AIBU to buy a house with terrible parking?

[Seaandsand83]

We currently live in a 2 bed terraced and have found a fantastic 4 bed semi with big beautiful rooms, well within our price range. We'd have enough money to build an extension on the back for a really spacious Kitchen diner. However, the parking situation is terrible. There is only parking on one side of the road and it is always full. There are a few spaces about a 1 or 2 min walk way, round the corner. I know that doesn't sound far but if I have done a food shop it would mean a few trips back and forth

We are in a position to put an offer on but AIBU to buy a house which is perfect for us but with such bad parking?

Honestly, the house sounds lovely but you'll grow to resent the parking situation so much that you'll start to hate the house.

Been there done that!

It's all relative really. Would a similar property with parking be much more expensive? Is there a possibility of you guys putting a drive in?

I personally won't, but that's mainly based on the fact that parking is a nightmare at our current house and it causes us lots of problems.
But I guess it depends on how often you use you car(s)? If you use them very rarely then it's less of an issue.
Our family have 2 cars, both get driven on a daily basis, sometimes multiply times a day, so never knowing if there is a carparking space would be a no for me.

So stressful to arrive home and face that every single day.

Depends whether you're happy to be back here in 6 months posting recurrent threads about CFs and parking.

After a hard day at work, last thing you need is an additional mission just to park. As for the food shop situation and multiple trips back and forth to the car - that shit will get old very quickly.

Don’t do it.

We did it, and the novelty of the benefits of the house, versus shitty parking, nowhere for visitors to park, neighbours ‘reserving’ spaces with traffic cones, carting shopping and children from car to house in several trips very soon wore off.

I wouldn't, I wouldn't personally buy a house that didn't have sufficient private parking for the number of vehicles in my household.

However many many people buy houses like this and manage. It depends on your own personality and only you know that.

Is there any scope for creating a parking spot at the front or side of the property and do you mind having to walk from your car and park away from your house?

I wouldn't buy a house without a drive think they parking situation would annoy me

How many cars do you have/plan to have? I’d say if there’s always parking 1-2 minutes away then that’s not so bad but if you’re going to struggle to park multiple cars then I’d be looking elsewhere. Have you visited to check parking on a night when everyone’s home? Also visitors may find it irritable but that’s them. As for the shopping, you could always just stop outside your house, quickly run them in and then park.

That sounds like a nightmare!

It will piss you off. We live in a street of 3 bed victorian semis. No drives. The parking is a massive pain in the arse. 3 bed with two kids can equal three cars, there just isn't space. We have restrictions during the week for the train station but none on weekends and as an 'up and coming' 'village' people cone for the shops, great for the shops, worse for us. We are looking to move, a drive being one of the main priorities.

My friend recently sold a house with bad parking. Like yours it offered a lot of space and potential. It took two and a half years to sell and they took a big hit on the price and parking was definitely a big factor.

However, I wouldn’t rule it out. You can have shopping delivered. Buy a trolley, find ways to make it less annoying and workable. But be aware that it may prove a sticking point in the future if you want to sell.

@Seashells47 if you did that in my road there would be a riot, parking both side, enough room for a single car down the middle!

It seems to be a case of weighing up the negatives and trying to work out how much they would impact on you, and whether there is anything you could do to fix them.

A few thoughts:

How much do you use your car? Do you commute (so would be trying to find a space when everyone else is on a daily basis)? If not, could you do things like shopping at less busy times - or shop online - so you wouldn't have the problem on as regular a basis?

How likely is it that you'd get one of the spaces round the corner? My brother's road is hideous - you literally end up circling roads around the area looking for a space and are frequently up to 10 mins walk away. For me round the corner would be OK, but not several streets away!

Do you have (or intend to have) young children? If so, how hard would it be to get them safely from wherever you can park- especially if you're carrying things?

Is there any way of creating a driveway in the long term, or would this always be a problem?

I've become slightly obsessed driving past at different times of the day and there's hardly ever a space. I hear what you're all saying and you're right, it's a big issue.

We could never afford a house like this if it was anywhere else in our town, it really is a lot of house for your money. But is it worth it for daily parking issues 😩

I would.

We do actually have private covered parking so finding a space isn't an issue. However, it isn't outside the house, it it about 2 mins walk further along the road.
The house is also set on a hill raised up from the street by a steep slope, and then 12 steps to the front door. So everything in and out of the house has to be walked up the steep slope and then up the steps.

Its a tad inconvenient, but really not an issue. Its something you quickly get used to. Our house was also a great price for size, and location. A similar house at the end of the road without the slopes and steps sold recently for almost 30% more than we paid. I would rather just walk 2 mins for that.

Is there somewhere you can stop to unload shopping before you go off and park? Our street is like this, though we have a car park nearby to use but it's sometimes useful to just be able to drop stuff off.

We've done it. It is a complete pain but you get used to it.

We lasted for 4 years before moving, although it wasn't the reason, 'non-terrible' parking was very near the top of our list for the new house!

If the house ticks all your other boxes and similar houses in the price range don’t come up very often then I’d say you’ll just get used to it. I’ve had the same for years (central-ish London) and it’s not the end of the world. As long as there’s more or less a guarantee of a space in neighbouring streets it’s just something you build into your journeys.

What's the front garden like, enough room to make it parking, and have a dropped kerb?

parking ease is so important for me i'd never buy a house if I knew was going to be stressful (been there and it's a waste of energy!!) so i'd keep looking!!

Also, just to add, once you lived there, you'd get to know 'the system' very quickly, we did!

Who parks where, when which spaces are likely to be free etc etc!

I wouldn't. It will do your head right in. We live in a modest end of terrace with 3 dedicated parking spaces to ourselves. It's bliss!

Though actually it became more of an issue as my parents lost their mobility.

Hmm parking at mine isn’t easy, it isn’t as bad as this sounds but it’s sometimes pretty full and necessary to park 10 doors away or similar. Maybe one time in 5 I have to do that. I don’t really find it a big deal but then we hardly use the car - we do online food shopping and walk to school. I hate driving tbh so use it as little as possible. Weekends we drive places but those days are less competitive for parking anyway.

So all depends how much you use the car I guess?