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Property/DIY

Would no off road parking be a deal breaker for you???

25 replies

Becaroooo · 19/09/2011 14:56

Have seen a lovely property that I would like to view.

Dh is not keen because it has no off road parking - its a late victorian end of terrace cottage.

Its over 3 floors, 2 recs, kitchen, 3 beds, bathroom and a study. Walled garden to the rear.

Its on the corner of a road which does get busy at school pick up and drop off times (term time ony obv!)

Parking thing doesnt bother me at all...I get most of my groceries delivered because I am really lazy its better for the environment and this house actually backs on to my sons school playground so the school run would be pretty quick Smile

Thoughts?

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Becaroooo · 19/09/2011 14:56

oh, it does need a new kitchen but I can live with doing that.....

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42day · 19/09/2011 14:58

in your circumstances it wouldn't bother me but in my circumstances it would be a deal breaker for me. Also that type of house is beautiful and you are going to find it hard to get off road parking aren't you.

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Becaroooo · 19/09/2011 15:00

42day Yes, I was trying to explain to dh that, generally, the victorians didnt think to provide off road parking as were no cars!! Grin

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AurraSing · 19/09/2011 15:00

It's not so much the off parking, but how easy it I'd to find a parking spot that would bother me. I know people who refuse to use their cars so don't risk losing a good spot.

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MrsJohnDeere · 19/09/2011 15:00

Would be a deal breaker for me.

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kblu · 19/09/2011 15:01

It would depend on the area and how easy it would be to park near to your house. There is nothing more frustrating than coming home from work and having to park half a mile away from your own property because someone has parked outside your house. Where I live I used to have off road parking for one car only so we had to park one on the road. As ours is a busy road twice we woke up to the wing mirror being knocked off and nobody leaving a note. It was for that reason we converted our front garden into a double parking space so we could fit two cars off road.
I think as I say it depends on the area/how busy it is etc. etc and how many cars you have.

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bigTillyMint · 19/09/2011 15:02

No, but then I live in a London terraced house - very, very little off-road parking here!

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ChristinedePizan · 19/09/2011 15:02

Really depends on how hard it is to park there. Any chance of initiating residents' parking if it's difficult? It would be hopeless here without off-road parking but I live in the middle of town very near the station in one of the very few roads where you don't have to pay to park so it would be hopeless without it.

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ChristinedePizan · 19/09/2011 15:03

Hopeless twice in one sentence Blush. I have the lurgy and my brain isn't working

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empirestateofmind · 19/09/2011 15:03

It would be a deal breaker for me.

Also I would be worried about selling the house in the future- ok you might not mind not having a parking space but lots of people are bothered. It might make it hard to sell.

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bamboobutton · 19/09/2011 15:05

it would put me off. we once lived in a house with no designated parking and it was shite having to lug a whole supermarket shop and baby from where we could find a parking space to the house.

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RedRubyBlue · 19/09/2011 15:05

I have a large driveway now and I must admit I could not go back to on road parking.

Where I lived before there so many neighbours squabbling about parking outside each others houses.

Deal breaker.

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KirstyJC · 19/09/2011 15:05

It wouldn't be a problem for me, in fact the house we moved to this March has on-road parking only, and we're planning to stay here for at least 20 years. It is an older property too and like you say, you don't get space for cars. (although there is a metal railing on the front wall to tie your horses to!!Grin)

We have 2 cars and it is a pain sometimes to park the next road over and walk, but it was a price we paid for the lovely house. To get one like this with off road parking would have been in the next price bracket, which was beyond us anyway.

You need to view it I think, and see how hard it is to park when you get there! That'll give you an indication of whether it's likely to be a problem.

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thestringcheeseincident · 19/09/2011 15:07

Deal breaker for me too I'm afraid. I'm used to having one and couldn't go back.

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Dolcegusto · 19/09/2011 15:08

I always thought this would be a deal breaker for me, but then I went and bought a house with no parking.

It does have plenty on street parking though and we can usually park right outside the house.

Are you going to be able to park outside? If you can then I'd say go for it.

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LRDTheFeministDragon · 19/09/2011 15:13

Wow, that house sounds gorgeous! I would go for it because of the walled garden. Grin

I've never had off-road parking, but where I am you wouldn't miss it. Never had any damage to my car.

It's worth checking how much your insurance will go up (as it will, almost certainly).

Why not also ask the estate agent if there's a space to rent nearby (if you have the budget)? Near us some people pave over their front bit and rent it out, and compared to teh cost of a house it's not expensive.

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Gonzo33 · 19/09/2011 17:15

With a toddler and a pre-teen it would be a deal breaker for me.

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TrillianAstra · 19/09/2011 17:21

It depends if it is no off-road parking and a nightmare to park or no off-road parking but there's usually a space right there.

We have no off-road parking, but we have never had to park more than 100 years from our front door, and it's usually much closer.

If I were driving a lot with children and trying to wrangle toddlers it might be more of a problem.

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stanausauruswrecks · 19/09/2011 17:46

You are pretty much describing what we are selling!! It's not a big issue for me - we don't have it (we have a residents parking scheme). We bought our house for us to live in and enjoy as a family home, not as somewhere to park a car outside!! FWIW it has never been an issue - I park outside to drop off shopping, and then move the car round the corner so it's not on main road. I even managed a toddler and baby round to the car without problems. The benifit you gain in terms of the size of property you get for your money definitely outweighs the slight inconvenience of parking round the corner.

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minipie · 19/09/2011 18:29

Agree with Trillian - as long as you can park on the street outside or virtually outside, then it's not really an issue. How hard is it to walk up a garden path?

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GnomeDePlume · 19/09/2011 19:04

Total issue & deal breaker for me. Lived on a street with on street parking and there was always one house with more than a house width's worth of cars, no permits and some nutter who thought she owned the road in front of her house. Daughter's tutor also had no off street parking. Another weekly nightmare trying to find somewhere to drop them off then find parking.

Any road, after that little therapy session!

It would be a deal breaker for me because:

  • needs change
  • neighbours cars
  • where do visitors park
  • loading/unloading heavy loads
  • risk of damage to car as drivers have to duck in and out to get past
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Riveninabingle · 19/09/2011 19:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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Becaroooo · 19/09/2011 19:27

Thanks all...as I say its not a big deal to me - a cars a car and I only use it for pootling around anyway. Dh's is a company car and I dont really give a monkeys what happens to that one! Grin

It also means that the house is cheaper than others we have been looking at...like £20-30k cheaper!

Its a village but as I say, very near the local school although there is a car park and the parking is bad the other side of the school rather than the side this house is on IYSWIM?

Very insightful (as ever) riven Smile Will arrange a viewing....

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headfairy · 19/09/2011 19:42

wouldnt' be a deal breaker for me... we have a real nightmare parking our car during the week because people park in our road and walk to the station near by. It's a momentary hassle and a small price to pay for living in a lovely house in a lovely road.

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Laquitar · 19/09/2011 20:03

Now that my dcs are older i could live without it. When they were young it would have been deal breaker.

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