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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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YouAreTalkingRubbish · 28/02/2014 01:04

Our shiny 1 year car was written off by joy riders who crashed into it whilst it was parked on the street. It was insured but we still lost a good few thousand and it was very irritating It's not precious wanting off street parking it's sensible.

.

VestaCurry · 28/02/2014 01:22

No. We had one. It was gorgeous but we had to carefully pick our moment to sell, when the market was on the rise, otherwise we would have been stuck. We made a really good profit because we had transformed the property and it was/is in a v desirable location, but the houses in that area without parking always stick and don't sell unless the market is extremely buoyant.

VestaCurry · 28/02/2014 01:24

The property was not in London btw but in an area where off street parking is the norm apart from this particular 'enclave' of houses.

Gooseysgirl · 28/02/2014 06:29

No way... I rented a flat in an area where on-street parking was a total nightmare.. Never ever again..

VivianStanshall · 28/02/2014 06:33

I wouldn't even consider it, every time I do a property search I tick parking.

neepsandtatties · 28/02/2014 06:51

I think also a lot depends on what price category a house is in - if it is such that people who look in that price category are used to not having parking then it wouldn't necessarily be a problem, but if the house is in the price category where people usually get acres of land, a garage and a gravelled driveway then it will be VERY hard to sell on.

The day you buy is the day you sell......

AuditAngel · 28/02/2014 06:51

Our previous house had "residents only" parking in a quiet street. DH bought the house before we were a couple. He didn't think parking would be an issue as it never had been when he visited before buying the house, but he always went during the day!

Although I only once had to park on the main road and walk in (about 1.5 minutes) it affected me because once my car was parked I then wouldn't go out again knowing it would be hard to park later. Also, some of the bays were 2 cars deep, as DH works shifts we always tried to get one of those so he could park behind me when he got home. That meant having to move his car every morning to go to work.

With careful planning we can fit 8 cars on our current drive and there are no parking restrictions on our street. We have no neighbours, although the street can get busy as we are next to a park, a stables and a scout hut.

DON'T BUY IT

HavantGuard · 28/02/2014 06:56

No. I would only buy a house with off street parking and a garage.

DH and I both drive everyday. Parking is something that would be a pain in the arse every single day, at least twice a day. Having done on-street-parking-if-there-happens-to-be-a-space and communal (not designated) parking for a flat where there were enough spaces for half the residents life is too short to have to stress every time you bring the car back. Add on trekking back and forth with DC, pushchairs, shopping, dogs etc.

A garage is essential for me as safe storage for bikes, scooters, push alongs, and to keep the cars covered so you don't spend 10 minutes de icing them in the freezing cold in the winter or climb into a roasting tin box in the summer.

VivianStanshall · 28/02/2014 07:04

That's a very good point neepsandtatties.

JanePurdy · 28/02/2014 08:04

I thought about this thread last night as I came home. As I posted up thread we have on street parking - last night there were spaces for about 10 cars outside my house, so I really don't have the negative experiences others recount. It also depends if this is normal for your area, surely. Anyone looking to buy a house where we live will not get a drive - same with where my parents live (not London). Houses sell quickly where we are so it's clearly not an issue.

UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea · 28/02/2014 08:13

No. Done it. Hated it. Moved.

namechangeagaininnit · 28/02/2014 08:16

No chance

Eastpoint · 28/02/2014 08:20

Grade II listed house which has had the same owners for 20 years plus will need masses of work - how will you get electrician, plumber etc sorted. Our house is listed & was bought in good condition, I can't imagine having all the hassle of getting it updated if there was no way of parking outside.

OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 28/02/2014 08:25

For the Londoners that happily live without parking, you can probably also happily live without a car as you have a functional public transport system to enable you to get to work.

Yes it is crowded, but you don't have to deal with buses that are once per hour and are often late, and don't run at all at evenings or weekends.

I drive to work (occasionally cycle) but it would take about 3 times longer to go by bus.

Pizdets · 28/02/2014 08:39

Oh dear, we have just bought a stunning grade ii listed house with no parking.. move in next week! This thread is making me nervous too.

I think because we're moving from central London parking just didn't seem to be a big issue, plus neither of us will need the car on a daily basis. The house had stuck around on the market for 6 months with no offers though, so I think the lack of parking must have made a difference! Luckily permission has been granted for parking in part of the (large) garden in the past so we planned to put some in eventually... wondering if we need to do it sooner!

Will you be coming and going in the car every day? Or just at weekends etc?

Bunbaker · 28/02/2014 09:13

We reduced the size of our front garden last year so that we can have two cars parked in front of our house. I know it will have added value to the house as well.

So now we have one car in the garage, one on the drive and space for a guest. Win win.

tobiasfunke · 28/02/2014 09:29

Unless you can rent a space or a garage close I'd say no. If you've had parking you will miss it and your DH will moan about it everyday for the next 10 years.
We had a flat with on street parking in Edinburgh- lovely no bother at all even if we had to lug our shopping a bit. Then the council decided to do some traffic management and they painted double yellow lines right along the street. Suddenly parking became a huge issue. There were lots of cars and nowhere to park them. It became a nightmare. Noone quite knew why they'd done it as the parking hadn't been an issue.

hiccupgirl · 28/02/2014 09:30

I wouldn't buy a house without parking. We have 2 cars and a campervan - we have a drive for 2 cars at the mo and our next door neighbour asks us to park one car on her drive because it makes her feel safer at night.

We did rent a house for a year with permit parking only and overall it was ok but we also had joyriders hit and write our car off late one night and it was a nightmare. The insurance company were difficult because our car was shunted into another one which was also a write off so they were claiming off us and we had no-one to claim off. We ended up being carless for 6 weeks and we lost over £2k on the finance deal. For that reason alone I will never choose a house again without parking.

minipie · 28/02/2014 20:23

For the Londoners that happily live without parking, you can probably also happily live without a car as you have a functional public transport system to enable you to get to work

Yes, but I have to walk to get to the public transport. So I'm not sure why people who drive to work can't walk (a very short distance) to their car...

Lcy · 28/02/2014 20:44

We lived in a house in a tiny village with parking 5 minutes away. Downside was when it rained and inviting guests who didn't like not parking near the house. Positives were huge- we had really lovely relationships with all our neighbours as we all walked down the street together each day. My daughter learned to walk on our street with the elderly neighbours clapping her! We are also very focused on increasing daily activity for health reasons so this worked for us.

everlong · 28/02/2014 20:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 28/02/2014 20:56

We have lovely relationships with all the neighbours despite having a drive, our houses are terraced and we all see each other coming and going all the time (I make more journeys on foot than by car). I still love the convenience of unloading my shopping at the door, being able to load up for the weekend by the door and having the cars off the road - ours is a nice road but it's also a busy pedestrian thoroughfare and cars do get keyed and wing mirrors broken off by night-time passers by.

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Nocomet · 28/02/2014 20:59

No, we crossed loads of our list when we bought our first house.

PrincessOfChina · 28/02/2014 21:00

We live a few miles from the centre of Birmingham and have parking to the rear of our two bed terrace. That and the fact the loft already has velux windows, adds at least £10k to the value of our house.

Ironic given we park on the street unless we absolutely have to!

Methe · 28/02/2014 21:06

No way. I thought of trekking god knows how far to my car in the morning before I drive to work is awful. I like stagger out of my house with my cup of tea in my hand and walk the 3 steps to the car door.

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