New build with shared access way to garage

Sammykentish

Hello people,

We are looking to buy a new build with double detached garage. We have liked 3 plots of the same design - numbered 1,2,3 on the attached site plan.



Plot 1:
- West Facing Garden
- Cheaper as it has 2 parking spaces and not 4.
- Is last property on shared access way

Plot 2:
- South facing garden.
- 4 parking spaces
- Plot 2 is second on shared acces way with only one house after it.

Plot 3:
- South facing garden.
- Plot 3 has a slightly bigger garden
- 4 parking spaces
- Plot 3 is first on shared access way 

While Plot 1 is cheaper by about 15K, my worry is if the neighbours turn out to be inconsiderate, it can result in a lot of headache. Otherwise, 2 parking spaces are sufficient for us. The 4 parking spaces on other properties which are resulting in higher price are not going to be used by us atleast not in near future. However, reading on net I gather that South facing garden along with more parking spaces improves resale value and therefore might be worth paying the premium just for that as appreciation later can be significantly higher than 15K - I have no idea if it is true or not.

The path to reach each house is shown by the arrows. Please, can you share your thoughts on which plot will be better in the long run and why?

Section62

Sammykentish said:

Hello people,

We are looking to buy a new build with double detached garage. We have liked 3 plots of the same design - numbered 1,2,3 on the attached site plan.


Plot 1:
- West Facing Garden
- Cheaper as it has 2 parking spaces and not 4.
- Is last property on shared access way

Plot 2:
- South facing garden.
- 4 parking spaces
- Plot 2 is second on shared acces way with only one house after it.

Plot 3:
- South facing garden.
- Plot 3 has a slightly bigger garden
- 4 parking spaces
- Plot 3 is first on shared access way 

While Plot 1 is cheaper by about 15K, my worry is if the neighbours turn out to be inconsiderate, it can result in a lot of headache. Otherwise, 2 parking spaces are sufficient for us. The 4 parking spaces on other properties which are resulting in higher price are not going to be used by us atleast not in near future. However, reading on net I gather that South facing garden along with more parking spaces improves resale value and therefore might be worth paying the premium just for that as appreciation later can be significantly higher than 15K - I have no idea if it is true or not.

The path to reach each house is shown by the arrows. Please, can you share your thoughts on which plot will be better in the long run and why?

What are the shared access arrangements in each case?  Will the land and maintenance be the responsibility of a management company, or of the residents using it?  If the latter, how is the ownership and responsibility divided between the houses - for example each responsible for their bit, or jointly responsible for the whole?

If the 4 parking spaces involves two on the driveway in front of a double garage (as it looks on the plan) then some would count that as only 2 for practical purposes - either using the garage and keeping the driveway clear, or parking on the driveway and using the garage for something else (like storage).

knightstyle

Plot 1 will have headlights shining into it from the road opposite.  2 and 3 are virtually identical.

ExEstateAgent

Parking space is valuable especially on modern developments which have little or no spare parking spaces. Think about when you have visitors or tradesmen etc. 

Sammykentish

Thanks for your response. I did ask these questions and was told:

What are the shared access arrangements in each case? 

• The shared access way is legally not supposed to be blocked for any resident and is going to be quite wide - eye measurement from site plan suggest it will be about 12 to 16 ft. That said, it still did not put my mind to rest because legality goes out of the window if someone does not follow the rules and that therefore still means higher probability for a painful existence.

Will the land and maintenance be the responsibility of a management company, or of the residents using it?

• The shared access way will be the responsibility of a management company.

If the 4 parking spaces involves two on the driveway in front of a double garage (as it looks on the plan) then some would count that as only 2 for practical purposes.

• Actually, that is the case with Plot 1. For Plot 2 there are 4 parking spaces and then double garage which can be used for storage. If garages were to be used for parking, technically Plots 2 and 3 have 6 parking spaces. That said, I do count that as 2 Parking spaces because it is not like 4 cars will be parked in parallel but two cars parked in tandem and 2 in parallel. This is partly the reason I am not swayed by the 4 parking space thing - yes it is there but not in an easy to use kind of way,

RAS

A lot of the other houses near plot 1 have 1/2 parking spaces but no garage, or an integral garage?

And I'd not be surprised if they were a lot of gear changes around that corner?

Sammykentish

RAS said:

A lot of the other houses near plot 1 have 1/2 parking spaces but no garage, or an integral garage?

Yes, all those houses have integral garage. 

And I'd not be surprised if they were a lot of gear changes around that corner?

So that is a "No" vote for plot 1 for similar concerns as mine. This helps in validating my concern to an extent so thanks for that. Which one in 2 and 3 would you recommend?

silvercar

I'd go for the bigger garden.

Only slight advantage of plot 2 is that the garage is almost joined to the house, so could be converted to another room at some point. Also it's back fence position means that the front of another house is behind it, whereas plot 3 backs on to another back garden, so more neighbour noise/ footballs, BBQ smells.

Albermarle

Although it is often said a South facing garden is a benefit, I am not so sure with the temperatures hotting up.

If the location was more Up North, then South facing is probably good, but if it is one of the UKs hotter spots, it could be a disadvantage. 

Section62

Sammykentish said:

...
If the 4 parking spaces involves two on the driveway in front of a double garage (as it looks on the plan) then some would count that as only 2 for practical purposes.

• Actually, that is the case with Plot 1. For Plot 2 there are 4 parking spaces and then double garage which can be used for storage. If garages were to be used for parking, technically Plots 2 and 3 have 6 parking spaces. That said, I do count that as 2 Parking spaces because it is not like 4 cars will be parked in parallel but two cars parked in tandem and 2 in parallel. This is partly the reason I am not swayed by the 4 parking space thing - yes it is there but not in an easy to use kind of way,

If I've understood the parking layout correctly, the parking for plot 'X' will be next to plot 3.

The plan isn't very clear, but it looks like plot 'X's driveway bays are tight up to the flank wall of plot 3.

Plot 3's bays appear to be separated from the flank wall of plot 2 by a landscaped area. If so, there might be slightly more noise and the potential for doors banging into the flank wall for plot 3 vs plot 2.

If there is a landscaped strip between plot 2 and plot 3 then you ought to find out who will own it.  The area will make it easier to open vehicle doors and get in/out of vehicles by stepping onto it.  If it belongs to 2 then there's potential for neighbour dispute if 3 starts using it as an extension of their driveway.

Conversely, the parking bays for plot 2 are also tight to the wall of the house at the end, so getting into/out of vehicles on this side might be more difficult than those of plot 3.

The plan is only indicative, so I'd check with the developer exactly how wide the driveways are and who will own each landscaped area (if any) next to them.

twoLou

Not knowing how the site sits in a landscape, ie what is to the north or front of plots 2 & 3 I can only say
going in the plan for me it would be plot 2.
 

- it only has one other house past it (and it’s associated cars) is almost at the end, so quieter and looks to be facing a path and as someone else has mentioned, no garden behind and the dreaded trampoline or dogs barking.

- however it looks to have a parking space opposite and not sure if that is part of the plot of 2, if not you may be looking at a car or van that isn’t yours. Also a smaller garden but that isn’t always a bad thing, gardens are hard work.

Hopefully you’d be able to negotiate the price too as houses aren’t selling terribly well at the moment, new or resale.

Best of luck with whichever you decide on.