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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:
Ginfordinner · 15/02/2021 07:15

I do a lot of gardening and sometimes need to take garden waste to the recycling centre. This would be impossible without a car being right outside my house.

Covidcorvid · 15/02/2021 07:22

Possibly.

I currently have a house with a drive but don’t use the drive. I park the car at the village hall car park a few minutes away. By drive is so tight I can’t get my bike out the back garden if the car is on the drive and I got fed up with moving the car every day so I could get the bike out.

I don’t find it a problem walking to the car when I want it.

The difference is I have a drive which I can use to park in for a short while when bringing shopping back, etc. Would you be able to park on the double yellows for stuff like that?

What do the current owners do? Is there a street at the back with a gate out the back garden? I’ve seen houses like that and everyone parks at the. Back.

fairydustandpixies · 15/02/2021 07:28

Yep, I live in a cottage just like that! I have a permit to park in a nearby pay and display car park.

cabbagevan · 15/02/2021 07:32

Yes, my house has no parking but was right in all the other ways. It's not a mistake I will make again.

Persipan · 15/02/2021 08:11

I don't have a car and have no intention of getting one, so I would quite happily buy a house with no parking (indeed, I have my eye on one at the moment) BUT, I would expect the price to reflect the parking situation. And in that respect I'd also be bearing in mind that it's the sort of property that's relatively that bit cheaper and easier to buy because so many people have summarily tiles it out, but which might take a bit longer to sell and might not achieve quite the same price as something with parking would. And I will say that in terms of living in it (and yes, I have a baby) I'm pretty accustomed to hauling shopping etc around already so it would make no difference to me in that respect.

redcandlelight · 15/02/2021 08:13

does it have an alley/garages at the back?

it wouldn't bother me, but we don't have a car.

ImTeamLogan · 15/02/2021 08:15

Depends how far you have to walk to park. I am in a city residents only parking zone - on street parking. I occasionally get parked outside my house but often a couple of minutes away. If I have shopping I stop in the road with hazard lights to unload. Doesn't bother me generally, although I once had someone have a go at me for parking outside their house.
My biggest problem is remembering where we parked.

IndecentFeminist · 15/02/2021 08:22

If it is central and for day to day you won't need the car it wouldn't bother me, up to dh if it bothers him.

You can get deliveries etc on double yellows.

ufucoffee · 15/02/2021 08:26

The main gripe for me would be guests and taxis. Friends popping round for a coffee, relatives coming to stay for the weekend. What a pain for them. Plus taxis not being able to park outside. Stuff that.

IsAnybodyListening · 15/02/2021 08:43

Yes, and I still live in it. Victorian Terrace with no designated parking but generally DP (I don't drive) can park in the street, and of occasion around the corner.

Worth it for us, I tend to find period properties have better size rooms so a good trade off. For example, even the so called 'box room' in our house is bigger than friends 'big bedrooms' in their detached houses, so for living space I would never consider a new build or the like as the trade off for not having a driveway, IMO is worth it.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 15/02/2021 08:52

Not something that I would ever do but I have seen a house where the front room was converted into a garage.

It does mean you can check your tyre pressures in the warm.

Have you ever bought a house with absolutely no parking?
motherofawhirlwind · 15/02/2021 09:14

If you can get to the front door for shopping drop off, deliveries etc, you don't use the car daily and the kids are past being carried age, I might. Depends where the nearest parking is.

Stopsnowing · 15/02/2021 09:23

I think some people have missed the point that it is not just that you don’t have designated parking but that there doesn’t seem to be any onstreet options nearby. Have you asked the vendors/their neighbours how they manage?

emmathedilemma · 15/02/2021 09:25

It would be a deal breaker for me. I've lived with on street residents permit parking (so you permit wasn't valid to park in a different zone a couple of streets away) and it can start to take over your life looking for a parking space. Also a nightmare when you have visitors.

InTheNightWeWillWish · 15/02/2021 09:26

I think if your kids are older, you enjoy walking and are used to using public transport it seems attractive because you’d be able to cope.

