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Original poster

lovely amazing house with narrow shared drive?

49 replies

thebig4 · 04/02/2017 21:59

we've sold our house and need to find a new house without any delays.
amazing house has been on market for a few months, we went to look at it and loved it but i'm out off by the narrow shared drive. DH doesnt think its a problem and thinks everyone would co-operate.
dont want to draw a plan in case the owner is a mumsnetter.

basically, its at the head of a single car width shared drive. there are three other houses and those houses have two car driveways but one car must go behind the other. the house we like has 2 car drive plus a turning point/ 3rd parking space belonging to the house we'd like to buy.

im sure the neighbours will co-operate but if they had a visitor who parked outside their house, we'd be blocked in at the bottom of the drive. its a busy new build with limited and tight parking everywhere.
I hope my description kind of makes sense.

we're running out of options but dont want to be have any stress as this is a big jump up mortgage-wise for us and stamp duty wise, so we'd need to be here 5 years at least.

owner naturally has said never any issues and no idea where their neighbours friends would park.

does anyone else have a similar set up or did you discount an amazing house on the basis of a shared drive?

thanks.

OP posts:
spydie · 04/02/2017 22:11

We are at the end of a private drive (make that a very narrow track...) and all the houses have their own parking for 1 or 2 cars, with no room whatsoever for additional cars. We and our neighbours (semi detached right at end of track) have parking for 3 cars each, but any more means no one can turn around to get back out.

Hand on heart it has never been an issue. If people have more visitors than 1 car load they/we just tell them to park along the road.

PidgeyfinderGeneral · 04/02/2017 22:16

I'm afraid I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

I've known several people who have lived in houses with shared driveways and it's always been a nightmare. The worst one ended up in a court case and the least worst ended up with the neighbours never speaking to each other again.

Just no. Sorry.

JournosAreLazy · 04/02/2017 22:20

Think there is a thread in AIBU at the moment about someone having problems with a neighbour due to a shared drive. Threads like that seem to be a regular event. I wouldn't touch a house with a shared drive with a barge pole.

wowfudge · 04/02/2017 22:20

We own our shared drive and we and our neighbours each have our own parking areas. It's about communication and a bit of give and take.

Grannyben · 04/02/2017 22:23

We lived in a house with a shared driveway; we moved! It's fine when it works but you only need one person to ruin it for everyone

wobblywonderwoman · 04/02/2017 22:23

I wouldnt go for it.. As you said it is a big jump in price and these types of issues xab irritate daily

Patriciathestripper1 · 04/02/2017 22:24

Could you take up some of the garden to make another drive? If not I wouldn't touch it. Disaster waiting to happen. I really don't know what the fuck developers are thinking of when they build there houses? bet non of them share a fucking drive

youcantgoback · 04/02/2017 22:25

We had the same once and it was fine until our neighbours sold and the new neighbours were a nightmare. We had to move in the end as they were 'aggressively' unreasonable. I'd never share a drive again!!

Ragwort · 04/02/2017 22:25

You can never assume that your neighbours, or their visitors, will be reasonable - I have lived with a shared drive and would never, ever consider it again.

MollyHuaCha · 04/02/2017 22:27

It will 100% depend on who the drive is shared with - what kind of people they are, how considerate they are, how many vehicles they have, where their visitors park etc. If it worked out, I cd be lovely and you cd watch each other's houses when one was away.

Iizzyb · 04/02/2017 22:28

My neighbours are fine about our shared drive but it drives me nuts when people park on my bit. I think the benefit of being in the corner outweigh the occasional hassle but with previous neighbour I seriously didn't. Not sure I would do it again x

Original poster
thebig4 · 04/02/2017 22:33

thanks for all the really quick replies! i think it looks like a gamble then. shame, its the best floor plan and square footage we've seen in the area we want/need to buy in.

OP posts:
EweAreHere · 04/02/2017 22:37

It depends. You might want to go and look at it again and look how everyone is using the drive.

