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AIBU?

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Original poster

CF? Would you park on the driveway of a house you were viewing to buy?

358 replies

movingonupps · 05/04/2022 16:31

This happened to us today and DH & I can't quite workout if we were the CF or not lol.

Went to viewing, no where to park, 1 car already on 3 car drive.

We parked on drive and got out of car

Vendor opens door, asks why we have parked on drive.

Explained we had a viewing

Again she said why have you parked on drive, her son will be home shortly

I said if it's a problem, we will just leave; so we did!

Her EA was gobsmacked when I explained why we didn't do the viewing.

Who is BU?

OP posts:
ForeverLooking · 05/04/2022 17:09

@RaleighDurham

Just when you think the world can't get any more crazy, up pops a thread like this and you see posters AGREEING with the batshit vendor!
EXACTLY
WarmWinterSun · 05/04/2022 17:09

I genuinely don’t understand posters who are saying it’s rude or cheeky to park on someone’s drive when you have an appointment at the property. Surely that is what a driveway is for?

Blossomtoes · 05/04/2022 17:09

Stupid woman. She’s not a very motivated seller, is she?

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 05/04/2022 17:10

@CoastalWave

I would never ever park on someone's drive - unless they had specifically invited me to. That's unbelievably rude tbh.

No where to park - you park in front of the driveway if needs be.

At which point the angry woman would demand to know why you'd parked across her drive no doubt.
NoSquirrels · 05/04/2022 17:11

@CoastalWave

I would never ever park on someone's drive - unless they had specifically invited me to. That's unbelievably rude tbh.

No where to park - you park in front of the driveway if needs be.

How would parking across the driveway be better than parking on the drive?

If you have a trade in, like a plumber, do you expect them to park elsewhere?

WiddlinDiddlin · 05/04/2022 17:11

I'd park on the drive.

If you're on your own at a viewing, how on earth do you 'ask first'... abandon car in the middle of the street and run up and knock on the door?

I'd use the drive and say 'I hope its ok to use the drive?' and I would expect if they are expecting someone else home, that they'd either have arranged for that person to park elsewhere, knowing they've a viewing booked or, would be happy to shuffle cars for me to get out when I wanted to leave.

Selling a house is awkward, compromises do need to be made - if a seller won't bend on something like this, run away, they're going to be a really awkward sod to deal with!

mumpants · 05/04/2022 17:11

I would and am sure I have when viewing in the past. What strange behaviour...

I mean visitors and delivery drivers etc park on the drive... That's what it's for no?

tokyo1 · 05/04/2022 17:13

This is ridiculous Confused we have parked on the drive whilst viewing and so have people before and after us. She's clearly unreasonable.

silverperiwinkle · 05/04/2022 17:15

She might be forced to sell, due to a divorce court order or something and doesn't want to. So may have been rude on purpose.

Snowflakes1122 · 05/04/2022 17:15

We parked on the drive when viewing our house. YANBU

Strange woman!

ThreeRingCircus · 05/04/2022 17:16

Totally normal to park on the drive of the house you're viewing and I would have 100% done the same if I had an appointment booked there. I'd want to see how easy it was to park/would it fit two cars etc.

Would people agreeing with the vendor genuinely tell visitors to park elsewhere and not on the drive? For a house viewing you'd likely only be there for 15 mins or so anyway so to be so rude and difficult about it is just bonkers.

MichaelAndEagle · 05/04/2022 17:17

YANBU

MrsPaperclip · 05/04/2022 17:17

This is bizarre! I can't believe there are people here saying the OP should have parked elsewhere.

Surely even if you did think it was rude, you'd still smile politely and show them round anyway?

I think you've dodged a bullet there OP, god knows house buying is stressful enough even when all parties are reasonable people!

Longdistance · 05/04/2022 17:18

We’ve done loads of viewings in the past year and pretty much always park in the driveways. I want to see if the car fits. I’d have walked away too. Loss of a sale.

Kennykenkencat · 05/04/2022 17:18

@ImInStealthMode

Sounds a bit daft both sides. We've been viewing recently and I've always checked in advance if there's parking around nearby, instead of assuming we can park at the property.

That said, whenever we've had viewings on ours I haven't been there so my parking space has been free and I wouldn't mind a viewer using it if our visitor spaces are taken by the estate agent.

I would have presumed that the driveway was to be parked on.

Surely if there were 2 spaces free and you took one then there would still have been space for her Ds

We sold recently and our house had a drive where all the viewers parked. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind to tell viewers to park on the road

londonrach · 05/04/2022 17:19

Surely you park on the driveway if you viewing the house is space... anything else is silly. You had a lucky escape there op

TopCatsTopHat · 05/04/2022 17:19

What a nutter, lucky escape. You had an appointment and using the drive would be a good way to assess its amenities, ease of getting in and out etc. A quick 'I expect you couldn't find a space on the road but when my son gets home we'll need to switch the cars over, ok?' would have taken care of things.

Lesperance · 05/04/2022 17:20

1 car on a 3 car drive with nowhere else to park?
You dodged a bullet there, she does not want that house sold.

Bournetilly · 05/04/2022 17:20

YABU I wouldn’t park on someone else’s drive even if viewing a house, they still live there

SouperNoodle · 05/04/2022 17:21

I would never park on someone's drive so I think yab a bit u for that but her reaction was totally ott

AryaStarkWolf · 05/04/2022 17:22

I think you were a bit cheeky not to have asked if it was OK first but the person trying to sell her house was a bit silly to put off a potential buyer by saying anything about it to you.

gettingolderandgrumpy · 05/04/2022 17:24

It’s strange because obviously expecting you , you get the house ready so it’s odd that she try and put you off and to ask why your parked there . you’d think she would say something like oh would you mind parking bit further down the road . If her son is on her way he won’t mind parking elsewhere while you look at their house surely? . Some people are rude when speaking what they mean to say is my son is on his way so can you park elsewhere but it’s a clumsy way of speaking .

EthelTheAardvark · 05/04/2022 17:25

@Whinge

I would have asked first.
I bet you wouldn't. OP was a visitor the vendor was expecting and on whom she would normally want to leave a good impression, of course she should expect to offer parking if it's available. It's not as if a house viewing takes that long, no matter how precious the son of the house was it could hardly have hurt him to park elsewhere or wait a few minutes.
BeautifulDragon · 05/04/2022 17:25

If there’s nowhere else to park, how are you asking before parking?

You pull up in-front of the drive. Easy peasy.

Ninjaexpress · 05/04/2022 17:25

@ImInStealthMode

Sounds a bit daft both sides. We've been viewing recently and I've always checked in advance if there's parking around nearby, instead of assuming we can park at the property.

That said, whenever we've had viewings on ours I haven't been there so my parking space has been free and I wouldn't mind a viewer using it if our visitor spaces are taken by the estate agent.

Do you really plan in that level of detail? Don't you just put the postcode into an app and off you go? Do you look at Google Street View or something similar?
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