Pulling out of out of sale - any advice.

Londonsinglegirl

Just wondering if anyone can give me some advice, feels like I know what I should do but would appreciate any reassurance and experience. Off street parking is one of my must haves and whilst I like this property it seems parking will be an issue.

estate agents advertising with parking “no problem for years” but no dropped kerb and not sure if I could get one. It’s at the end of a cul de sac and driveway seems short compared to others on street (which have dropped kerbs).

Read so many stories about councils taking action and don’t want any drama even if it’s been ok for current vendor  in the past. 

user1977

Presumably this is your purchase you're thinking of pulling out of rather than your sale? 

I would agree that looks to be of dubious legality, so if it's really a must-have rather than an added bonus then I would be looking elsewhere (though I probably would have skipped over it in the first place...)

Londonsinglegirl

Thanks yeah buying, the house looks great and this is the only thing that worries me but it’s important enough for me to want to reconsider. 

steve866

What is the depth of the driveway?
are other properties available for the same price with a proper driveway?

Londonsinglegirl

Thanks, need to check the depth just seems really small on closer look.  I think a car there gave me a false sense of security before.

There isn’t much coming on the market where I am and the house ticked all my boxes and in other ways was perfect.  Am gutted really but I know this would niggle at me if I proceeded.

MultiFuelBurner

Well what car do you have. Looks like next door could park their car in your drive ok as the houses are the same depth.

km1500

you might be able to make enquires of the council and see what they say. I would just phrase it in terms of do you think you could get a dropped curb and they may well come back and say yes or they may well come back and say no you can't even park there

Section62

MultiFuelBurner said:

Well what car do you have. Looks like next door could park their car in your drive ok as the houses are the same depth.

Next door's car would overhang the footway if parked in the drive of the property the OP is looking at - if this is an area where the council do footway parking obstruction enforcement then they may get a penalty for it.

OP, without contacting the council and mentioning this specific property, check what minimum depth and width hardstanding the council require for off-street parking spaces with a dropped kerb. 4.8x2.4m is a common figure.

Some councils will allow a crossover for a shorter hardstanding, but will require a legal agreement to the effect that if you park an overhanging vehicle on the hardstanding then they will remove the crossover.

Because of the corner position I doubt the council would agree to providing a crossover, except perhaps if the end of the cul-de-sac was converted into some form of 'shared space' to do away with the kerb and footway completely.

MultiFuelBurner

That's why I asked what car they have, a smaller car would fit nicely if they really love the house.

It also doesn't look like a massive curb to drive up, pretty level with the road.

The OP suggests they really love the house, I do wonder if you suggest it is not legal parking which you could not use when you eventually sell in the sales particulars. Would they accept a lower offer and would that alleviate any of your concerns.

It is highly unlikely the council will come along and raise that curb height so it could well be "useable" by the OP.

Section62

MultiFuelBurner said:

That's why I asked what car they have, a smaller car would fit nicely if they really love the house.

It also doesn't look like a massive curb to drive up, pretty level with the road.

The OP suggests they really love the house, I do wonder if you suggest it is not legal parking which you could not use when you eventually sell in the sales particulars. Would they accept a lower offer and would that alleviate any of your concerns.

It is highly unlikely the council will come along and raise that curb height so it could well be "useable" by the OP.

If the OP's username is an indication of where the property is then the council don't need to raise the kerb, they can legally install a bollard or similar in front of the driveway to prevent it being used.  Elsewhere in the UK the council could install a bollard for the same purpose, but without necessarily having the legal authority.

If off-street parking is a 'must have' for the OP then a property with an unlawful parking space isn't really a suitable property.  At any time in the future the council could decide to take action to prohibit use of the space.  Having had a little discount off the purchase price of the property isn't very helpful when/if there's nowhere to park your car.

MultiFuelBurner

For the OP not for the doom mongers

If you love the property put together a pros and cons list and also checkout any other properties new to the market with official driveways.

There will always be something later on like annoying neighbours, some building work going on and multiple other things. 

With a small car I would be happy with that and deal with it once moved in. However I would knock something off the price especially if you cannot park nearby or it is permit?