We have a shared driveway. No problems, because we all have plenty of room to park our cars in front of our garages and can easily get in and out.

Other shared driveways on the estate, however, had had problems where not everyone can use their parking space because otherwise there are cars that can't get in/out.

So it really does depend on how the space works and how considerate your neighbors are.

flumpybear · 04/02/2017 22:40

Nightmare!! We have a drive and ndn has right if access - they're horrific and so bloody nasty - never ever again!!!!

Bluntness100 · 04/02/2017 22:42

Ours is a shared drive, we have parking for about five cars, and our two neighbours parking for a few more, eight plus. There is times we are blocked in, the ocado driver, workmen etc but we haven't had a problem in nearly three years, we just talk to the drivers or each other.

There are also times we all need more parking than we have, when we have guests over, and our neighbours and us always allow over flow parking on ours or their " land" . Yes it needs a good relationship. And yes most workmen and delivery men are flexible, so for me, no I wouldn't have an issue with it. I didnt and wouldn't think twice.

flapjackfairy · 04/02/2017 22:43

I dont even have a drive!
I suffer dreadfully from drive envy!!

SheepyFun · 04/02/2017 22:44

How rural are you? We're one of 3 properties which share a drive, two of us have two spaces, and the third (ironically, the one with two cars) has one. They park their second car on the road. When the shared part has been full (rare), we've got guests to leave notes on the dashboard, and asked each other to move if necessary. It's been fine. The reason I ask if you're rural is that we aren't, and most people don't have 2 cars, so two of us have a spare space anyway (and all of us have large single garages, none of which are used for cars!). Can you go round one evening and see how full the drives seem to be?

Original poster
thebig4 · 04/02/2017 22:53

thanks for your further messages. no, its not rural, its in a new build estate. ive been over for several drive by viewings at different times and people tend to stick to their driveways but that isnt really a true reflection of daily life. most people round here have 2 cars - driveways seem full. aargh!

OP posts:
stillnotjustamummy · 04/02/2017 23:07

Shared drive. No. Just no. Run away now.

4yoniD · 04/02/2017 23:16

Shared drive here, 4 houses and 1 car wide. Every now and then I have to ask someone to move, a few times it's been annoying enough for me to knock hammer on the door to point out they are quite obviously blocking the drive, but it's never been a big problem. ''Twas quite funny when one house had a chimney fire and warned us all the fire brigade were coming. You've never seen us all shift our cars so fast all at the same time so we weren't blocked in by the fire engine!

Sallycinnamon1974 · 04/02/2017 23:30

We had a shared drive once, but would never buy a house with a shared drive ever again. Proceed with caution.

JT05 · 05/02/2017 00:02

We have a shared drive and a legal agreement on its use. Both houses have parking and a garage at the end of the drive. No problems so far.

JillyJameson · 05/02/2017 07:19

We had a shared drive. It was no problem at all when we moved in (lovely neighbours, still friends now even though they moved years ago).
When they moved however, some complete dickheads moved in. They were rude and inconsiderate about the drive, frequently having their friends and family block us in so that we had to knock on their front door and ask to be let out.

I would never buy a house with a shared drive again.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 05/02/2017 07:32

Lots of bad experiences, but a friend of mine had a 1930s house with a shared drive, 2 garages behind the houses (one for each house) and it was never a problem. Street parking wasn't great, but friends never parked on the drive or blocked it; and she had 2 lodgers at one point as well, and STILL no issue.

It can be done, mutual respect from both parties is required, but it IS still a risk and as has been shown, even if the current neighbours are nice, new ones might be utter shits.

In fact, in this current era of "entitlement", I'd probably ditch it as well, sorry. :(

Clickncollect · 05/02/2017 07:37

Something else to think about - clearly shared driveways are very divisive, based on this thread, which means the property could be harder to sell in the future as it's putting potential buyers off. Could explain why the property is still on the market.

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