Flying freehold

[KirriIrry]

I’m looking at a house that ticks all the boxes, but has a flying freehold, which is something I’ve never dealt with before. There is a shared car park which is accessed via a driveway, and this house (and its neighbour) have a bedroom over the driveway. The estate agent breezily assured me that there were no problems associated with this (!) but it feels a bit off-putting - should it?
Thanks

If it's a low percentage of the overall area, it should be fine. If you think about it, that's how a lot of old terraced houses are built, with the bedroom over the alleyway, and they're normally fine.

You should have a solicitor who will advise you on this. It varies on a case to case basis. But some mortgage companies won’t lend on such properties. The EA acts for the seller so you can not rely on what they say on the point

For me a shared car park would mean a hard no.

Bought one before, no problems at all. Was perfectly normal back in the day. Don't let it put you off a perfect house.

thanks all!

@Donttellempike I trust the estate agent about as far as I can throw them, but I thought they might have details - like you expect for a leasehold. It’s quite an unusual set up i think - there are 2 whole rooms above the driveway, forming a tunnel - 1 belonging to this house, and the other to next door. It’s not an overhang, it’s the whole room. I don’t know if that makes a difference.

I remember flying freeholds from law school, decades ago now. I have never been a property lawyer.

Many of them are not an issue, but some can be. In respect of access rights etc.

If you put an offer in your solicitor will advise on it. Get it bottomed out though.

It will be noisy if someone is standing beneath you ‘room’ talking, or sitting in the car with the radio on. Also it will be cold as it is over a void.

We lived for many years with a room over a shared passageway. Not only that but our neighbour had the flying freehold on top of that room then we had it again in the attic space!
That neighbour didn't have access to the passageway but the neighbour adjoining us on the other side did.
Various changes of neighbours over the years including a time when the property was an air bnb. Never had any problems with noise but once their en-suite leaked into our room. Sorted quickly and amicably.

Thank you everyone - not as terrible as I feared then, certainly not enough to walk away, but if I offer I’ll certainly make sure I get a solicitor who is familiar with them.