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Original poster

Viewed a near-perfect house yesterday, one thing putting me off

259 replies

booomshackalack · 05/08/2023 15:13

Currently in an elevated two up two down mid terrace with two DCs of opposite sex sharing a room, DCs are 13 and 9. On street parking which is terrible at times.

We viewed a house yesterday which we fell in love with and it ticks a lot of boxes - only a few steps at the front door, three bedrooms plus a dining room and converted loft, new style kitchen and bathroom and home survey highlights no issues. It's another mid terrace, we were set for a while on a semi however with the economy and fuel bills as they are, it probably makes more financial sense to go for a mid. We are moving within a very sought after area where semis in particular get snapped up fast at tens of thousands over asking so no guarantee we would even get one if we held out i guess.

The only downside is it's on-street parking. The majority of the street are semi-detached houses with their own driveway, with just a couple of rows of terraces. When viewing yesterday it didn't look too bad - or at least, not as bad as where we live atm! Would this put you off if the house seemed ideal in every other way? I guess in the future we could look at putting a drive in the front garden, although it would be a shame to rip the front garden as it's quite nice.

OP posts:
Cotswoldmama · 07/08/2023 06:46

Our house doesn't have parking. The house next door made their front garden into a drive which we always thought we'd do. It's been ten years now and it's been fine. We don't even have on street parking at the front it's double yellows but there's a cud de sac just next to our road and we park there no problem.

Blossomtoes · 07/08/2023 08:09

Juststopamoment · 06/08/2023 19:38

Deal breaker for me as well. My car got broken into when I didn’t have a drive.

Mine got broken into on my parents’ drive 🤷‍♀️

T1Dmama · 07/08/2023 08:25

I personally couldn’t buy a house that didn’t have off road parking.
the front garden…. Is there already a drop curb in front of your property or would you need to apply for planning permission and pay just to get permission to convert this?

Mrsgreen100 · 07/08/2023 08:52

Getting permission to drop a kerb etc not that easy
however if area is a priority,
and house prices will flatten now so there will be less availability, and harder to sell to because of mortgage rates
I would swing by at 6.30 in evening etc
plus weekends.
mid the house is perfect otherwise got for it
there’s always a compromise
when buying

pollymere · 07/08/2023 09:41

I only have street parking where I live. Occasionally, I have to park a few minutes walk away but generally I can park outside or reasonably close to our house. If you have people with driveways, hopefully there are spaces in between each driveway as well? It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

Barney60 · 07/08/2023 09:48

Sorry it would be a deal breaker for me, parking on my own drive is one of my priority's.

Mousey23 · 07/08/2023 09:55

You have the possibility of buying a house where you have the option to park in the front garden (after installing a driveway) or to park on the road. You'll get to decide once you are settled in.

You mention that the majority of houses have driveways, which means that not everyone is trying to park on the same stretch of road.

As a student, I lived in a road of crammed terraces where - on a bad day - I'd end up parking on the next street. You get used to it.

Chris002 · 07/08/2023 10:09

I am actually renting atm but when I look at possible rentals I don't even consider
Ones that don't have off street parking - it doesn't matter how great they are inside as we like to know that when come home we have somewhere to park because that is one of our important requirements .I know to some people it sounds trivial,but if this is a problem for you now in your current place then you have to be firm with yourself and say that it doesn't matter how appealing the rest of the house is, it is the parking that is a basic requirement for you. What I do on the property websites is I put in a filter for off street parking then I am not tempted by anything that comes up that doesn't have it.

Ukrainebaby23 · 07/08/2023 10:20

hexsnidgett · 05/08/2023 15:25

Nope. Parking is way down the list.
When we were looking we thought parking might be nice, but it really isn't that important.

Nope for me, parking is very near the top of my list, having lived with (no) on Street parking, coming home from work at 1am no spaces and parking in the next street is right up there in the unacceptable for me.

SkySecret · 07/08/2023 10:33

Absolutely non-negotiable. When I was house hunting, it wouldn’t even make the view list of it didn’t have a drive or off street parking. I currently have 3 vehicles in my household, all of which will fit on my property under the watchful eye of a security camera.

I could not go through the stress and annoyance of wondering every day if there’s anywhere I can park my car when I get home!! And the arguments people get into because someone else has legally parked in front of their house 😂

yeah…. I’m more than happy with my own off street parking!

