Should we buy a house without the whole front garden?

[ForeverHomePurchase]

We are interested in buying a new build where part of the front garden belongs to the management company that owns the private road beyond it. There is a deed of easement giving the new build rights of way over the management company land. Our solicitor is concerned that not owning the whole front garden may make it more difficult to sell in the future.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Any suggestions or advice?

What would the right of way be used for? Are they trying to cover the possibility of building more homes along the private road, and your front garden would become a shared driveway to those homes? Would you be ok if that happens?

Not exactly the same but similar

We are the middle one of three houses that are off the highway at the end of a cul de sac.

We own the land to our boundary but house 3 have right of way across half our drive to reach theirs, and we and house 3 have right of way across half of house 1's drive.

It has never been an issue in the 40 years since the house was built but we are fortunate to have really lovely neighbours and all have plenty of space for cars on our drives.

I wouldn't buy it. If it's not yours, how do you stop them doing whatever they want with the land in future? Sticking up noticeboards, digging it up to lay pipes? And if they don't intend to do something with it, why did they hold on to it?

I'd listen to the solicitor. Honestly it's frustrating enough to buy any property where a management company is involved let alone one where there are rights of way issues as well.

Thanks @minipie - these comments could be very helpful to others reading this thread. In our specific situation, there is no space to build more homes. And 'front garden' is probably an exaggeration - it is only 2-3m deep! The land under the storm porch and the path approaching the front door go with the house. The path from the parking spaces and the small front hedge belong to the management company.

A diagram is needed 😊

Thanks @NotbloodyGivingupYet and @whatsappdoc - very useful to know it would put you off! Our solicitor thinks it was transferred to the management company as an oversight. The developer should have retained it as part of the site for the last few houses.

Sounds like a shared parking carpark, path, and screening hedge. That makes sense to be a management company thing.

If more than than (lawn?) then I would be put off. You could ask about purchasing it too.

What to other bits of the same estate have for ownership?

I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole

The problem is that my guess is the management company will take very little interest in enforcing their rights over the land.

So for example although they may maintain it (and charge a service charge for doing so) they may well be less interested in policing it on a daily basis.

So if say a gang of kids decided to hold a football match on it, or a neighbour decided to let their dog use it as a toilet, they may well not be interested in actually doing anything about it, and you would have few rights to police it, if any.

So for me it would really become an issue of how far this land is away from your house, and how likely it is to cause a nuisance to you if someone else decides to use it for their own purposes. for example if it is 100m away from your front window it might not bother you. If it goes right up to your front window it may bother you more.

All the above is speculation of course without getting full information on the actual situation.

I think this one does need a diagram. Is it front garden or is it a parking space?

The land under the storm porch and the path approaching the front door go with the house. The path from the parking spaces and the small front hedge belong to the management company

sp how is the latter your front garden?

Thanks everyone for your input - food for thought.

Will they charge you an annual maintenance fee for gardening?

This.
It's a hostage to fortune. You have no idea what might be done with the land nor whether the Management Company might sell it on.
I'd not buy TBH.