Help me avoid a parking thread - diagram included

[ParkingProblem1]

Been on here for an age but have name changed for this thread.

DH and I are due to complete on our house in the next couple of weeks. It's a mid-terrace which has an allocated parking space about 100 foot along the road outside of another row of terraces.

We've done routine 'drive-by' visits over the past few weeks to scope out the general parking situation and there has always been someone parked in our space. It's not ideal that our space is a little way down the road, outside someone else's house, but we're buying in London and it feels like a small compromise to make. I should add at this stage that there is nothing to identify the space as ours: no house number etc on it.

New house is currently empty so it may be that neighbours are taking advantage of having an extra space available but I'm worried now that when we arrive, it's still going to be used as a 'vacant' space and used by anyone. Our deeds clearly identify it as ours and as such, I'd like it left free whenever we're not using it. We have a baby due shortly and I really don't want to faff around trying to find alternative parking (which is practically non existent) when I get home.

What would you do? I think a pretty clear message needs to be sent on the day we move in that this is our space and we're the only people who are going to park in it but similarly, I don't want to come across rudely to my new neighbours!

its not currently your space - it belongs to whoever you are buying from?

why are you getting worried before you even move in

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I can just foresee this being a nightmare and resulting in me needed an actual parking thread so I'm trying to avoid that if possible.

Park in as soon as you move in; leave a note on dashboard saying you've just moved in to number X and you'd love the neighbours to call in for a cuppa on yday at z o'clock. Have a chat and suss out the parking situation with them gently?

Could you get a sign done and put it up near your allocated space: "private parking for number xxx" or something?

You do have a laminator don't you?

With nothing identifying it as yours, I think you are going to have an ongoing problem with this. More visitors etc who will have no idea.

The only answer to this, I imagine in London is going to be one of those bollards you can lock up and down. Probably just as well to do it the day you move in and consider it just part of the moving costs.

I agree with sister that this will definitely pose a problem going forward if there's nothing to identify it as yours. julia is right - invest in a bollard and paint your house number on the space itself.

Hopefully they're just using it at the moment as they know it's free. But when you move in, you should spray paint your house number on it and you could also put up a sign - no parking, this is for house number xx only etc.

Then bollards i guess, if that doesn't work.

Place marking for continued parking thread.
Sorry op I think you will have issues in the future.
Could you flag it up with your solicitor now and direct questions could then be asked of the vendor regarding historical parking issues.
Also get the solicitor to check that there are no clauses to stop you installing penguin bollards or similar.

Okay - I'm glad you all agree with me that this could be a shit-storm going forward. My DH is more of the opinion that 'we'll just park wherever we can' but this is far too relaxed an approach for me.

I am currently liking the bollard idea. So if I raise a query through the solicitor re. restrictions to putting one in and then bam, on the first day we move in, as soon as there's no-one parking there we occupy the space and get someone out to fit a bollard? Then I don't even have to speak to the neighbours

The diagram I included is taken directly from the house deeds to presumably that can't be wrong? The last thing I'd want to do is fit a bollard in a space that I don't actually own...

Obvs I own a laminator @PuppyMonkey