets and battle about parking with is probably an ideal new neighbour for those already living there.

tealady

I dont drive.
Would NEVER look at a house without a drive.
Its handy for workmen to park on, for visitors and has been used by neighbours (with my permission) when they have a lot of guests.
Perhaps the better layout is the reason for the price.
You could possibly change a layout but you couldn't add a drive.