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Original poster

Driveway ideas

29 replies

DrivewayHorror · 14/07/2024 18:37

I am trying to sell my house but despite many viewings, one thing in particular is putting people off. Our driveway is at the back of the property and accessed via a shared access road. As this access road is not owned by anyone it's not maintained and effectively a pot hole filled, dirt track. Some residents have filled some of the large holes with gravel but when it rains it is a mess. We don't have to walk down it to get into our house as there is access via the back garden but I'm not sure that the estate agents are making this clear to people. Regardless it is still off putting that the parking is down there. What, if anything can we do about this please? Is there anything relatively cheap that could fill the holes to flatten it out a bit? I have attached two pics, when it's dry it doesn't look too uneven but when we've had heavy rain it's awful. The rain picture doesn't show how bad it really gets.

Driveway ideas
Driveway ideas
OP posts:
Gamergirl86 · 14/07/2024 18:58

Shared access is always going to a tricky sell even if its in tip top condition.

I think you have two options:

  1. Try and get the owners to come together and get it resurfaced. Make it as easy as possible, get all the quotes and break each of the costs down etc.
  1. Reduce the asking price to reflect the state of the drive.

Either way, it's going to have to go thr way of #1 eventually so it's either you or the new buyers who will end up paying a percentage of the costs.

As for a cheap pro tem fix I don't think anything you do ie adding gravel to the worst parts, will make it any better.

Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear OP.

shanus · 14/07/2024 19:09

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Original poster
DrivewayHorror · 14/07/2024 19:13

Thanks @Gamergirl86 I totally accept it looks awful and we have lowered the price. So annoying as the inside of our house and garden is lovely and everyone has said that. Unfortunately we've been here 17 years and no one has ever suggested we all share the cost of doing it professionally. I know no one will be interested in doing it as they've no reason to spend the money. It's only affecting us now as we're struggling to sell.

OP posts:
OneForTheToad · 15/07/2024 06:59

Do you know it’s the drive condition putting people off, or because it’s shared access? As PP said, a large % of people stop reading when they see those words, I know I do.
You can ask the agent to update your property description to say ‘parking via private access’ or ‘via garden path’.

A quick improvement on that drive is dig out the worse bits, fill with proper hoggin, and whack it. Two blokes, with a mini digger, one day max.

Original poster
DrivewayHorror · 15/07/2024 07:43

The advert definitely doesn't mention shared access, it just says parking to the rear. The driveway specifically hasn't been mentioned by everyone but lots have said the parking being at the back isn't ideal. I know that the state of the driveway is a factor though even if people aren't saying so. I'm off to Google hoggin!

OP posts:
NightBirdy · 15/07/2024 08:21

Would spreading a m2 bag of gravel on it help? It looks awful because of the puddles and the quick-fixes with bits of rubble.

I have no idea how much a bag of rubble would cost btw, but you're not going to get your neighbours to club together to cover the cost of tarmac or paving just because you want to sell.

user1471505356 · 15/07/2024 08:29

What was the state of the drive/access when you bought?

DogInATent · 15/07/2024 08:32

What do your deeds say about right of access and responsibility for maintaining the shared access track?

Nannyfannybanny · 15/07/2024 08:36

As doginatent asked what I was thinking, someone obviously owns the land. We have lived in a private road,we all had responsibility for the upkeep. I have relatives living in one now, they have done for 20 years,each is responsible for the area outside their property.

Original poster
DrivewayHorror · 15/07/2024 09:25

We had to take out indemnity insurance in case anyone claimed to own the land but it isn't owned by anyone. It's used as access to the drives and garages of the surrounding houses and no one has the responsibility of maintaining it hence the state of it. We have been here 17 years and its always looked like that. I completely agree that no one will want to help pay to do it properly just because we are selling and to do it properly I think will cost thousands. We've had discussions with some neighbours over the years as we see them and all agree it's awful but everyone says the same as us that you'll never get everyone agreeing to fund it. Down my road there are multiple access roads to garages like ours. They all look the same.

OP posts:
Original poster
DrivewayHorror · 15/07/2024 09:28

NightBirdy · 15/07/2024 08:21

Would spreading a m2 bag of gravel on it help? It looks awful because of the puddles and the quick-fixes with bits of rubble.

I have no idea how much a bag of rubble would cost btw, but you're not going to get your neighbours to club together to cover the cost of tarmac or paving just because you want to sell.

We did this a few years ago and it cost £400 but as you can see 3 years later it looks like that again because the cars going up and down eventually dislodge the gravel. We didn't ask anyone else to pay towards it then either.

OP posts:
DogInATent · 15/07/2024 09:29

So you don't actually have a legal right of access over the track? And your only driveway access and off-street parking is via this track?

That is what would be putting me off, not a few pot holes.

Original poster
DrivewayHorror · 15/07/2024 09:32

@DogInATent I don't believe anyone has got as far an enquiring about that to be honest! Our house won't be unsellable because of this, both houses either side of us have sold in the last couple of years that have their parking down there but I guess it comes down to price as someone else said.

