Potential Driveway boundary problem

ProDave

You would definitely need to "borrow" a bit of the neighbours land to get that caravan in and out.

If this is a long term home, I would consider making a proper parking space further back where that caravan is, and moving the fence / gates so you don't have to open a gate each time, you can just drive in.

Now if your neighbour could be persuaded to do the same, and agree to only park at the wider end so you could both drive in or out that would be great.  But could all be spoiled in the future by a change of neighbour to one not so considerate.

markin

worthy64 said:

Both the house has enough space in front, There is no need to park inside.  Other houses nearby have fences and they park in front of their house. 

But a 3rd car either side or even just visitors and you have problems? Some councils will fine you if your car is sticking out into the path, And the bay windows seem to make it difficult not to.

8 out of 10 parking threads seem to be a result of this layout, usually when poor care was taken marking out new drives or when one side decides they want a fence to stop trespass!

Counting the blocks, i come up with around 185cm? So most cars would not fit past a post, Using the shadow of the house it narrows to 113cm at the street.

The old slabs 50x50 so 100cm at street, 150cm between the houses

 




They would be blocking your access. What if you fell out, over anything.

 

MobileSaver

swingaloo said:

speak to the neighbour just to see how the land lies. ... I would have a chat and just get a feel for how they approach parking.

The fly in the ointment being that six months, a year or two years from now the existing neighbour may move and you're then left with hoping and praying that the new neighbour is just as amenable.

Worst case scenario is that any new neighbour starts talking about putting up a great big fence down the middle of the 'not-shared' drive before they've even bought the place... sound familiar? 

The only sensible option here is to proceed on the basis that you cannot always rely on being able to park/pass down that drive in a large vehicle but that most times you probably can if you need to. Only the OP knows if that's a risk worth taking.

worthy64

My main concern at the moment is the prospect of reselling this house in the future. I am curious about how this issue may affect the valuation of this property compared to other similar properties in this area that have fence and only parking in front of those houses. This time, this house attracted a lot of interest, it was an open house viewing. 

user1977

worthy64 said:

My main concern at the moment is the prospect of reselling this house in the future. I am curious about how this issue may affect the valuation of this property compared to other similar properties in this area that have fence and only parking in front of those houses. This time, this house attracted a lot of interest, it was an open house viewing. 

I don't see why it would make any difference to the valuation. You really appear to be overthinking this.

Albermarle

user1977 said:

worthy64 said:

My main concern at the moment is the prospect of reselling this house in the future. I am curious about how this issue may affect the valuation of this property compared to other similar properties in this area that have fence and only parking in front of those houses. This time, this house attracted a lot of interest, it was an open house viewing. 

I don't see why it would make any difference to the valuation. You really appear to be overthinking this.

Agree.
Compared to all the other things that can be wrong with a house, then this is not a major one.

OP - Are you really going to drop the purchase because of this ? If not, then stop worrying about it as you can't change it.

sheramber

worthy64 said:

My main concern at the moment is the prospect of reselling this house in the future. I am curious about how this issue may affect the valuation of this property compared to other similar properties in this area that have fence and only parking in front of those houses. This time, this house attracted a lot of interest, it was an open house viewing. 

Why would having a fence make any difference to the valuation.

Will you be offering less because there is no fence?

Some people may not care, others might prefer no fence. 

ThisIsWeird

I don't really think the OP is overthinking this - his concern is quite legitimate. Had he bought not considering this issue, many folk on here would be shouting "Due diligence!"

The other houses he is referring to on this road are likely in a straight line, so the equivalent space between them would likely accept two cars side-by-side with no issue, even with a dividing fence. The problem with this house is the converging angle which gives it a narrow entrance.

I suspect, therefore, that erecting a fence that would come out towards, or beyond, this entrance may well prevent many vehicles - and caravans - from getting down that driveway. That would be an issue if correct, because even if the OP realises it wouldn't be a good move, a petulant neighb may well do so.

I also suspect that each owner may have gained an 'easement' over that entrance, so that any one party restricting that entrance could be challenged over it. But, man, you just do not want to go there...

Provided both parties are reasonable, rational, and relatively normal, they should both realise the potentially self-sabotaging result of doing such a thing. So, chances are that the situation will be perfectly fine, with that driveway entrance kept as it is - ie allowing each party easy access with as few restrictions as possible.

The clincher is the fact that there is parking at the front. Without this, I think I'd be suggesting 'run away'. But, with this frontal parking, if the house ticks most boxes - and it appears to do so - then I'd suggest the OP continues with their purchase.

And then ensures they have comprehensive Legal Protection included in their insurance policy, to the value of £100k...

As I do

Slinky

Be brave. Go and chat to the next door neighbour and see what they're like. Not necessarily asking about the parking, although you could ask general questions about parking in the street. You're going to be living next door to them, better to find out sooner rather than later what they are like. We did this before buying our house.

Obviously neighbours can change, but often they don't. Our previous home never had any new neighbours either side or opposite in the 25 years I owned it.

Albermarle

Slinky said:

Be brave. Go and chat to the next door neighbour and see what they're like. Not necessarily asking about the parking, although you could ask general questions about parking in the street. You're going to be living next door to them, better to find out sooner rather than later what they are like. We did this before buying our house.

Obviously neighbours can change, but often they don't. Our previous home never had any new neighbours either side or opposite in the 25 years I owned it.

OP could ask the neighbours if he did buy the house, could the removal van park on the shared driveway whilst it was unloaded. The answer could be revealing .