Does this look like a shared driveway nightmare waiting to happen?

[SwayingInTime]

We are going to ask to view this house next week but am finding the wiggly boundary very confusing....can't work out who if anyone is using someone else's land. I don't drive so I don't think that helps me imagine what might be going on....any ideas? Is it actually laid out to the benefit of the owners of the house that we're looking at (trampoline and red car in the garden)? ie. so they can drive into the garden? The neighbour across the driveway is local authority so may not have the support of their landlord to define their boundaries.

I appreciate it's probably an ask when you get there situation but I would be interested if anyone had any thoughts/ experience (especially if it helps me not look like a numpty at the viewing!).

What's the orange line? Is there a fence?

How did the red car get in? Doesn’t look like there is much of a driveway and it was widened with paving slabs.

I’d also be getting a roofer in to take a look up there. It doesn’t look in the best condition. Interesting to note that either side have had theirs replaced.

It seems from comparing the drawing and the pic that the next door have nicked a little indent of the house your viewings land behind the red car. From the drawing it seems that the red car house owns right up to where the pavement turns. The only way to know if the neighbour has, or thinks they have, any right to drive over the paved driveway is to ask the agent and/or consult land registry if you like the house. It costs £3 to search for the register entry which should give you all the info you need?

I wondered about the roof too - lots of different replaced ones in the street. The diagram is the title deeds and I drew the orange line over the fence to make it clearer. Might be too much work for us, thank you for the replies.

What is going on with the driveway is definitely the key question at any potential viewing though!

Usually the redline boundary on your title plan is king do whatever happens on the ground is immaterial. You need to get a building surveyor today measure out the redline boundary and then start a dialogue with the neighbours. Easiest way to deal with it is to make it a condition of the sale that you won't complete until the boundary has been fully reinstated.

"Easiest way to deal with it is to make it a condition of the sale that you won't complete until the boundary has been fully reinstated"

Brilliant, thank you, that's exactly the kind of thing I had no idea you could say.

If the house next door is council owned it makes sense that many roofs have been replaced. The council generally does all of their properties in an area in one go.

Personally I wouldn’t buy anything at all with shared access because I am very territorial and like clear borders marked! It does look like they’ve stolen some of the garden too. Not a good start to neighbourly relations.

I thought it looked like they'd stolen some of each others! Anyway, it's been sitting around in a ludicrously fast moving area so all these issues are probably why.

The line that the red car is pointing towards: I wonder if that's actually a big gate? So your sellers have sole use of their own drive, and they have just divided it to make the back garden private. Not sure about the slight kink, possibly they have got a foot from the neighbours where the car, is in return for a foot given back to them further down?

It's common on our estate to have big 6ft fence panels that are hinged and easily opened to get caravans etc into back gardens.

It is a big gate, yep.

You ask as many questions as you want to. You won't appear a numpty at all. This is what viewings are for.

Also, go and watch the house and the area around at different times. Including Evenings and weekends. Watch it for a while too. You’ll soon get a measure of the neighbours. There must be a reason it’s not selling.