OP posts:
Original poster
DrivewayHorror · 15/07/2024 09:33

I'm not sure how it works but all the houses have legal right of access definitely.

Sorry just checked with DH and I'm wrong hence the indemnity insurance. But I don't believe anyone has got as far as enquiring they have taken it at face value on viewings.

OP posts:
DogInATent · 15/07/2024 10:08

Check. The. Deeds.

It would be extremely unusual for access arrangements, responsibility for maintenance, and ownership of the land not to be specified. I've had shared access paths/tracks on the deeds of two houses I've owned and they were both quite clear. And oddly enough, both the same - you own and are responsible for maintaining half the width of the track adjacent to your property boundary, and must give right of access over that stretch to any property further along the lane.

Hmm... I've just read this again. This is the front access to your property? i.e. your front door faces this lane? What's the access at the back?

JC03745 · 15/07/2024 10:25

Sorry if I missed this, but is this track at the back of your property? Does it lead to a garage/carport on your land where you park the car? Can people also park at the front of your property and access the front door from there? Could estate agents just direct people to park at the front, show them the house and point out the garage at back- without taking them down the track? How many houses share the track?

PIL have a shared drive at the front of the house. All 3 houses club together every few years and buy type 1, which is a rocky type of aggregate. They get it from a builders merchant who can delivery several tonne at once and they hire a mini digger thing to spread it out. You'd be surprised how many tonnes they use to smooth it all out!

Have you spoken to neighbours to see if anyone else would pitch in to fix it?

Sillystrumpet · 15/07/2024 10:30

Personally I’d buy about 3 mt of pea gravel and just cover it over.

zingally · 15/07/2024 10:31

My mum lives in a property with a similar shared access drive.
About once a decade she and the other 3 properties who share it, club together and get it re-gravelled.
2 big bags of gravel turn up, and they pay a local odd-job chap to come and spread it. Costs them a couple of hundred each.

For me personally, I'm not put off by the shared access of it (I'm used to it with mums place), but perhaps would be more concerned about the general area... Without knowing about the area it's hard to say, but in parts of my town, an area like that would be frequented by... "undesirables" lets say. It also looks from the pictures like it leads to quite a sheltered bushy area which would make me a bit nervous from a personal safety point of view.
Also, can you see your car from your house? I'd be a bit concerned about security generally.

Sillystrumpet · 15/07/2024 10:34

zingally · 15/07/2024 10:31

My mum lives in a property with a similar shared access drive.
About once a decade she and the other 3 properties who share it, club together and get it re-gravelled.
2 big bags of gravel turn up, and they pay a local odd-job chap to come and spread it. Costs them a couple of hundred each.

For me personally, I'm not put off by the shared access of it (I'm used to it with mums place), but perhaps would be more concerned about the general area... Without knowing about the area it's hard to say, but in parts of my town, an area like that would be frequented by... "undesirables" lets say. It also looks from the pictures like it leads to quite a sheltered bushy area which would make me a bit nervous from a personal safety point of view.
Also, can you see your car from your house? I'd be a bit concerned about security generally.

Yup. Get rid of the weeds, paint the fences, pea gravel over it. I’d lay a length of weed membrane first, won’t cost much at all.

BettyBardMacDonald · 15/07/2024 10:37

It's not really clear how this lane is used to access parking. And what is available in front of the house?

Diagram?

Time40 · 15/07/2024 10:48

It's not really clear how this lane is used to access parking

Um ... presumably, the OP drives down it and there's some parking at the bottom.

DogInATent · 15/07/2024 10:57

Gravel, particularly pea gravel, is a terrible choice if this is regularly driven over. Type 1 is a better choice, and better still is road scalpings/planings if there's any roadworks going on nearby.

Sillystrumpet · 15/07/2024 10:58

DogInATent · 15/07/2024 10:57

Gravel, particularly pea gravel, is a terrible choice if this is regularly driven over. Type 1 is a better choice, and better still is road scalpings/planings if there's any roadworks going on nearby.

Many many driveways are covered in pea gravel. This isn’t soil, it’s already hard standing effectively.

DogInATent · 15/07/2024 11:06

Sillystrumpet · 15/07/2024 10:58

Many many driveways are covered in pea gravel. This isn’t soil, it’s already hard standing effectively.

Show quote history

Popularity doesn't make it a good choice. Angular gravel rather than rounded is better for driving over. And this isn't a driveway you pull onto and park-up. It's an unadopted road used by multiple properties. If they're not maintaining it as it is, what are the chances that someone will be out raking the pea shingle flat again once it's been pushed to the sides by vehicles driving over it?

Original poster
DrivewayHorror · 15/07/2024 11:30

I'll attach a diagram of a bird's-eye view but I'm so rubbish at drawing. At the back of the track you see in the actual pictures is more garages to the right and literally just trees at the end. We've never had an issue with anyone going down there that shouldn't. Yes we can see our car and garage from the upstairs window.

Driveway ideas
OP posts: