Reservations about house purchase

DecoChicken

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82121964#Comment_82121964

The general area sells pretty well, but those are more “flat land” properties and closer to their communal parking (some parts have permit parking).

Of the terrace that my daughter’s potential home is in, one is recently sold, another is still awaiting sale after several months (daughter looked at this but there is much renovation work needed and owner refused to budge on price so may be impacting sale), the rest haven’t been on sale for years.

Bigphil1474

It would put me off, mainly because I used to live in a terraced house with no off road parking for over 20 years and I hated that aspect. With the inevitable drift towards plug in cars, that would make it worse for me. However, the pool of potential buyers in the future will just be different that's all. I don't think it would make it unsellable. If your daughter is buying it, then it's likely somebody else's daughter will be interested in 10, 15, 20 years time.

MobileSaver

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82122164#Comment_82122164

Fundamentally there is no such thing as a perfect house; whether your budget is £200k or £2M there will always be compromises to make.

If your daughter heeds your concerns and doesn't buy this house then what will she buy instead? Are there other houses available in the area with as many positives that do have better parking? If not then it's a moot point and she's doing the right thing by just getting on with her life and buying this one.

Herzlos

There also seems to be a trend where a lot less younger people are even learning to drive, so you may find that it becomes less of an issue in 20 years time. Especially if robo-taxis ever really become a thing.

user1977

Plus I think the "charging at home" aspect will be less of an issue as chargers become more widespread/cheaper and vehicle ranges increase.

RelievedSheff

Why worry on your daughters behalf?

Let them get on with their house purchase.

They are buying it now, someone will buy it in the future.

Dustyevsky

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82122734#Comment_82122734

Robo-taxis? When I was a lad, we were all going to have flying cars by now, just to be sociable, you understand. Otherwise, it was personal jetpacks, stored under the stairs.

The media, and those who own and control it, always have an imaginary carrot or two dangling in the future.

But, as you say, today's reality is young people being priced-out of car ownership, especially if they aspire to home ownership too. This is in line with certain think-tanks' visions of the future, where, at best, one might aspire to a robot-driven car for an annual holiday. In their pictures of future cities, one doesn't see private cars at all.

Nobody knows for sure what the future holds, but given the winds of (climate) change, I'd say the old Raleigh Gran Sport I had a spotty youth might be due a comeback, made in Vietnam these days.

Ah, but there are all those steps……!!!

Seriously OP, your crystal ball is as good as anyone's i.e, murky! In 1987, my Dad was convinced I was being ripped-off, buying a badly-built semi with 1/4 acre garden for £70k. The bones of the house remain just as shoddy today, but now comparables are selling for £700k. I don't live there now, fortunately. The city it's in is far too busy for me, but a nice little bungalow in a pedestrianised area, with a few steps for healthy exercise, might do me nicely. 😉

Herzlos

Flying cars never seemed to make much sense to me; it's a cool idea but the logistics are incredible.

At least in 2 dimensions you've got a reasonable chance of making a self-driving car work well enough to not need a driveway - it can drop you off and then come back fully charged when you need it.

It's an interesting idea, I'd love to see what we could do if we didn't need to dedicate so much ground space to cars that barely move.

Chief_of_Staffy

In the near future only the rich will have cars anyway. Most people can't afford £35k for a battery on wheels that you can't drive through puddles and will cost you two months' wages to replace a headlamp.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82122734#Comment_82122734

They already are.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc1KimPk2p1/