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Original poster

Have you ever bought a house with absolutely no parking?

126 replies

ParkingProblemo · 14/02/2021 20:38

It's a parking one! Kinda Grin

We've seen a house, which is perfect in every way except that it has absolutely no parking at all. It's a period property which opens straight onto the road so no driveway. That's not a problem in itself...but the road is a narrow dead-end and has double yellows on both sides. There are no roads leading off it that could be used for residential parking either.

We've emailed the agent about it but had no response. Whilst I love the idea of living on a street with basically no cars (we currently live on a main road!) it seems wildly impractical in reality.

Would you / have you bought a house on a road you couldn't park on?

OP posts:
redcarbluecar · 14/02/2021 20:54

No, that would put me off. I’d be interested to know what other people on the street do.

RedLlama · 14/02/2021 20:54

I wouldn’t even consider it to be honest

joystir59 · 14/02/2021 20:56

There is some allocated parking, but not enough.

CoffeeRunner · 14/02/2021 20:57

No I 100% would not buy a house without parking.

It’s very high on my must have list, so I wouldn’t even view the property TBH.

Fairydustrust · 14/02/2021 20:57

I was just looking at a similar situation. The lack of parking put me off. Depends on your circumstances, op. Will you keep your car? If yes, look at some of the parking thrreads on here Shock. Also, what's behind the house? Any access for deliveries that way?

Original poster
ParkingProblemo · 14/02/2021 20:58

@GingerAndTheBiscuits

It depends where it is in terms of how easily you could do without a car. In London ditching the car might be a sensible option if you love the house but rural Shropshire might pose more of a problem.
I wfh and day-to-day we could manage without because the house is in the middle of town and we are happy to walk a lot, but DH will very likely need the car for work most days.

I didn't know that about moving in @CarlottaValdez, that's useful thanks.

OP posts:
msgloria · 14/02/2021 21:00

Issues around tradespeople access would be a major issue for me - it has the potential to cause so much stress. Tradespeople don't want the hassle, so working out the parking logistics becomes your problem. You can end up worried in case you've annoyed them and worried in case the neighbours / traffic wardens get annoyed.

Redglitter · 14/02/2021 21:03

My first (rented) flat had no parking and never again. It was a faff trying to find a space and a nightmare if you had bags of shopping etc. Personally I wouldn't even consider a house with no parking

coronafiona · 14/02/2021 21:03

Yes. It was a right pain. And that was pre children

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 14/02/2021 21:10

Yes, it was fine, but I had moved from London, so was used to walking from the Tube/bus stop.

I would be more put off by a lack of parking in the area generally than being unable to park outside my house (unless I had small children).

clopper · 14/02/2021 21:10

I wouldnt even view a house without any parking. We have on street parking here and even that is a nightmare

JayAlfredPrufrock · 14/02/2021 21:12

Hell no.

Ch3rish · 14/02/2021 21:14

No, I wouldn't give up having a drive to park on if/when I move again

Bubbinsmakesthree · 14/02/2021 21:16

I think if you could reliably park somewhere a few minutes walk from your house, you don’t have DC and you’re not a super regular car user it would be ok.

Daily parking roulette though would drive me loopy.

Guineapigbridge · 14/02/2021 21:18

If you can find a way to add a garage to the property then planning permission will guarantee access to the garage. It will add value to the home and may be a good investment move.
Can you add a garage (maybe rearrange a front room and build at the back)?
(I'm in the property business, solving shit like this is my day to day).

MagicMatilda · 14/02/2021 21:19

Yes...instantly regretted it. Nightmare

StanfordPines · 14/02/2021 21:20

It’s hard. If you can park in a near by street then that might be ok, but you won’t be guaranteed a place and it’s annoying for the people who live in that street.
If you can get away with not having a car then all the better.
But I wouldn’t buy a house without parking now. I remember in my last house coming home late. We lived near a theatre and there was a show on. I couldn’t park anywhere near my house. It was dark, cold and raining. I just drove around and around the streets until someone moved. Then I was a ten minute walk from home.
I now have a house with parking and wouldn’t be without it.

Guineapigbridge · 14/02/2021 21:20

Another approach if you live in a well-serviced area is to buy a cargo ebike and use that as your mode of transport. Lots of people in my city do that. The TERN GSDs for example are very practical bikes.

Luckyelephant1 · 14/02/2021 21:22

@CuteOrangeElephant

Yeah we had that. It was fine, even with a newborn.
How far did you have to park and how did you cope with the newborn situation and juggling carrying other stuff like shopping etc? Were you constantly transferring from car seat to pram just to walk from car to house or did you just transfer in the car seat? I ask as I'm pregnant and in a similar situation and trying to work this all logistic stuff out.

OP sorry to jump on your thread. I think if you have no kids it's generally ok, we park our car a couple of mins walk away. It is a nightmare for guests though.

Daisydoesnt · 14/02/2021 21:23

Such a shame, it's such a great house in every other way

OP in the nicest possible way, the reason it’s such a great house in every other way, is that if it had parking then it would be in a different price bracket.

SpiderinaWingMirror · 14/02/2021 21:26

Nope.
I live in a town where there are drop dead gorgeous houses. With no parking. And I mean no parking. Not a few mins down the road. Just none.
I would love it. But would have to get rid of the car. And we can't do that.

Maxsaidno · 14/02/2021 21:29

We live in a period property with no parking, double yellows outside as well. We moved here from a house with a driveway and (pre covid) both use our cars everyday for work. It’s honestly perfectly doable. If you love the house enough you make it work and soon get used to walking to/from the car as needed. Moved here when DS was 2 and had a baby subsequently too. Mind you, been here 12 years and my dad still comments on it ‘how DO you cope without parking’ 😂 It’s fine. Wouldn’t change the house for the world so parking is a minor inconvenience we can live with. Defo worth asking the EA to see if current owner has intel on parking nearby if you haven’t already. Good luck.

Volcanoexplorer · 14/02/2021 21:32

There is absolutely no way that I’d buy this house. Parking is a big deal to me.

Original poster
ParkingProblemo · 14/02/2021 21:32

@Daisydoesnt

Such a shame, it's such a great house in every other way

OP in the nicest possible way, the reason it’s such a great house in every other way, is that if it had parking then it would be in a different price bracket.

Thanks, but the price bracket is not the issue.

@Guineapigbridge, unfortunately not, it's a Georgian terrace with no access at the back.

OP posts:
Lemonsyellow · 14/02/2021 21:34

We didn’t have any parking when we had three small children. We didn’t have a car at all. It was fine. We got a car for a couple of years when the children were about 8, 9, 10.