Beautiful big old house with neighbours right of way or new build with £30 a month service charge

[Twolittlespeckledfrogs]

Which is worse?

The service charge is worrying because there’s so many stories online about people who’ve bought new build houses then not been able to resell after management charges get increased dramatically.

The right of way thing is a worry because you effectively have to cross a shared path to get to your garden so it’s like the garden isn’t attached to the house. Garden itself can be fenced off completely but currently just has a low wall with an opening to walk through to get into the garden with no gate on it.

All the usual benefits/drawbacks of new build versus old house apply.

I’m currently feeling like the answer is wait and hope something else comes on the market soon.

I wouldn't rush anything.

I wouldn’t touch either.

Neither

What are you planning to use the garden for? If you have young dc/dogs or planning to then it would be annoying as you can't just turf them into the garden securely. If older dc then I would put a hedge in and a gate and chuck them out there quite happily.

The neighbours having right of way through my garden wouldn't bother me at all. They might not even use it that much, depending on what other access there was and even if they did, it might not be that bad.

I would however be very wary of a new build with a service charge for the reasons you describe and wonder if this is going to be the next big misselling scandal.

You would need a good lawyer to look very closely at the service charge provisions. The issue isn't what the price is now but what it could be in the future. Some are actually perfectly fine, well written and well controlled. Others are absolutely dreadful and could become horrifyingly expensive and make the house unsellable.

Could you create direct access to 'your' garden, so avoiding the need to deal with the shared access?

do you have a map of how the right of way goes?

For me, a right of way at the end, or over the drive etc wouldn't bother me, but some go right across the back of the house under the kitchen window. That feels like an invasion of privacy.

Unless there is some reason that the old house is really good value, then I would wait for other things to come on the market

Definite 'no' to any leasehold house, ever.

A ROW wouldn't necessarily put me off, if it was little-used and i could put gates in.

@RubberTreePlant OP didn't say the new build house was leasehold though? Freehold new builds can also come with a service charge.

The right of way would bother me personally and I wouldn't go for it. The new build leasehold is something I believe the government are currently looking into as the developers are selling on leaseholds. If you go with this option don't use their solicitors or any they recommend. Find a decent independent one and see if you can buy out the leasehold or have an option to buy it out before it's sold on. I would consider it if this was an option

Neither, I'm sorry to say. Those charges can increase hugely from what seems to be a reasonable rate to much higher amounts. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

A separate garden would kill it for me too. Be patient, other properties should become available, it's just a case of being patient.

Do you have small children? It would rule out the older house for me.

i wouldnt touch a new house with a lease or a charge

I'd keep on looking

Again, op has not said anywhere that the house is leasehold, just that it has a service charge. There is a vast difference.

New build is freehold and not actually new- the original buyers have been there about 6 years or so. So our worry is the lack of regulation. At least with leasehold there are some protections albeit with some different drawbacks too.

We do have young children and want a dog otherwise the right of way issue might not have bothered me as much. It’s an extremely nice house for the price otherwise.

I think we’re going to just have to hope something else comes up.

Thanks for all the comments.

I wouldn’t buy either. Keep looking. Both will be difficult to sell in the future as I know I wouldn’t buy either due to those reasons.

If you have concerns about the ROW then it may well be worth posting the question on Legal Issues or perhaps a more specialist website such as:-

gardenlaw.co.uk

which has forums covering all this sort of stuff.

The right of way thing is a worry because you effectively have to cross a shared path to get to your garden so it’s like the garden isn’t attached to the house.

I would suggest that's not quite the right way to look at things. The garden and the path all belong to you - it's certainly not "shared" land - it's just that somebody else has the right to walk across part of it.

If you are seriously considering this older house then I would study the house deeds very carefully to see exactly what the wording of the ROW actually says and exactly where they are allowed to walk.

Garden itself can be fenced off completely but currently just has a low wall with an opening to walk through to get into the garden with no gate on it.

Absolutely fine to put up a bigger fence and put a gate in at the entrance (although I presume there must also be an exit as well, otherwise where does the ROW go?) the only thing that you can't do is to lock the gate - unless you also give the person/people allowed to use the ROW a key as well.

So, if you're interested then read the deed really carefully to see what it actually says and don't rely on any verbal assurances from anyone.