Shared driveway- yay or nay?

[TurquoiseDress]

Hello all

We are looking to move and get a 3rd bedroom (currently in a 2 bed ground floor maisonette), we finally bought our first home last year during lockdown.

Normally would have waited a few more years to upsize but DH has inherited some money and we feel may as well go for it, 2 bed is proving a big squeeze with 2 primary age children!

We are due to visit a 3 bed semi which ticks all the boxes, however, I noticed there is shared driveway which leads to two garages side by side- one would ours & the other belonging to the other semi next door.

So essentially, we'd have to go all the way in and park in front of the garage, then reverse back out onto road, no space for turning from what I can see in photographs. Not sure what the situation is with on street parking for visitors etc.

DH feels that a shared driveway is a deal breaker and we shouldn't even bother with viewing, however, I want to take a look at least. He thinks we'd struggle to sell on in the future...I'm not sure as there a couple of decent schools nearby and local shops, train station etc so imagine it would be a popular location.

At the moment where we live is on street parking with a kind of free of all for all the residents in the maisonettes, sometimes it's a bit of a trek and this is a pain with 2 young children and shopping bags etc.

It just feels rather exciting the prospect of having an actual driveway to park on, however I do feel wary that it's shared.

Any thoughts or experiences of shared driveways? Should we just forget about it or worth considering the property?
Thanks in advance

[TurquoiseDress]

@Kite22

Thank you that's a very well measured approach, I definitely relay those points to DH!

I also think you've nicely summed up my thought processes regarding this

[drpet49]

I would never buy a house with shared driveway or any kind of shared access

[Jobsharenightmare]

I had one. When the considerate neighbours moved out my day would routinely start by having to knock on the new neighbours' door and ask that their 18 year old move his girlfriend's car as she always parked too far to the right for me to get past. It was a fiddly angle and if people didn't park in a very particular way it was a real faff.

[Starseeking]

If I'm buying a freehold house, I wouldn't want shaded anything, as it's a hassle having to argue over it if anything goes wrong. A shared driveway has the potential to go very wrong judging by the number of similar posts on MN!

[Starseeking]

*shared anything

[RogueV]

We have a shared driveway leading to two garages, house built in 1905.
Absolutely no problems

[Somebodylikeyew]

I think you’d be mad. There are so many threads on here where it’s gone wrong. Even on this thread you have PEOPLE WHO HAVE DRIVES paving their front gardens, paying for street parking permits and no longer able to access their own garages!

[Voice0fReason]

I used to live in a house exactly like that. It never caused any problems at all. There was on-street parking available for visitors - that helps.

[Rainbowshit]

Never again.

[480Widdio]

Not a chance I would buy a house with a shared driveway.

[Whammyyammy]

100% NO. A shared drive will have me running to the hill's, there WILL be neighbour problem's because of it

[MrsPelligrinoPetrichor]

No from me but not because of the parking but because at some point it will need upkeep and replacing and you have to only hope your neighbour is able to do it.

We have a shared drive and never again and I say that as someone with the loveliest neighbour ever.

[Nahhh]

I have a drive that’s exactly as you describe and have no problems whatsoever

[EezyOozy]

We have a shared drive. We moved into this house three months ago, it's a beautiful four bedroom Victorian semidetached house with a large garden in a lovely village and if it wasn't for the shared drive I don't think we would've been able to afford it, it was a thing that put a lot of people off. Fortunately our neighbours are lovely (I'm aware that they could move) and it is a very large shared drive and everyone sticks to their designated space. As a PP has said-there is plenty of on street parking, Including directly in front of the house, so if the worst came to the worst I could still park out front. It's not something I would've had on my "want" list , But on balance it seems like a reasonable compromise and I'm so glad we got this house!

