Unadopted road to hell?
Discussion
Had a chat with my solicitor today about the house I am buying which, along with a farm and 5 other houses, lies at the end of a mile long single track tarmac road.
During discussions she mentioned that the road was unadopted and unlikely to be adopted, and that the farm has a 35% obligation to maintain the road and the 5 other houses the remaining 65% through a maintainance company where each of the 5 householders is a director ( we have some communal grounds too). She said it was fairly routine to have an obligation to repair private access roads but the sheer length of road near made me S*** myself at the idea of sharing in the cost of major repairs over something the size of the M1.
It looks in good repair at the moment, and over the years working rurally I have seen tracks to houses in much, much worse condition. Has anybody any experience of buying where access is over an unadopted road of such a length?
Cogcog said:
Had a chat with my solicitor today about the house I am buying which, along with a farm and 5 other houses, lies at the end of a mile long single track tarmac road.
During discussions she mentioned that the road was unadopted and unlikely to be adopted, and that the farm has a 35% obligation to maintain the road and the 5 other houses the remaining 65% through a maintainance company where each of the 5 householders is a director ( we have some communal grounds too). She said it was fairly routine to have an obligation to repair private access roads but the sheer length of road near made me S*** myself at the idea of sharing in the cost of major repairs over something the size of the M1.
It looks in good repair at the moment, and over the years working rurally I have seen tracks to houses in much, much worse condition. Has anybody any experience of buying where access is over an unadopted road of such a length?
Yes, don't sweat it. The Council won't conduct any repairs without consultation, the repairs in any direction will only affect you to your address, you can get insured and it's unlikely to need resurfacing or anything other than the odd pothole repairing. There a lot more unadopted roads around than you might thinkDuring discussions she mentioned that the road was unadopted and unlikely to be adopted, and that the farm has a 35% obligation to maintain the road and the 5 other houses the remaining 65% through a maintainance company where each of the 5 householders is a director ( we have some communal grounds too). She said it was fairly routine to have an obligation to repair private access roads but the sheer length of road near made me S*** myself at the idea of sharing in the cost of major repairs over something the size of the M1.
It looks in good repair at the moment, and over the years working rurally I have seen tracks to houses in much, much worse condition. Has anybody any experience of buying where access is over an unadopted road of such a length?
That is a bit more reassuring. Actually the B class road through the village where I now live is more like a track after the winter snows and it takes hundreds, if not thousands of cars a day with the occasional pot hole repair. At the moment the farm takes only light trafic as the farrmer is semi-retired and lets out most of his land. I was anxious that should he sell up (he retires next year) that the new opwnwe might start putting heavier vehicles down the road and damage it for us to repair.
On the plus side, if it is a private road with no public right of vehicular access we can gate it to keep fly tippers and burglars at bay.
We have a mile of unadopted road between 5 houses.
The road is not the problem. the t
t that lives in one house who refuses to contribute is the problem.
We spent 300 pounds each this year to get a bit of it patched and sealed. The rest of it I diy fix it with tar plannings and a binding agent as i bought 20 tons of plannings and i use my dumper and whacker plate to fill in the holes.
I would suggest you go and talk to your potential nieghbours.
The road is not the problem. the t
t that lives in one house who refuses to contribute is the problem.We spent 300 pounds each this year to get a bit of it patched and sealed. The rest of it I diy fix it with tar plannings and a binding agent as i bought 20 tons of plannings and i use my dumper and whacker plate to fill in the holes.
I would suggest you go and talk to your potential nieghbours.
If it is an unadopted road then the council won't do anything to it.
Sounds like there is an easement on the deeds that specify your obligations to the upkeep in exchange for your use of the track. Does it say who owns the land that the road is on?
I'd share your concern about the farm. Is there an agreement that says anything about how the agreement works? Who decides that repair is needed and the standard required? What happens if the farm grows a field of bungalows? Do all users use the full length of the road or just part of?
Sounds like there is an easement on the deeds that specify your obligations to the upkeep in exchange for your use of the track. Does it say who owns the land that the road is on?
I'd share your concern about the farm. Is there an agreement that says anything about how the agreement works? Who decides that repair is needed and the standard required? What happens if the farm grows a field of bungalows? Do all users use the full length of the road or just part of?
TooLateForAName said:
If it is an unadopted road then the council won't do anything to it.
Sounds like there is an easement on the deeds that specify your obligations to the upkeep in exchange for your use of the track. Does it say who owns the land that the road is on?
I'd share your concern about the farm. Is there an agreement that says anything about how the agreement works? Who decides that repair is needed and the standard required? What happens if the farm grows a field of bungalows? Do all users use the full length of the road or just part of?
Wouldn't be surprised if the Farm owns the track.Sounds like there is an easement on the deeds that specify your obligations to the upkeep in exchange for your use of the track. Does it say who owns the land that the road is on?
I'd share your concern about the farm. Is there an agreement that says anything about how the agreement works? Who decides that repair is needed and the standard required? What happens if the farm grows a field of bungalows? Do all users use the full length of the road or just part of?
thinfourth2 said:
The road is not the problem. the tt that lives in one house who refuses to contribute is the problem.
This. There may well be one or more residents who either flatly refuse to chip in, or say 'but we only have one car' or 'but we live halfway along so only use half of it'.t that lives in one house who refuses to contribute is the problem.Simpo Two said:
thinfourth2 said:
The road is not the problem. the tt that lives in one house who refuses to contribute is the problem.
This. There may well be one or more residents who either flatly refuse to chip in, or say 'but we only have one car' or 'but we live halfway along so only use half of it'.t that lives in one house who refuses to contribute is the problem.I'm doing the work, own the machinery and buying the materials and i'm in the house which has no obligation.
