Would you buy a house with shared access?

[suebfg]

Would you buy a house where access is via a shared set of gates and road in? Sharing is between 5 houses with the house we are interested in being responsible for collecting any maintenance monies. Each house has its personal drive to the side of its garden, its just the gates and the area of road in front that are shared.

I am sure someone more knowledgeable than me will be along shortly, but my gut answer is that I would be massively put off by the shared arrangement.

Is it an unadopted/ 'private' road?

It's not so much having to share it, but the thought of what happens if something goes wrong. The shared road area might need resurfacing at some point - what if everyone can't agree about the need to do so/ can't afford to contribute/ is just plain awkward?

I think this is quite common, and as long as the arrangements and access/right of way are clear, which your solicitor should check, then I'd be fine with it. You should be able to get details of payments made in previous years, so that you can see what is involved.

The road to the gates is adopted by the Council but thereafter it is private. It isn't a long road - it's a short drive plus the end of a cul de sac.

Basically no. If you ever fell out with anyone it would be easy to make your life difficult.

Plus being in charge of collecting the money - what would you want to do if one or two houses refused to contribute?

My sister owns a house where the street behind them is gated off and each house, including my sister, contributes to the upkeep of the gates. Everyone gets a key to the lock. There have been issues with this and this is only a back access, so not a huge deal but still inconvenient.

Definitely not.

You could be talking about where I live! We are a gated development of 4 new and 1 older house. There has been a management company set up (when the developer built the houses) and we each pay an annual management fee. This covers the maintenance ofthe gates, the electricity for them, upkeep of the drive plus the few bits of communual shrubbery.

If it's your house that collects the money are you the one responsible to make sure any maintenance etc is undertaken? maybe you need to look in detail at how it "works" and whether employing a maintenance company would be a better option moving forward

We effectively have that, but without the gates.

We have a residents association, and each house pays £20 a month. It isn't compulsory, but if you don't then you are liable to pay your share up front for any work.

In the 4 years we've lived here we have paid for 2 grit bins (and an annual grit delivery), the repair of a boundary wall and some drainage work to stop our neighbours' garages flooding. We also pay for public liability insurance.

It works well.

I would get legal advice on what your liabilities are, and what rights you have. Are you effectively a secretary/ treasurer who arranges work and collects people's contribution? What legal obligation do your neighbours have to pay up? Who decides what work is necessary?

no. never.

I'd happily buy a house on an unadopted/private road as long as Sky TV was a possibilty as I understand that cable TV companies won't dig up a private road.

I would not buy a house if anyone else had access through my backgarden. We looked at a house with this once. The only way the neighbours could get to their backdoor was through the backgarden of the house we were looking at. Not a chance would I have bought it.