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Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

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Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Property/DIY

Would you buy a house that has no parking?

117 replies

CheeryCherry · 27/02/2014 07:59

Its a stunning grade 2 listed house. No parking anywhere near. I think that is the main problem they are having with selling.
We currently have a drive and parking on street for 2 more cars. We have 2 cars.
DH not happy with parking issue. I don't care as I love the house

OP posts:

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morethanpotatoprints · 27/02/2014 08:49

Hello OP.

We don't have a driveway, but on road parking.
When we moved in we bought a garage that came up for sale round the corner.
Can you check if anybody is selling or renting them near you. This is often found in areas where parking is an issue.

FiveLeavesLeft · 27/02/2014 08:50

We did (have to park on neighbouring streets), and while it can be a bit of a pain it does have an (admittedly very small) advantage, in that it makes me think twice before I use the car. I drive only when I really need to, am not tempted to pop in the car to do the school run and walk a lot.

We also got a complete bargain and I do like looking at my huge garden and lovely house which was £100k less than similar properties with parking. We aren't thinking of going anywhere for a long time though, and once we are too old and infirm to drive we are 30 seconds to excellent shops and on a very good bus route (two of our other must-haves).

If it didn't have nearby facilities, or if we were looking at resale value, I would think twice. Ours was on the market for a long time before we bought it.

Orangeanddemons · 27/02/2014 08:51

We've just moved because of this....the stress was hideous. It actually got to the point that if you had a space, you didn't dare take your car out, as someone would nick the space.

We could never have a skip, removals were a nightmare. Never ever again

FloppyPoppyCocky · 27/02/2014 08:53

Never. One of our top necessities for our current house was that it had space for 2 cars without blocking each other in. It's such a PITA otherwise.

Floggingmolly · 27/02/2014 08:56

It depends where it is. A hell of a lot of people in London do this all the time; off street parking is a rare and beautiful thing.

bamboobutton · 27/02/2014 08:58

no! we looked at two fantastic houses, i loved both of them and desperately wanted them but one had no parking at all as it was up an alley behind a row of shops (its been up for sale for years and has now been taken off the market) and one had a very narrow drive and hardly any turning room, meaning we would have to reverse out on to a rural road on a blind corner!

we looked for almost a year before we found our perfect house, with enough parking for 5 cars.

magimedi · 27/02/2014 08:58

No way. It will affect the re sale & though you may have 'easy & free' parking now, will it be the same five or ten years hence?

Preciousbane · 27/02/2014 09:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TunipTheUnconquerable · 27/02/2014 09:25

Maybe if I was sufficiently in love with the house I'd be silly enough to, but it wouldn't be a good idea.

I had a house with no parking pre-children when I didn't have a car myself and it was very hard to sell. Also, the inconvenience of not being able to park nearby led to things like tradesmen turning up and going away again because they couldn't be arsed to walk from the nearest parking spot

I would only do it if the house had pretty much guaranteed space on the street, eg where I am now we have parking but we have never needed to use it because we're in a village with more than enough room for everybody's cars.

Bunbaker · 27/02/2014 09:37

When we had a holiday apartment in Tenby one year there was no parking and we had to park in the pay and display car park up the road. One of us had to get up early every morning to go and feed the meter. It was also a pain when we arrived and left because we had to make more than one journey with the luggage.

It made me realise that there was no way I would ever live in a house with no parking.

BethGoLightly · 27/02/2014 09:58

I wouldn't consider it after living in a lovely village in one of the many terraced cottages and most neighbours had fallen out over street parking. It was a PITA, so many arguments. We deliberately chose parking in our next house.

splasheeny · 27/02/2014 10:04

I'm guessing this is outside London?

Inside London this situation is pretty normal and wouldnt pit buyers off.

When we sold our old place with no parking, and no right to get a residents parking permit people were fighting to get it it.

ouryve · 27/02/2014 10:05

No way.

CheeryCherry · 27/02/2014 10:06

Oh you are all saying the wrong thing!!
Jackthebodiless I am so smitten by the house I would move in tomorrow, it is DH and my practical head which is making me think things over more carefully.
We would only plan to be there ten years or so, so not into old age. It is in the middle of a tiny village. There is a local pub, maybe we should go there and mull things over with the landlord! I think we will always get a parking spot, just not by the house.
This is a downsize move so we know we will have to compromise somewhere whether it is garden, location, parking or actual house. !

OP posts:

MoreBeta · 27/02/2014 10:08

Tradesmen are quiet reluctant to work in my house for this reason, I have to make sure they have marked vans. The tiler who only has a white unmarked van here today is non too pleased about having to park down the road in a 3 hour parking bay.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 27/02/2014 10:08

No way, no. All of the above mentioned things would put me off, visitors, tradesmen, skips, difficulty for loading and unloading. I would find it very stressful indeed.

MoreBeta · 27/02/2014 10:10

So you are in a village with no parking space. Impossible. You really do have to have a space designated or you have to buy one.

We intend to live in this house for ever and it really is not our plan to sell but if you are planning to move on I suggest you really need a much more easily saleable house.

What do the owners do now?

CheeryCherry · 27/02/2014 10:13

The owners only have one car, they say there is no problem parking -but they would say that! We have been past at various times of day and night, there has always been parking.

OP posts:

Bunbaker · 27/02/2014 10:16

A good time to see what an area is like is at pub closing time, especially if you plan to live near the pub.

CelticPromise · 27/02/2014 10:22

We are buying a house with no driveway, despite it being on our list of things we needed. It does have a garage. It's opposite schools and I am there at drop off and pick up time- it is never impossible to park, although sometimes you have to go up the road a bit. The driveway issue would have put us off a house we didn't love, but we really do love this one. So I think if you love it, buy it

although this thread is making me nervous

SavoyCabbage · 27/02/2014 10:24

No definitely not as I have lived in a house where parking was an issue and it spilled into every part of our lives. It was horrible.

AnneEyhtMeyer · 27/02/2014 10:26

I would never do this.

Getting things delivered, buying bulky heavy items, when you are loading up the car for holidays, when elderly relatives are visiting, all would be more difficult.

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WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 27/02/2014 10:35

Off road parking for two cars was about the only thing we weren't prepared to compromise on when buying this house.

CheeryCherry · 27/02/2014 10:35

CelticPromise High Five! Though you do have a garage....!

OP posts:

OneEggIsAnOeuf · 27/02/2014 10:36

Function over form every time. I've done it twice. Once wasn't too bad - in a city, quiet road, could usually park near the house if not outside it, sometimes had to park in the next street. The other was in a village - busier road, quickly got fed up of lugging a big shop up to the house, often had to park quite a distance away, people got very territorial about spaces, the car got keyed several times by people coming home from the pub, the wing mirror got knocked off, impossible to work on the car or even wash it, trying to load and unload bouncy dogs - i didn't even have ds to cope with then and it was a nightmare. We also found it very difficult to sell the house afterwards - it had been on the market for ages before us mugs bought it.

I'm in a village now with a small and quite awkward drive, but it's worth it's weight in gold. Even here in a very friendly, sleepy little place on-road parking causes ructions. It is so easy to be seduced by a beautiful house and downplay any disadvantages, but you really have to think about the reality day in day out. It is doable, but think about it in the worst case scenarios as well as assuming it will be ok. I think if you are planning to move on in a few years you are making life difficult for yourself by buying a house with a clear issue for future purchasers.

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