[EezyOozy]

Also I think it possibly depends what you are used to- we came from an inner city area and we lived right next to a university and a hospital. I was lucky if I could park on my street at all, never mind anywhere near my house. It became a total drag with two toddlers… So the shared drive in a quiet village with loads of available on street parking seemed like a big step up. If you're used to having your own drive then it would probably seem like a loss to move to a shared one!

[Pippapet]

Growing up, our house shared a drive but that was ok because it was 40 years ago and there were a lot less cars around.

I don't think I'd want a shared drive myself now because it relies on you co-operating with your neighbours for things like visitors, deliveries, workmen etc. Even if the current neighbours are lovely, the next set could be selfish.

It's nice having your own drive to do with as you want, if you can.

[ILoveAGlassofFizzy]

@Schoolchoicesucks

We have the situation you describe.

Neither of us park our cars on the driveway or in garages. Neighbours have paved front garden and park their cars there. We pay for a permit to park on the street.

We both use the shared driveway for visitors - on 1st come 1st served basis so any subsequent cars either park on the road, or have to be willing to shuffle on and off.

If we or the neighbours were inconsiderate about it, it would be a bit of a pain. But we don't need to park on it.

Do you have on street parking as an option? Or ability to create separate parking in front of the house?

Curious as to why neither of you park on your drive, yet you pay for a street permit?

[Fuss]

I had an uncle who shared a drive with neighbours. All was lovely, considerate and friendly. Then, the neighbours moved.

New neighbours spent most of their time parking on the shared bit and blocking access. Deliveries for Uncle were met with abuse, as were any trades who dared to park on it whilst working at the house.
Made their lives a misery for years. Several solicitors letters were sent and worked briefly, but ultimately they reverted to form.

In the end they moved, but not before having to declare the dispute flagging up to any potential new owner that the neighbours were a nightmare. It cost them dearly. Funnily enough the house has sold several times since so I don't think the situation improved.

I wouldn't even consider a house with a shared driveway. I've seen it go wrong and read far too many threads on it. There are many many houses out there that don't have the potential to cause you problems for years, and even if the neighbours now are wonderful you have no guarantees they wont move and be replaced by an arsehole.

[SBAM]

We have a shared drive, it’s never been an issue, but neither us nor the neighbours uses it to park (not enough room in front of the garages and the garages are the old tiny type that wouldn’t easily fit a modern car). Everyone here parks on the street or has their front garden paved and parks there

[TurquoiseDress]

@SBAM

So do you tend to park on the street or have had the front garden paved?

[SBAM]

@TurquoiseDress when we had two cars it was one on the paved front garden and one on the road. With covid we’ve got rid of one car, so usually on the front.
However, we use the shared drive space sometimes for a skip/delivery etc so sometimes park on the road. And guests park on the road, or sometimes we agree with the neighbours that guests (ours or theirs) can park on the shared bit between the houses

[BrushMySmush]

We share with our neighbour and it sounds very similar as this set up. We have zero problems but then we and them are nice neighbours. It wasn't a deal breaker for us as it ticked almost every other box!

[Onandoff]

I think it’s only on mumsnet you get so many put off. Perhaps because many live outside of the southeast where there is more room for your money.

We sold our house with a shared access to garages (up the middle of the 2 houses) last year. I’d say it was access as no way could you get a modern car up there, too narrow.

It became a nuisance towards the end as NDN (very nice person despite what I’m about to say) would drive his old bangers up there and spend days tinkering with them. Oil over the drive and junk everywhere. Ideally we would have wanted to split it with fencing and remove the garage to give more back garden width. And then redo the hard standing with nice block paving. But no point asking. So this was part of the reason we moved.

[Fuss]

I think it’s only on mumsnet you get so many put off

It really isn’t. Go spend an hour on the Garden Law forums, I’d Reddits UK Legal section. Even the Neighbours from hell uk forum. You’ll find tales that will amaze you on a regular basis.

People can be twats in every part of the country.

[PrincessPaws]

Or have a look at nightmare neighbour next door - they always seem to have shared driveways/access/parking in general as a catalyst