But its not great hardship to wander down the road with the dumper, whacker plate and some cold beer
TooLateForAName said:
If it is an unadopted road then the council won't do anything to it.
Sounds like there is an easement on the deeds that specify your obligations to the upkeep in exchange for your use of the track. Does it say who owns the land that the road is on?
I'd share your concern about the farm. Is there an agreement that says anything about how the agreement works? Who decides that repair is needed and the standard required? What happens if the farm grows a field of bungalows? Do all users use the full length of the road or just part of?
The farm has a 35% obligation and the other 5 are directors in a mangement company for the new estate responsible for 65%. No mention of the standard of repair required. We all pay £1000k a year into the company to cover the joint septic tank, and the mainetenace of the road, the short gravel access road to the parking area and a shared central lawned courtyard. Most of that £5000 PA looks like being eaten by accountants charges and admin nonesense but I guess succcess depends upon the attitude of the 5 householders. If we do some of the maintanenace ourselves we wcould build up a reserve for the road. Bizarrely a cottage just off the farm seems to have no obligations for the road.Sounds like there is an easement on the deeds that specify your obligations to the upkeep in exchange for your use of the track. Does it say who owns the land that the road is on?
I'd share your concern about the farm. Is there an agreement that says anything about how the agreement works? Who decides that repair is needed and the standard required? What happens if the farm grows a field of bungalows? Do all users use the full length of the road or just part of?
Cogcog said:
We all pay £1000k a year into the company... Most of that £5000 PA looks like being eaten by accountants charges and admin nonesense but I guess succcess depends upon the attitude of the 5 householders.
So scrap the silly company and rely on the attitude of the householders. I thought at the outset that having a Limited company to fill holes in the road was ridiculous and now I'm sure 
thinfourth2 said:
Its more annoying in our situation as there is 5 houses using the road but only 4 are legally obliged to maintain the road.
I'm doing the work, own the machinery and buying the materials and i'm in the house which has no obligation.
But its not great hardship to wander down the road with the dumper, whacker plate and some cold beer
You sound like the neighbour most people want! I'm doing the work, own the machinery and buying the materials and i'm in the house which has no obligation.
But its not great hardship to wander down the road with the dumper, whacker plate and some cold beer
5 grand a year for a sttank, lawn and road
The sttank should be zero maintance apart from a desludge every ten years
A small lawn. Oh for feck sake take turns at cutting it if you have a ride on its 20 minutes work even if its huge
As to the road i would advise building up a fightening fund should it get suddenly expensive
Or buy a road roller and DIY it
ttank, lawn and roadThe s
ttank should be zero maintance apart from a desludge every ten yearsA small lawn. Oh for feck sake take turns at cutting it if you have a ride on its 20 minutes work even if its huge
As to the road i would advise building up a fightening fund should it get suddenly expensive
Or buy a road roller and DIY it
D_G said:
You sound like the neighbour most people want!
The house that does not contribute towards the road wants to ban me from using the road because i drove past their house in the V8 landyMiserable
s they areBut i still dragged them out of the snow when they got stuck with the V8 landrover
£5000 a year - absolute con. Get all the "Directors" together and sack the money munching company behind it. Start afresh and set up a more reasonable system.
Any idea how much money is left in the pot? I assume you get a copy of the accounts every year?
Think about it - if you had a very long drive to maintain would you budget £1000 EVERY year to maintain it?
I would be asking some serious questions about this.
Any idea how much money is left in the pot? I assume you get a copy of the accounts every year?
Think about it - if you had a very long drive to maintain would you budget £1000 EVERY year to maintain it?
I would be asking some serious questions about this.
It already sounds like a headache and you're not even living there yet!
A friend has a similar situation, shared road/drive which feeds five houses, large tree with a preservation order slowly destroying the road. I think it's getting on for five years that they've been trying to organise everyone into coughing up for the repairs. There's always someone dragging their heals/moving/objecting.
A friend has a similar situation, shared road/drive which feeds five houses, large tree with a preservation order slowly destroying the road. I think it's getting on for five years that they've been trying to organise everyone into coughing up for the repairs. There's always someone dragging their heals/moving/objecting.
thinfourth2 said:
We have a mile of unadopted road between 5 houses.
The road is not the problem. the tt that lives in one house who refuses to contribute is the problem.
We spent 300 pounds each this year to get a bit of it patched and sealed. The rest of it I diy fix it with tar plannings and a binding agent as i bought 20 tons of plannings and i use my dumper and whacker plate to fill in the holes.
I would suggest you go and talk to your potential nieghbours.
What is this binding agent please?The road is not the problem. the t
t that lives in one house who refuses to contribute is the problem.We spent 300 pounds each this year to get a bit of it patched and sealed. The rest of it I diy fix it with tar plannings and a binding agent as i bought 20 tons of plannings and i use my dumper and whacker plate to fill in the holes.
I would suggest you go and talk to your potential nieghbours.
dickymint said:
£5000 a year - absolute con. Get all the "Directors" together and sack the money munching company behind it. Start afresh and set up a more reasonable system.
Any idea how much money is left in the pot? I assume you get a copy of the accounts every year?
Think about it - if you had a very long drive to maintain would you budget £1000 EVERY year to maintain it?
I would be asking some serious questions about this.
Luckily we ARE the company once we are all moved in. We can then set our own charges and if that means mowing once a month and having a day tidying a few times a year I think we will. Obviously the £5k will then go on coke and hookers (aka liability insurance and accountants).Any idea how much money is left in the pot? I assume you get a copy of the accounts every year?
Think about it - if you had a very long drive to maintain would you budget £1000 EVERY year to maintain it?
I would be asking some serious questions about this.
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