However, I think it’s all the non day to day stuff. It’s an old, terraced house - what happens if there is a rodent problem and the exterminator needs to park outside? You’ve said it’s a fixer upper, so presumably that’s a lot of trade vehicles either on this road which might annoy your neighbours or you are also doing the admin of where they park and working out where they store their equipment. What happens if the washing machine breaks and you get a repair guy in and they can’t leave their van outside? They’re walking 5 minutes every time they want a part. Or you decide to get a new one delivered and don’t have time to think about getting the restrictions lifted? What about amazon? Where do they park? We live on a main road and big courier companies will sometimes say the can’t deliver our parcels as they can’t access the property. Even if delivery drivers can park temporarily while they drop off the parcel, you say it’s a narrow, dead-end. Does this mean they’ll be reversing onto the main road in a large van or lorry, you might have to go onto the street to watch the out or help them turn around in the street.

What about when older relatives visit? Or you pick up a new TV and whilst it’s not heavy, it’s a bulky box that is difficult to carry and obviously you don’t want to drop it. What if you want people over, where would you tell them to park? What if you break your leg? Someone could probably drop you off outside the house but it’s an extra faff adding an extra 10 minutes to your hospital times. What happens if you’re out and someone becomes unwell - diarrhoea, vomiting, migraine etc - and the extra faff of finding somewhere to park, then walk home before you can get them home and comfortable?

Bingowin · 15/02/2021 09:27

I’m guessing that the lack of drive is reflected in the price,you probably won’t get your dream home with a driveway at a price you can afford.

Having watched loads of property programmes it’s all about what you’re prepared to compromise on!

Greendoonan · 15/02/2021 09:29

Nope it would be a deal breaker. You don’t have a guaranteed parking spot that you own. What if you come home and can’t get parked?

CarlottaValdez · 15/02/2021 09:31

Exactly, you just have to decide what you can compromise on. A driveway on my house would add 150k to the value probably and it’s already a million pounds worth of house. We couldn’t afford the house we wanted in the location we wanted plus the parking. We don’t drive much so it was an easy decision- others have different things to weigh up.

xHeartinacagex · 15/02/2021 09:31

I had this and it was a total pain in the arse, especially in winter. Sometimes I'd get lucky but mostly I ended up parking a couple of streets away. I wouldn't do it again.

LadyFlumpalot · 15/02/2021 09:31

I turned down a house once because it didn't have any parking. It was my dream house in every other way. Absolutely huge, rooms for days, beams, fireplaces...but even trying to park to view it was a nightmare. Also, I have an expensive car and I like being able to lock it up at night.

Sparklywolf · 15/02/2021 09:33

I wouldn't advise it, it may all seem very doable now but if you are ever in a position to need regular visits from carers or nurses it will be an absolute nightmare.

CarlottaValdez · 15/02/2021 09:34

You do need a system for remembering where you park it though. That’s the biggest pain - I used to occasionally have to phone DH in a fury to get him to remember where he left the bastard car.

Astrid01 · 15/02/2021 09:39

You can legally park and load/unload for up to 20minutes on double yellows. If there are dashes marked on the kerb then no loading at all.
So everyone who struggled with shopping, you can park outside and drop it off rather than carrying it.

Bythemillpond · 15/02/2021 09:58

You can legally park and load/unload for up to 20minutes on double yellows. If there are dashes marked on the kerb then no loading at all
So everyone who struggled with shopping, you can park outside and drop it off rather than carrying it

And in the real world you will get a ticket and then you can fight it but it is going to waste hours of your life.
Parking cameras don’t discriminate and add up how long you have parked there for. Tickets are automatically given. Even if you have a blue badge when the camera is pointing at the back of your car.
There is a loading bay in our local town and even if you have your boot up and are in the process of loading stuff in you will get a ticket from the traffic warden that you then have to fight.
I couldn’t be bothered with the paperwork.

Bloodyhamabeads · 15/02/2021 10:10

Depends on the price bracket your buying into. Terrace house and those towards the start of the property ladder then yeah, fine to have no parking. We’ve had 4 terrace houses without drives but now we have kids much much better to have a drive! I think it would affect the resale of a more expensive property if it didn’t have parking.

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