Original poster
booomshackalack · 07/08/2023 10:50

The decision is probably going to be taken out my hands tbh, there's already another offer on the table. I've given them my best and final offer so will see what that throws up.

OP posts:
BatheInTheLight · 07/08/2023 10:58

Best of luck 🍀🤞

angela99999 · 07/08/2023 11:24

Yes, good luck. It sounds as though this is the most space you will get for your budget and that matters more than the (slightly dodgy) parking.

Davros · 07/08/2023 11:29

🤞

Toomuchtrouble4me · 07/08/2023 13:21

booomshackalack · 05/08/2023 15:13

Currently in an elevated two up two down mid terrace with two DCs of opposite sex sharing a room, DCs are 13 and 9. On street parking which is terrible at times.

We viewed a house yesterday which we fell in love with and it ticks a lot of boxes - only a few steps at the front door, three bedrooms plus a dining room and converted loft, new style kitchen and bathroom and home survey highlights no issues. It's another mid terrace, we were set for a while on a semi however with the economy and fuel bills as they are, it probably makes more financial sense to go for a mid. We are moving within a very sought after area where semis in particular get snapped up fast at tens of thousands over asking so no guarantee we would even get one if we held out i guess.

The only downside is it's on-street parking. The majority of the street are semi-detached houses with their own driveway, with just a couple of rows of terraces. When viewing yesterday it didn't look too bad - or at least, not as bad as where we live atm! Would this put you off if the house seemed ideal in every other way? I guess in the future we could look at putting a drive in the front garden, although it would be a shame to rip the front garden as it's quite nice.

I would go for it - if a semi with own parking is unrealistic - it’s all about location. And with the option of putting in parking space if you need it then that’s even more attractive.

mast0650 · 07/08/2023 13:26

It's not ideal, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me if I was having trouble finding an affordable house that fit other important criteria. It would have been an issue for me with small children but not any more. Our children are young adults, we don't use the car very often, and we have our groceries delivered, so parking some distance away from the house would not be a major problem.

Nave · 07/08/2023 13:32

NancyJoan · 05/08/2023 15:28

I’ve never lived anywhere with a drive or garage. It’s not even on my top ten list of things I look for in a house.

Me neither. If you live in London it’s hardly ever an option. Can be a pain and usually involves residents parking fees but we are just used to it.

T1Dmama · 07/08/2023 14:12

Oh good luck @booomshackalack !
hooe you hear back today.

when I put my offer in I heard back within minutes. They counter offered and I said it was my highest offer and literally couldn’t afford to
increase it a penny.
half hour later they excepted because I was only offer without a chain.

Do you already have a buyer for your house?

mast0650 · 07/08/2023 15:06

There’s absolutely no way i’m ever having one, far too expensive and no way of charging it at home.

At some point you will most likely have no choice. Hopefully.
And hopefully they will be cheaper and charging infrastructure will be much improved.

Original poster
booomshackalack · 08/08/2023 10:53

Solicitor called me back to say the house is going to a closing date tomorrow, I think we'll be outbid tbh. We're planning to offer 48k over asking (33k over HR value) but I don't think it'll be enough.

OP posts:
Rainiestsummer · 08/08/2023 11:06

Oh, that's hard - fast market in your area. Fingers crossed that you will still be highest, that sounds like a good bid

T1Dmama · 08/08/2023 12:23

Wow! How do people get mortgages ? Because you can’t get a mortgage for more than it’s worth? Feel sorry for the first time buyers in your area!
I’ve never offered higher than asking price and we live in a nice area.

T1Dmama · 08/08/2023 12:25

Also don’t understand why they have a closing date… surely if you’re not the highest bidder they can just tell you so and put you out of your misery.
I thought this whole ‘out bidding’ business was banned years ago. They even except an offer or they don’t and move on? Never heard this before

Rainiestsummer · 08/08/2023 12:31

It's totally standard where I live. We got less than 20k over the home report, which was around 10%, for our last sale. The extra money has to come from the buyers, you're right you can't get a mortgage for it.

Original poster
booomshackalack · 08/08/2023 13:14

Very common where we live unfortunately. Last year a 3 bed semi up the road from this one went on the market at 295k, sold for 398k after going to a closing date. Its not as crazy as it was last year, there are houses coming back on after initially going under offer and my solicitor told me that some people can't get mortgages for the amounts they offered. However people are desperate to move to the area and low supply is keeping house prices high.

We have a very low LTV (30%) so I'm hoping that'll help swing it for us.

OP posts: