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

[booomshackalack]

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.

No parking , not even a chance I'd look at the house . Need a garage as well as a driveway for 2 cars

I’ve never lived anywhere with parking. I don’t know anyone with a drive where I live. It’s completely normal to park in the road. We have to buy residents’ parking permits, though, and there’s only a handful of streets where we are allowed to park.

Did you read the post?

Op you wouldn’t have to totally ruin the garden to park on it, look at these lovely drives I’ve just found on Pinterest. My drive is quite similar (because it was gravel and we were too slow at weeding it) and it actually looks really nice.

How far away would you need to park
if you couldn’t get parked near your house? If it’s a short distance I’d be fine with this. If it’s a case of driving round until
something comes available I wouldn’t be as happy.

I'd go back and check at different times of day and at the weekend. I'd also take a look at different dates on Streetview. Ultimately, if parking looks reasonable after you've checked it out and given that you 'could' turn your front garden into parking if really needed, it wouldn't put me off buying it if almost everything else was right.

They are nice, but it won’t help the OP unless she gets permission for, and pays for, a dropped kerb etc. You’re not allowed to drive over pavements.

We live in a terrace street and by a football ground so it can get tricky sometimes. I think as long as you aren't anal about having your car outside your house then it is worth the extra living space. Especially as there are other houses with drives. Agree look back after 6, also look at the neighbouring streets, if you had to is there parking there?

Wouldn't put me off. House sounds lovely, more space for all of you. So what if you have to park a little further a way, a bit of exercise is no harm.

Our first family home was a second floor flat with no lift. We left there when ds2 was a month old and at that point I vowed no more steps bw the street and the door. So I can see how a few steps is big improvement. Now though we have elderly parents and MiL can barely manage the threshold plate, let alone a step.

Same here. Sunday evening definitely the busiest time.

If it has everything thing else you want I would go for it. Plenty of people manage without parking and it sounds much better for you than your present home.
You may find somewhere with parking and have to compromise on something else I think you probably have to decide what matters more. Eg we have s semi with parking but the terraces nearby have bigger rooms including a better sized third bedroom

No off street parking or reliable place to park would be a deal breaker for me too.

I don't know anyone in a terrace who doesn't hate their parking situ. When your kids are older and driving you'll have 2 more cars to park. If you'll be there for 5 years, sure go for it. If this is your forever home, don't.

Parking is important for me. It depends on your priorities.

As someone else mentioned; eventually you'll have an electric vehicle and will probably want your own charging point. It wouldn't prevent me buying it, but id go into it knowing that within 10-15 years the garden would have to be converted.

Today would be a good day to check the parking as it’s a rainy horrible day and everyone will be in.

So how are people without parking and people who rent going to cope with having an electric car?!

I had huge disagreements with my mum over the last year when I was looking for my FTB as lots of places didn't have off street parking. I wasn't too bothered, but she thought it was a real no-no and would knock thousands off the value and be off-putting for future buyers. I can see the need for immediate parking with young children and older family members, if you like to do a big weekly shop or have loads of clobber for work etc, and there's also a question over where visitors would park and whether that would make it difficult for anyone important (like, my gran). Often those are not insurmountable problems though, as clearly millions of people live in houses like that.

My main word of warning is I wouldn't bank on being able to drop the kerb and put a driveway into front garden - planning can quite often be refused for this even when others on the street have done it. It's one of the bonkers ones that seem to be on the whim of the planning officers rather than with much sense of consistency. I've had two friends who it declined and it seemed to me a no-brainer they should get it!

Parking wouldn’t influence me at all, especially as you have a front garden you could easily turn into a gravel drive.

With mid terrace I’d be very interested in who the neighbours are (do they have children/dogs /parties, do they work from home or are they a young couple in London all day, is there a bbq right by the fence etc) and whether the walls carry sound.

It doesn’t sound like you can afford what you’d like without moving to a less desirable area. Personally I’d move further away and get a semi but if you’re keen on this area go for this house and stop worrying about parking.

@babybopella they are already installing on street charging points were I am. People will survive and manage - but I would personally prefer to have my own, on my drive.

I’m in a terrace, and it’s fine to park on the road. Everyone does because no-one has a drive. I’ve been here 30 years and it’s always been fine -with babies, toddlers, teens and young adults and elderly parents. Occasionally annoying if you have a tradesperson in doing work and you have to buy a parking permit for them, otherwise they can’t park at all.

We have 5 beds and no parking space. We have on street parking and a garage without a drive. It's a bit of madness but it was the only house that had enough space. As long as you have options I would go for it. My DS is in Putney and he is the only one in a house of four with a car. Perhaos your neighbours will be the same. Could you park for the viewing?
We manage but found out our bay is used by holiday parkers. They dump the cars and catch the coach. That pees me off.

Off street parking an absolute deal breaker for me!

Would be a deal breaker for me but I have a baby and toddler and I’m crap at parking so need a driveway for getting one in and still being close to the other etc. if the kids were older and I didn’t get stressed by parking then I might feel differently. Only you know how much it matters to you & how annoying it is for you atm.